← Glossary
Return
What an investment earns or loses, in money or as a percentage of what was put in.
Return includes every way an investment pays: a rising price, dividends, interest. $1,000 that becomes $1,070 has a return of $70, or 7%. A return can be negative.
The nominal return is the change in money; the real return is what remains after inflation — the change in what the money can buy.