Investment return calculator

Contributions land at the end of each month and compound at your annual return divided by twelve. That is the standard convention and it is slightly conservative: money invested on the first of the month would earn a little more.

No. A steady annual return is a deliberate fiction. Real markets do not deliver 6% every year, they average something like it across decades of sharp gains and losses. This shows you the shape of compounding, not what your account will hold on a given date.

None of them are modelled. A 6% return with 2% inflation is closer to 4% in today's dollars, and a 0.5% management fee comes off the return, not the balance. For a real-terms answer, set the return to your expected return minus inflation minus fees.

A great deal. The same money in a TFSA grows tax-free, in an RRSP grows tax-deferred, and in a plain account is taxed on gains and dividends each year. This calculator is account-agnostic, so check your TFSA room before assuming you can shelter the whole amount.