As the next step in the process of making the site as helpful and easy-to-understand as possible, I’ve spruced up the Portfolios pages with a few minor updates:

 

• The charts all have new simpler names that match their corresponding calculators.

• When you click on each chart, they now direct you to its calculator so that you can learn more about how it was made and perhaps tinker with the settings.

• I’ve made the Withdrawal Rates chart a little larger than before and tweaked a few things so that it’s easier to read.

• There’s a new chart!  The Accumulation chart uses the same Portfolio Growth calculator as the Retirement chart, but focuses on… well… accumulation.

 

The Accumulation chart is designed to supplement the usual CAGR numbers with actual portfolio values over time.  However, while most growth charts you’ll find elsewhere do this by showing what a portfolio would look like if you invested $10k and never saved another dime, how many of you get an advance on your life savings to invest in year one?

Yeah, me neither.

The Accumulation chart takes the more realistic approach where you invested $10k every year.  Beyond that, it looks at every subsequent start year from 1972 onward and maps them all side by side so that you can visualize just how uncertain that return has historically been.  By comparing alternatives, hopefully this will help you think beyond solely maximizing returns in accumulation and appreciate the benefits of selecting the most stable path to your long-term goals.

Does saving $10k a year not make sense to you, or do you already have a head start on a nice nest egg?  No problem!  Click on the Accumulation chart, and it will take you to the Portfolio Growth calculator where you can generate a custom chart with your own personal numbers.

BTW, I’m always looking for ways to improve the site.  If there’s anything else you’d like to see added to the Portfolios pages, please let me know.