Money-Weighted Return Calculator: MWRR and XIRR

Money-weighted return formula

Money-weighted return is the annual rate r that makes the present value of all dated investor cash flows equal zero:

0 = Σ [CF_i ÷ (1 + r)^{(date_i − first date) ÷ 365}]

The calculation uses actual calendar days divided by 365, matching the standard XIRR day-count convention. Because contributions are cash paid by the investor, they are negative. Withdrawals, distributions and the final value are positive.

Verified example

Solving the dated cash-flow equation produces an annualized MWRR of approximately 9.102127%. At that rate, the present values sum to approximately zero.

Money-weighted versus time-weighted return

MWRR reflects the size and timing of the investor’s own cash flows. A large contribution shortly before a gain has more influence than a small contribution. Time-weighted return instead breaks performance around external cash flows and chain-links the subperiod returns, which reduces the effect of contribution and withdrawal timing.

Use MWRR to evaluate the investor’s realized experience. Use TWR when the question is how the strategy or manager performed independently of investor-controlled flows.

How to use the calculator

1. Enter the first investment as a negative cash flow on its actual date.
2. Add every later contribution as negative and every withdrawal or distribution as positive.
3. Enter the ending portfolio value as a positive cash flow on the measurement end date.
4. Keep dates in ascending order. Multiple flows on the same date are combined internally.
5. Review the warning if the cash-flow pattern produces more than one possible return.

Limits and assumptions

• The calculator accepts 2–50 rows covering no more than 100 years. At least two distinct dates, one negative cash flow and one positive cash flow are required.
• Amounts may range from −10¹⁵ to 10¹⁵, excluding zero-only schedules, with up to six decimal places.
• The supported annual-rate search range is greater than −100% through 1,000,000%. Scientific notation and decimal commas are not supported.
• Cash-flow patterns that change sign more than once can have multiple valid internal rates of return. The tool lists every sign-changing root found and selects the one closest to the preferred estimate.
• A valid result may not exist within the supported range. A mathematically valid root is not necessarily an economically meaningful performance measure.
• The solver uses actual dates and 365 days per year. It does not reproduce methods based on monthly periods, 365.25 days or 30/360 conventions.
• Taxes, fees and currency effects are included only when they are already reflected in the entered cash flows.
• Results are historical educational estimates, not investment advice, a forecast or a guarantee.

Do not enter the ending portfolio value as a negative amount. From the investor’s perspective it is a positive cash flow, even when the position has not been sold.

Frequently asked questions

Is money-weighted return the same as IRR?

It is an internal rate of return applied to the investor’s cash flows. With irregular dates, it is commonly calculated as XIRR rather than an equally spaced periodic IRR.

Is MWRR annualized?

Yes. This calculator reports an annualized rate because each exponent is based on actual days divided by 365.

Why can there be more than one answer?

If the cash-flow signs reverse more than once, the present-value curve can cross zero multiple times. In that case, no single IRR fully summarizes the investment economics.

Related calculators

• Time-Weighted Return Calculator — measure performance without weighting investor cash-flow timing.
• NPV Calculator — discount equally spaced project cash flows and report periodic IRR.
• MIRR Calculator — use separate finance and reinvestment rates for periodic cash flows.
• ROI Calculator — calculate simple and annualized return from costs and proceeds.