CHAPTER

Compound Interest:
Further Topics and Applications

CHAPTER OUTLINE
9.1 Calculating the Periodic Interest Rate, i

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

9.2 Calculating the Number of

Compounding Periods, n

Calculate the interest rate and term in

compound interest applications

9.3 Effective Interest Rates

Given a nominal interest rate, calculate its

effective interest rate

9.4 Equivalent Interest Rate

9.5 Investment Returns from Stocks
and Mutual Funds
Appendix 9A: The Texas Instruments BA II
PLUS Interest Conversion Worksheet
Appendix 9B: Annualized Rates of Return and
Growth (located in the textbooks OLC)

Given a nominal interest rate, calculate

its equivalent interest rate at another
compounding frequency

Calculate the income yield, capital gain yield, and

rate of total return on stocks and mutual funds
Combine rates of total return for successive
holding periods

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: further Topics and Applications

335

IN ALL OF THE COMPOUND INTEREST PROBLEMS in Chapter 8, the

9
9. 1

interest rate and the term of the loan or investment were known. With a little reflection,
you can think of many situations requiring the calculation of the interest rate, or rate of
return, or rate of growth. For example, if you invest $1000 in a mutual fund, what rate of
return must it earn to grow to $5000 over a 15-year period? If a stocks price rose from
$15.50 to $27.40 over the past five years, what has been its equivalent annual percent
increase in price? What was the average annual rate of inflation for the last 10 years if
the Consumer Price Index rose from 87.4 to 118.3?
In other circumstances, we want to know the time required for an amount to grow
from a beginning value to a target value. How long, for example, will it take an investment to double if it earns 10% compounded annually? By the end of Section 2, you will
be able to answer such questions.
Compound interest rates on loans and investments may be quoted with differing compounding frequencies. This gives rise to questions such as: How do we compare 7.9%
compounded semiannually to 8% compounded annually? What semiannually compounded rate is equivalent to 6% compounded monthly? The techniques you will learn
in Sections 3 and 4 will enable you to answer these questions. Later on, in Chapters 10
through 14, this ability will be used routinely in calculations involving annuities.
In Section 5 you will first learn some of the terminology used to describe investment
returns from stocks and mutual funds. Then we explain how you can use familiar mathematics from earlier chapters to calculate one-year and long-term returns from stocks
and mutual funds.

CALCULATING THE PERIODIC INTEREST RATE, i

In cases where we know values for PV, FV, and n, the periodic and nominal rates of interest
may be calculated.

Algebraic Method Rearranging the basic equation FV  PV(1  i)n to isolate i is more
difficult than isolating PV. First divide both sides of the equation by PV and then interchange
the two sides, giving
11  i2 n 

FV
PV

Next take the nth root of both sides of the equation. This makes the left side simply (1  i),
and we have
1i

FV
B PV
n

Therefore,1
PERIODIC RATE
OF INTEREST

i

FV
FV 1/n
1 a
b 1
B PV
PV
n

It was pointed out in Section 2.2 that the nth root of a quantity is equivalent to raising it to the exponent 1/n.

(9-1)

336

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

Financial Calculator Method Enter values for the known variablesPV, FV, n, and m
I/Y in sequence to compute j, the
into the appropriate memories. Then press CPT
j
nominal annual rate of interest. If the value of i is required, calculate i  m .

TRAP

Sign Convention Now Mandatory

When you enter values for both FV and PV, it is imperative that you employ the
cash-flow sign convention. If you fail to use it, an error message will appear in your
calculators display.

EXAMPLE 9.1A | CALCULATING THE PERIODIC AND NOMINAL RATES OF INTEREST

The maturity value of a three-year, $5000 compound-interest GIC is $5788.13. To three-figure accuracy,
calculate the nominal rate of interest paid on the GIC if interest is compounded:
a. Annually.

b. Quarterly.

