Time-Weighted Return (TWR)
TWR measures how well your investments themselves performed — completely independent of when you added or withdrew money. It's the standard fund managers use, because it isolates investment performance from your personal cash-flow timing.
The way it works: your holding period gets split into sub-periods every time money moves in or out. Each sub-period's return is calculated on its own, then all the sub-period returns are chained together (multiplied, not added) to get the final TWR.
Worked example
You invest $10,000 on Jan 1. By June 1 it's worth $13,000 — a +30% sub-period return. You then add another $10,000 in June. By Dec 31, the total is worth $21,000 — the second sub-period (on $23,000 invested) returned −8.7%.
TWR chains these together: (1.30 × 0.913) − 1 = +18.7%
TWR chains these together: (1.30 × 0.913) − 1 = +18.7%
Why it matters
Because TWR ignores the size and timing of your deposits, it's the fair way to compare your performance against a benchmark like the S&P 500, or against another investor — regardless of when either of you added money.
Illustration
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