Everything you need to analyse, project and optimise your investments. Calculate real returns, estimate capital gains tax, simulate portfolio growth, model dividend income and score your diversification — all free, all instant, all UK-focused.
Successful investing is built on understanding numbers: what return you are actually getting (not just what the statement says), what tax you owe when you sell, how your portfolio is growing relative to benchmarks, and whether your diversification is protecting you or concentrating risk. Our 10 free investment calculators give you that clarity instantly.
Price return measures only capital appreciation (buy at £10, sell at £12 = 20% price return). Total return includes dividends or income reinvested. The FTSE 100 has delivered approximately 3% price return annually over 30 years but 7–8% total return — the difference is entirely dividends reinvested. Always compare investments by total return.
A 50% gain over 5 years is not 10% per year — it is approximately 8.45% annualised (CAGR). A 100% gain over 10 years is 7.18% annualised. Annualised return (CAGR) is the only fair way to compare investments held for different periods. Our ROI calculator converts any holding period return to CAGR automatically.
Two investments with the same 8% annual return are not equal if one has 5% volatility and the other has 25% volatility. The Sharpe ratio divides excess return by standard deviation to measure return per unit of risk. A Sharpe ratio above 1.0 is generally considered good. Our Risk vs Return analyzer shows this alongside maximum drawdown.
A 6% nominal return with 3% inflation delivers approximately 2.9% real return. Over 20 years, the difference between nominal and real wealth is dramatic: £10,000 at 6% becomes £32,071 nominally but only £18,061 in today's purchasing power. Our real return tool makes this erosion visible year by year.
| Asset Type | Tax Rate (Basic Rate) | Tax Rate (Higher Rate) | Annual Exempt Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shares & Funds | 10% | 20% | £3,000 (2026/27) |
| Residential Property | 18% | 24% | |
| Crypto Assets | 10% | 20% | |
| ISA / Pension Gains | 0% — completely tax-free | No limit | |
CGT is charged on the gain (sale price minus purchase price, minus allowable costs). The £3,000 annual exempt amount means the first £3,000 of gains in any tax year is tax-free. Gains above this are added to your taxable income to determine whether basic or higher rate applies. Use our Capital Gains Tax Estimator to calculate your exact liability.
Any gains, dividends and income within a Stocks & Shares ISA are completely tax-free — no CGT, no income tax on dividends, no reporting required. With a £20,000 annual allowance (2026/27), a couple can shelter £40,000/year. Over 20 years at 8% return, the tax-free compounding advantage over a general investment account is substantial — often tens of thousands of pounds.
The UK FTSE 100 has delivered approximately 7–8% average annual total return (including dividends reinvested) over the long term. Global equity indices (FTSE All-World, MSCI World) have averaged 9–10% annually in GBP terms. After inflation of 2–3%, real returns of 5–7% are considered strong. Consistently achieving above 10% should be examined carefully for risk and whether it is repeatable.
CGT is charged on the profit from selling an asset. In 2026/27, the Annual Exempt Amount is £3,000. Basic rate taxpayers pay 10% on shares/crypto gains and 18% on residential property. Higher rate taxpayers pay 20% and 24% respectively. Crucially, gains are added to your income to determine which rate applies — a basic rate taxpayer with a large gain may pay higher rate CGT on the portion that pushes total income above the £50,270 threshold.
A Stocks & Shares ISA (Individual Savings Account) shelters all gains, dividends and income from tax permanently — no CGT, no dividend tax, no reporting. A GIA (General Investment Account) has no tax shelter — gains above the £3,000 exempt amount trigger CGT, and dividends above the £500 annual dividend allowance are taxed at 8.75% (basic) or 33.75% (higher rate). ISA should always be used first up to the £20,000 annual allowance.
CAGR = (Final Value / Initial Value)^(1/Years) - 1. Example: £10,000 grows to £18,000 over 7 years. CAGR = (18,000/10,000)^(1/7) - 1 = 1.8^0.143 - 1 = 8.73% per year. This is the compound annual growth rate — the smoothed annual rate that would produce the same final result. Our Investment ROI Calculator does this instantly.
A common rule of thumb: 100 minus your age as the equity percentage (so 65% equities at age 35). More nuanced approaches use a risk-tolerance questionnaire and investment timeline. For money not needed for 10+ years, higher equity allocations (80–100%) have historically produced superior returns despite short-term volatility. Our Diversification Score tool helps evaluate your current allocation balance.
200 free calculators across 20 financial categories.