SOLUTION

Given: PV  $5000 and FV  $5788.13

In Part (a), m  1, n  m(Term)  1(3)  3 compounding periods.
In Part (b), m  4, n  m(Term)  4(3)  12 compounding periods.
Formula (9-1) enables us to calculate the interest rate for one compounding period.
a.

i a

FV 1/n
b 1
PV

P/Y 1 ENTER

$5788.13 1/3
 a
b 1
$5000.00
 11.1576262 0.3  1

 0.05000

$5788.13 1/12
1
b
$5000.00

 11.1576262

5000 + /

0.083

1

 0.01227
 1.227%

The nominal rate of interest on the GIC is

j  mi  4(1.227%)  4.91% compounded quarterly.

N
PV

0 PMT
CPT

The nominal rate of interest on the GIC is

j  mi  1(5.000%)  5.00% compounded annually.
i a

5788.13

 5.000%

b.

(making C/Y = P/Y = 1)

FV

I/Y

Ans: 5.000
Same PV, PMT, FV
P/Y 4 ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y  4)

12
CPT

N
I/Y

Ans: 4.909

337

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

TRAP

Dont Leave Out the Final Step

The calculation of i is usually not the last step in a problem. Typically you are asked
to determine either the nominal interest rate or the effective interest rate (to be
discussed in Section 9.3). Do not forget to complete the extra step needed to directly
answer the question.

EXAMPLE 9.1B | CALCULATING A SEMIANNUALLY COMPOUNDED RATE OF RETURN

Mr. Dunbar paid $10,000 for a $40,000 face value strip bond having 1912 years remaining until maturity. (Recall
that a strip bond is an investment that returns just one payment, the face value, at maturity.) What semiannually compounded rate of return will Mr. Dunbar earn on his investment?
SOLUTION

Given: PV  $10,000
FV  $40,000
Term  1912 years
Then
n  m(Term)  2(19.5)  39
i a
 a
4

m2

FV 1/n
b 1
PV
$40,000
b
$10,000

0.0256410

1/39

P/Y 2 ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y  2)

1

39
10000 + /

1

N
PV

0 PMT

 0.036185

40000

FV

 3.6185%

CPT

I/Y

j  mi  2(3.6185%)  7.24% compounded semiannually

Ans: 7.237

Mr. Dunbar will earn 7.24% compounded semiannually on his strip bond investment.

EXAMPLE 9.1C | CALCULATING AN ANNUALLY COMPOUNDED RATE OF RETURN THAT IS

EQUIVALENT TO A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL ANNUAL RETURNS

In the years 2004, 2005, and 2006, the Excel China Fund earned annual rates of return of 4.4%, 6.0%, and
83.2%, respectively. Calculate the funds equivalent annually compounded rate of return for the three years.
(This is the fixed annual rate of return that would produce the same overall growth.)
SOLUTION

The equivalent annually compounded rate of return for the three-year period cannot be obtained by simply averaging the three individual annual returns. Instead, we must use a two-step procedure:
Step 1:

Use FV  PV(1  i1)(1  i2)(1  i3) . . . (1  in ) to calculate how much an investment on

December 31, 2003 was worth on December 31, 2006.

Step 2:

Calculate the annually compounded rate of return that will produce the same growth in three
years.

Step 1:

For the initial investment, choose a nice, round amount such as $100 or $1000.
FV  PV(1  i 2004)(1  i 2005)(1  i 2006)
 $1000(1  0.044)(1  0.060)(1  0.832)
 $1646.31

338

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

Step 2:

i a

FV 1/n
b 1
PV

 a

$1646.31
b
$1000

1/3

P/Y 1 ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y  1)

3

1

1000 + /

N
PV

0 PMT

 1.646310.333333  1

1646.31

 0.18078

CPT

 18.08%
j  mi  1(18.08%)  18.08% compounded annually

FV

I/Y

Ans: 18.078

The mutual funds equivalent annually compounded rate of return for the 3-year period ended December 31,
2006 was 18.08% compounded annually.

