TTWROR calculator: work out your time-weighted return
Most broker apps only show the simple difference between what you paid in and your portfolio value. The time-weighted rate of return (TTWROR) strips out deposits and withdrawals entirely — split your timeline into periods and compare both figures directly.
Your periods
A new period starts at every deposit or withdrawal12.8% time-weighted return (TTWROR)
Chain-linked across all periods, with deposits and withdrawals backed out — the figure that judges your investment choice itself, not your deposit timing.
Naive return (as shown in a broker app)
10%
Difference to TTWROR
2.8%
General information, not investment or tax advice.
What does this mean for your real wealth?
The time-weighted return above holds for the values you entered. For your real portfolio, Planafolio calculates it from your imported transactions – TTWROR is part of Pro, XIRR is free.
See the time-weighted return of my portfolioWhat does the result mean?
TTWROR shows how your investments performed – regardless of when and how much you paid in. That makes it suitable for comparing against a fund or index; the naive return next to it shows how much deposits and withdrawals distort the picture.
Model assumptions
- The portfolio values you enter per period are what counts. Deposits count at the start of a period, withdrawals at its end.
- The return covers the whole period and is not converted to an annual rate.
- Taxes on returns (German flat tax, advance lump sum) are not deducted.
- All amounts are nominal. Purchasing power falls with inflation, which the result does not reflect.
How the calculator works
The period is split into sub-periods at every deposit or withdrawal. The return is calculated for each sub-period, and all sub-periods are then multiplied together (chain-linked).
More on the methodologyWorked example
Example: two half-years with a deposit in between
Worked example using the calculator's default values above: the portfolio grows in the first half-year, and a deposit arrives at the start of the second. Both returns are shown side by side.
Inputs
- Portfolio value at the start€10,000
- Portfolio value after the 1st half-year€10,800
- Deposit at the start of the 2nd half-year€5,000
- Portfolio value at the end of the 2nd half-year€16,500
Calculation
| Return in the 1st half-year | 8% |
|---|---|
| Return in the 2nd half-year (deposit removed) | 4.43% |
| Total paid in | €15,000 |
Result
| Time-weighted return (TTWROR) | 12.78% |
|---|---|
| Simple return (gain ÷ deposits) | 10% |
The TTWROR of 12.78% chains the two half-year returns and so measures only how the investment performed. The simple calculation of 10% mixes that with the timing of the deposit, because the new money was only invested for half a year.
Common mistakes
Entering withdrawals as a negative value
Portfolio values cannot be negative. Withdrawals belong in the period's own field, otherwise the calculator stops with an error message.
Merging several payments into one period
A new period starts with every deposit or withdrawal. Combining several payments into one shifts the timing and therefore the result.
Reading the figure as an annual return
TTWROR covers the whole period you entered and is not converted to a yearly rate. Two portfolios are only directly comparable if the periods are equally long.
Confusing TTWROR with XIRR
TTWROR measures the investment independent of when you paid in, XIRR measures your result including that timing. The two may differ; neither one is wrong.
Sources and status
Content reviewed on September 29, 2026. The sources are official German legal texts and data and are therefore in German.
The calculation is a simplified model under the stated assumptions and is not investment or tax advice.
What can I do?
Compare TTWROR with XIRR: if the two differ clearly, the timing of your deposits shaped the result.
In short
What sets TTWROR apart from a simple percentage
Three points that explain why two return figures for the same portfolio don't have to match.
Chain-linked, not added
The overall timeline is split into periods at every deposit or withdrawal. Each period gets its own return, and the periods are then chain-linked multiplicatively — two periods of 10% each come out to 21%, not 20%.
Cash flows no longer distort the result
A deposit shortly before a price rise makes the naive percentage look better than the investment actually was — TTWROR backs exactly that out, because every period is judged on its own.
A different question than XIRR
TTWROR judges the investment itself, independent of deposit timing. For your personal result including timing, the XIRR calculator is the right figure.
Common questions
Understanding time-weighted return
TTWROR (True Time-Weighted Rate of Return) measures how well an investment has performed, independent of when and how much you deposited or withdrew. The timeline is split into periods at each cash flow, and the individual period returns are then chain-linked.
Many apps only show the simple difference between what you paid in and your current portfolio value. That naive figure is distorted by the timing of your deposits — a sum paid in shortly before a price rise makes it look too good. TTWROR backs that effect out.
TTWROR judges the quality of the investment itself, independent of deposit timing — the right figure for comparing against a benchmark index. XIRR judges your personal result including your timing on deposits and withdrawals. Both numbers are correct — they just answer different questions. You can work out the money-weighted figure in the XIRR calculator.
A new period starts at every deposit or withdrawal. A period's end value is the portfolio value right before the next cash flow, and the following period's start value is that same figure — the cash flow itself goes into the deposit or withdrawal field of the new period.
Yes, with Planafolio Pro. After importing your portfolio via CSV, PDF or auto-sync (for supported providers), Planafolio calculates TTWROR directly from your actual transactions — no need to enter periods by hand. Import and XIRR are already included in the free plan.
TTWROR stands for True Time-Weighted Rate of Return. It is the return of an investment with every deposit and withdrawal backed out — it shows how the invested money itself performed, not when and how much you paid in.
That the portfolio grew by 90% over the period under review, with deposits and withdrawals backed out: 100 euros would have become 190 euros without further payments. The figure is cumulative, not per year; this calculator also shows the cumulative TTWROR. Over ten years, 90% corresponds to roughly 6.6% per year, for example.
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TTWROR calculated automatically, not by hand
With Pro, Planafolio works out TTWROR directly from your imported transactions — no manual period-splitting needed. Import and XIRR are free.
See the time-weighted return of my portfolio