The Portfolio Growth chart plots the full range of a meandering portfolio much like a weather map tracking potential storm paths.  Think of it as beginning your portfolio in every historical year at once and watching how they all unfolded.  Use this to track the growth not only of a static portfolio but also of an ongoing accumulation plan including regular contributions.

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Overview

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The Portfolio Growth chart is very similar to a traditional line chart tracking the growth of a portfolio over time, but with one major difference. Instead of charting returns between a single start and end date, it calculates the performance of every historical start date simultaneously. Every start date is aligned at year zero, and the resulting spread of lines shows the full range of outcomes your selected portfolio and home country produced regardless of when you were lucky or unlucky enough to invest.

Note that the color of the lines is sorted by start year. Darker lines are from older start years while lighter lines are from more recent start years. Hover over or tap any line to see the account value and the start year behind it.

The settings above the chart let you model your own investing plan. The starting value sets where every path begins, and the annual contribution adds new savings at the beginning of each year along the way. Contributions are adjusted for inflation, so they represent the same amount of purchasing power every year just like a diligent saver maintaining their habit.

The gray goal line turns the picture into a planning tool. Drag it up or down to set a savings target, and the two orange markers show the earliest and latest years that any historical path reached it. The gap between those two markers is the cost of timing luck, and it’s often larger than people expect. A marker labeled “30+” means at least one path hadn’t reached the goal within the chart’s window. To flip the question around and ask what savings rate a goal requires, check out the Savings Rates chart, and to compare the spread of outcomes to the smooth growth an average implies, try Target Accuracy.

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Assumptions

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• All returns are adjusted for inflation and expressed in the home country’s currency.
• Portfolios are rebalanced annually, and returns include reinvested dividends.
• Returns ignore taxes and fund fees.
• Calculations cover every year since 1970 for the selected home country.
• The annual contribution is added at the beginning of each year and is adjusted for inflation.

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