NET @ssets
The Globe and Mail maintains one of the most popular Web sites for
mutual fund information and analysis. Go to www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/
jerome/ and work your way to the page for the Student Edition. In the
Student Editions navigation bar, select Chapter 9 in the drop-down
box. In the list of resources for Chapter 9, select Links in Textbook
and then click on the link named Mutual Funds.
Move your cursor over GLOBE FUND in the menu bar and select
Fund Filter in the drop-down list. The Fund Filter allows you to
set criteria for searching a comprehensive Canadian mutual fund
database. For example, you can easily obtain a listing of all Canadian
Equity funds whose equivalent annually compounded rate of return
for the past 10 years has been greater than 10%.
To obtain detailed information about a fund whose name you know,
choose Fund Selector in the list of Tools.

Postscript: At the end of every month, the type of calculation in Example 9.1C is done for about 2000 mutual funds
available in Canada. The equivalent compound annual rates
of return are calculated for three-year, five-year, and tenyear periods terminating at the month-end. These returns
are then published in monthly mutual fund supplements to
major newspapers. They are also available on investment
Web sites that specialize in mutual funds. (In fact, these
equivalent rates of return are easier to find than the year-byyear returns on which they are based.) You may have
noticed that mutual fund advertisements commonly quote
mutual fund performance in terms of the three-year, fiveyear, and ten-year compound annual returns. Now you
know how they are obtained and how to interpret them.

EXAMPLE 9.1D | CALCULATING AN INFLATION-ADJUSTED (REAL) RATE OF RETURN

Over a 10-year period, Brookes investment in Suncor stock grew in value from $9480 to $17,580. During the
same period, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 93.6 to 126.1. What was her real compound annual
rate of return on the stock during the decade? (The real rate of return is the rate of return net of inflation. It
represents the rate of increase in purchasing power.)
SOLUTION

With the CPI up from 93.6 to 126.1, Brooke needed 126.1

93.6 times as many dollars at the end of the decade to purchase the same goods and services as at the beginning. The $9480 value of the stock at the beginning had to
grow to
126.1
 $12,772
$9480 
93.6
just to maintain her purchasing power. In fact, it grew to $17,580. In terms of end-of-decade dollars, her
purchasing power rose from $12,772 to $17,580. Hence, to obtain the real rate of return, use PV  $12,772,
FV  $17,580, and n  10.

339

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

i a
 a

FV 1/n
b 1
PV

P/Y 1 ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y  1)

$17,580 1/10
b
1
$12,772

10
12772 + /

 1.376450.1  1

N
PV

0 PMT

 0.03247
 3.247%
j  mi  1(3.247%)  3.25% compounded annually

17580

FV

CPT

I/Y

Ans: 3.247

The real rate of return on the Suncor stock was 3.25% compounded annually.

Postscript: Two points should be mentioned.

1. The same answer will be obtained if you choose to adjust for inflation by expressing
$17,580 in terms of beginning-of-decade dollars.
2. An entirely different approach may have occurred to you. Suppose you separately calculate the rate of return on the stock, and the rate of inflation from the CPI data. (You
would obtain 6.37% and 3.03% compounded annually, respectively.) You might think
that:
Real rate of return  Actual rate of return  Rate of inflation
 6.37%  3.03%
 3.34%
This is a slightly larger value (by 0.09%) than the strictly correct answer we obtained in
the official solution. The reason for the small difference is quite subtle and technical
we will spare you the details. However, real rates of return are, more often than not, calculated this way.2 Since nominal rates of return and inflation rates are easily obtained
from published data, this approximation is an easier approach and is good enough for
most purposes.

SPREADSHEET STRATEGIES

Periodic Rate of Interest

The Online Learning Centre (OLC) provides a partially completed template for calculating i, the periodic
rate of interest. Go to the Student Edition of the OLC,
select the Excel Templates link in the navigation
bar, and then click on the RATE Function link. The
Introduction page of the workbook describes
Excels built-in RATE function.
The main features of a completed Periodic Rate of
Interest template are presented on page 340. The for-

C10. Here data are entered to solve Example 9.1B. In

this example, we are asked to determine the semiannually compounded rate of return on the $10,000
purchase price for a $40,000 face value strip bond with
19 12 years remaining until maturity. As an initial side
calculation, we obtain n  m  Term  2  19.5  39
compounding periods. After entering the known
values into the input cells, the computed periodic rate
of interest appears immediately in the output cell.

mula programmed into cell C9 is displayed in cell

You could say that the real rates of return usually calculated in the real world are not really real.

340

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

A
C
B
1
2 Using a spreadsheet to calculate the periodic rate of interest.
3 Example 9.1B:
4
Future value, FV
40,000.00
5
Present value, PV
10,000.00
6
Number of cmpding periods, n
39.00
7
8
Period rate of interest, RATE
3.619%
9
Formula in cell C9:
=RATE(C7,0,C6,C5,0)
10
11

The rate of return on the strip bond is j  mi  2(3.619%)  7.24% compounded semiannually.

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. If FV is less than PV, what can you predict
about the value for i?

3. Which scenario had the higher periodic rate of

return: $1 grew to $2 or $3 grew to $5? Both
investments were for the same length of time at
the same compounding frequency. Justify your
choice.

2. Is FV negative if you lose money on an

investment?

EXERCISE 9.1

Spreadsheet template: A partially completed Excel template for calculating the periodic rate of return
is provided in the Online Learning Centre (OLC). Go to the Student Edition of the OLC, click on the
Excel Templates link in the navigation bar, and then click on the RATE Function link. The completed template may be used wherever you need to calculate i in Exercise 9.1
Answers to the odd-numbered problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate interest rates accurate to the nearest 0.01%.
Calculate the nominal rate of interest in Problems 1 through 6.

Problem Principal ($)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

3400
1000
1800
6100
950
4300

Maturity
amount ($)
4297.91
4016.94
2299.16
13,048.66
1165.79
10,440.32

Compounding Nominal
frequency
rate (%)
Annually
Annually
Quarterly
Semiannually
Monthly
Annually

?
?
?
?
?
?

Term
3 years
20 years
2 years, 9 months
7 years, 6 months
2 years, 5 months
8 years, 6 months

7. When he died in 1790, Benjamin Franklin left $4600 to the city of Boston, with the stipulation that the money and its earnings could not be used for 100 years. The bequest grew to
$332,000 by 1890. What (equivalent) compound annual rate of return did the bequest earn
during the 100-year period?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

341

8. In early 2007, the Templeton Growth Fund ran advertisements containing the message:
$10,000 INVESTED IN TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND IN 1954
WOULD BE WORTH $6.86 MILLION TODAY.
What compound annual rate of return did the fund realize over this period (December
31, 1954 to December 31, 2006)?
9. Anders discovered an old pay statement from 11 years ago. His monthly salary at the
time was $2550 versus his current salary of $4475 per month. At what (equivalent)
compound annual rate has his salary grown during the period?
10. Mr. and Mrs. Markovich note that the home they purchased 20 years ago for $70,000
is now appraised at $340,000. What was the (equivalent) annual rate of appreciation
in the value of their home during the 20-year period?
11. A $1000 five-year compound-interest GIC matured at $1234.01. What semiannually
compounded rate of interest did it earn?
12. The maturity value of a $5000 four-year compound-interest GIC was $6147.82. What
quarterly compounded rate of interest did it earn?
13. Three years ago Mikhail invested $7000 in a three-year compound interest GIC.
He has just received its maturity value of $7867.34. What was the monthly
compounded rate of interest on the GIC?
14. a. The population of Canada grew from 24,343,000 in 1981 to 32,524,000 in 2006.
What was the overall compound annual rate of growth in our population during
the period?
b. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average selling price of
Canadian homes rose from $67,000 in 1980 to $282,000 in 2006. What has been the
overall compound annual appreciation of home prices?
15. The following table contains 1981 and 2006 population figures for five provinces.
Calculate each provinces equivalent compound annual rate of population increase
during the period.
Province

1981 Population

2006 Population

2,237,700
2,744,500
567,700
847,400
8,625,100

3,375,800
4,310,500
509,700
934,400
12,687,000

Alberta
British Columbia
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Ontario

16. For an investment to double in value during a 10-year period,

a. What annually compounded rate of return must it earn?
b. What semiannually compounded rate of return must it earn?
c. What monthly compounded rate of return must it earn?
17. For an investment to triple in value during a 15-year period,
a. What annually compounded rate of return must it earn?
b. What quarterly compounded rate of return must it earn?
c. What monthly compounded rate of return must it earn?
18. What compound annual rate of return is required for an investment to double in:
a. 12 years?

b. 10 years?

c. 8 years?

d. 6 years?

For each case, multiply the annual rate of return (in %) by the time period (in years).
Compare the four products. Does the comparison suggest a general rule-of-thumb?

342

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

19. Monty purchased a strip bond for his RRSP. He paid $3800 for a $5000 face value bond
with three years remaining until maturity. What semiannually compounded rate of
return will he realize over the three years? (Taken from CIFP course materials.)
20. If the number of workers in the forest industry in Canada declined by 35% from the
end of 1993 to the beginning of 2006, what was the compound annual rate of attrition
in the industry during the period?
21. The Canadian Consumer Price Index (based on a value of 100 in 1971) rose from
97.2 in 1970 to 210.6 in 1980. What was the (equivalent) annual rate of inflation in
the decade of the 1970s?
22. The Consumer Price Index (based on a value of 100 in 1986) rose from 67.2 in 1980
to 119.5 in 1990. What was the (equivalent) annual rate of inflation in the decade of
the 1980s?
23. The Consumer Price Index (based on a value of 100 in 1992) rose from 93.3 in 1990
to 113.5 in 2000. What was the (equivalent) annual rate of inflation in the decade of
the 1990s?
24. Using the data given in Problems 21 and 22, calculate the annual rate of inflation for
the 19701990 period. (Note: Simply averaging the two answers to Problems 21 and
22 will give only an approximation of the correct result.)
25. According to Statistics Canada, undergraduate students paid an average of $4347
in tuition fees for the 2006/2007 academic year compared to fees of $1464 for the
1990/1991 year. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index rose from 94.6
to 129.7.
a. What would have been the average tuition fees for the 2006/2007 year if tuition fees
had grown just at the rate of inflation since the 1990/1991 year?
b. What was the (equivalent) compound annual rate of increase of tuition fees during
the period?
c. What was the (equivalent) compound annual rate of inflation during the period?
26. A four-year promissory note for $3800 plus interest at 9.5% compounded semiannually was sold 18 months before maturity for $4481. What quarterly compounded nominal rate of return will the buyer realize on her investment?
27. A $6000, three-year promissory note bearing interest at 11% compounded semiannually was purchased 15 months into its term for $6854.12. What monthly compounded
discount rate was used in pricing the note?
28. An investors portfolio increased in value by 93% over a seven-year period in which the
Consumer Price Index rose from 95.6 to 115.3. What was the compound annual real
rate of return on the portfolio during the period?
29. An investment grew in value from $5630 to $8485 during a five-year period. The annual rate of inflation for the five years was 2.3%. What was the compound annual real rate
of return during the five years?
30. An investment earned 12% compounded semiannually for two years and 8% compounded annually for the next three years. What was the equivalent annually compounded rate of return for the entire five-year period?
31. A portfolio earned annual rates of 20%, 20%, 0%, 20%, and 20% in five successive
years. What was the portfolios five-year equivalent annually compounded rate of return?
32. A portfolio earned annual rates of 20%, 15%, 10%, 25%, and 5% in five successive
years. What was the portfolios five-year equivalent annually compounded rate of return?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

343

33. At the end of 2006, the RBC Canadian Dividend Fund was the largest equity mutual
fund in Canada. The aggregate market value of its holdings at the end of 2006 was
$8.295 billion. The funds annual returns in successive years from 1997 to 2006 inclusive were 35.4%, 2.4%, 2.5%, 28.3%, 4.4%, 0.5%, 23.5%, 12.9%, 21.1%, and 15.1%,
respectively. For the 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year periods ending December 31, 2006,
what were the funds equivalent annually compounded returns?
34. At the end of 2006, the Mawer New Canada Fund had the best 10-year compound
annual return of any Canadian equity mutual fund. During the 10-year period, this
fund invested primarily in the shares of smaller Canadian companies. The funds annual returns in successive years from 1997 to 2006 inclusive were 16.4%, 17.8%, 9.2%,
8.1%, 29.0%, 23.5%, 26.1%, 29.5%, 18.0%, and 15.3%, respectively. For the 3-year, 5year, and 10-year periods ending December 31, 2006, what were the funds equivalent
annually compounded returns?
35. At the end of 2006, the Mavrix Growth Fund had one of the worst 10-year compound
annual returns of any Canadian equity mutual fund. The funds annual returns in successive years from 1997 to 2006 inclusive were 26.4%, 6.3%, 59.3%, 7.2%, 66.2%,
52.5%, 22.8%, 11.2%, 8.4%, and 35.6%, respectively. For 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year
periods ending December 31, 2006, what were the funds equivalent annually compounded returns?
36. In June of 2006, AIC Limited published full-page advertisements focused on the fact
that its AIC Advantage Mutual Fund was Canadas Best Performing Canadian Equity
Fund over the 20 years ending May 31, 2006. The equivalent annual rate of return
during the 20 years was 11.9% compared to 9.9% for the benchmark S&P/TSX
Composite Total Return Index. But the advertisement failed to point out that during
the second half of that 20-year period, the funds 9.4% compounded annual return was
actually less than the 10.2% growth rate for the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return
Index. Furthermore, in the final 5 years of the 20-year period, the funds 2.4% annual
rate of return was far below the indexs 9.5% annual growth. The Advantage Funds
five-year performance was even less than the median performance of all Canadian
equity mutual funds. In short, AIC was still trying to capitalize on the initial 10 years
of truly outstanding performance, even though the Advantage Funds subsequent
10 years performance was at best mediocre.
a. What would $10,000 invested in the AIC Advantage Fund on May 31, 1986 have
grown to after 20 years?
b. What was this investment worth after the first 10 years?
c. What compound annual rate of return did the AIC Advantage Fund earn during
the first 10 years of the 20-year period?
d. What was the overall percent increase in the value of an investment in the AIC
Advantage Fund during:
(i) The first 10 years?
(ii) The second 10 years?
37. Searching a Mutual Fund Data Base Follow the instructions in the NET @ssets box
earlier in this section to locate the Mutual Funds link in the textbooks OLC. When the
globefund.com page loads, move your cursor over GLOBE FUND in the menu bar
and select Fund Selector from the drop-down list. In the Option C area, you can
enter the name of a particular fund. Enter RBC Canadian Dividend and click on Go.
The table that loads has several tabs along its top. Select Long-term. This brings up
another table with columns giving the funds compound annual return for 3-year, 5-year,
and 10-year periods ending on the last business day of the previous month. How much
would $10,000 invested in this fund 10 years earlier be worth at the end of the previous
month? Repeat for the Mawer New Canada and the Mavrix Growth funds.

344

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF COMPOUNDING PERIODS, n

9. 2

If we know values for PV, FV, and i, we can calculate the number of compounding periods
and the term of the loan or investment.

Algebraic Method You can take either of two approaches.

1. If you are familiar with the rules of logarithms, you can substitute the values for PV, FV,
and i into FV  PV(1  i)n and then solve for n.
2. If you are not comfortable manipulating logarithms, you can use formula (9-2). It is, in
fact, just a dressed-up version of FV  PV(1  i)n in which n is already isolated for you.
NUMBER OF
COMPOUNDING
PERIODS

n

ln a

FV
b
PV

ln11  i2

(9-2)

In Example 9.2A, we will demonstrate both algebraic methods. Thereafter, only the second
approach will be used in the text.

Financial Calculator Method Enter values for the four known variablesPV, FV, i, and
N
minto the appropriate memories. Then press CPT
in sequence to execute the
calculation.

TIP

Dont Leave Out the Final Step

The calculation of n is usually not the last step in a problem. Typically you are asked
to determine the total time in years and months (rather than the number of compounding periods). Do not forget to complete the extra step necessary to directly
answer the problem.

EXAMPLE 9.2A | CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF COMPOUNDING PERIODS

What is the term of a compound-interest GIC if $4000 invested at 5.5% compounded annually earns interest
totalling $1227.84?
SOLUTION

Given:

PV  $4000

i  m  5.5%
1  5.5%

Total interest  $1227.84

The maturity value of the GIC is

FV  PV  Total interest  $4000  $1227.84  $5227.84
Method 1:

Use the basic formula FV  PV(1  i)n to calculate the number of compounding periods
required for $4000 to grow to $5227.84. Substitute the known values for PV, FV, and i giving
$5227.84  $4000(1.055)n
Therefore,

1.055n 

$5227.84
 1.30696
$4000

Now take logarithms of both sides. On the left side, use the rule that: ln (an )  n(ln a)
Therefore,

n(ln 1.055)  ln 1.30696

and

n

ln 1.30696
0.267704

 5.000
ln 1.055
0.0535408

345

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

Since each compounding period equals one year, the term of the GIC is five years.
Method 2:

Substitute the known values into the derived formula (9-2). The number of
compounding periods required for $4000 to grow to $5227.84 is
ln a

FV
$5227.84
b
ln a
b
PV
$4000.00
n

ln 11  i2
ln 11.0552


5.5

I/Y

1 ENTER
(making C/Y  P/Y  1)
P/Y

ln 11.306962
ln 11.0552

4000 + /

PV

0 PMT

0.267704

0.0535408
 5.000

5227.84

FV

CPT

Ans: 5.000

Since each compounding period equals one year, the term of the GIC is five years.

TIP

Efficient Use of Your Calculator

The most efficient keystroke sequence for evaluating formula (9-2) in Method 2 of
Example 9.2A is:
5227.84

4000

LN

1.055

LN
ln

On the Sharp EL-738 calculator, the (natural) logarithm function

2
function of the
key.

is the second

Noninteger Values for n If formula (9-2) or the financial calculator procedure gives a value
for n that is not an integer, it means (as you would expect) that the term of the loan or investment includes a partial compounding period. In the final answer, we normally convert the fractional part of n to months, or to months and days (depending on the requested precision).
EXAMPLE 9.2B | CALCULATING AND INTERPRETING A NONINTEGER N

Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take a citys population to grow from 75,000 to 100,000 if the
annual growth rate is 2%?
SOLUTION

In effect, we are given:

j

PV  75, 000, FV  100, 000, and i  m  2%

1  2% per year
Using formula (9-2) to calculate the required number of compounding periods, we obtain
ln a

FV
b
PV
n
ln 11  i2


100,000
ln a
b
75,000

ln 11.022
0.28768

0.019803
 14.527

P/Y

I/Y

ENTER

(making C/Y = P/Y = 1

75000 + /

PV

0 PMT
100000

FV

CPT

Ans: 14.527

346

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

It requires 14.527 compounding periods for the population to grow from 75,000 to 100,000. Since a compounding period equals one year,
14.527 compounding periods  14 years  0.527  12 months
 14 years  6.32 months
Rounded to the nearest month, it will take 14 years and 6 months for the citys population to reach 100,000.

EXAMPLE 9.2C | CALCULATING AN INVESTMENTS DOUBLING TIME

How long will it take an investment to double in value if it earns:

a. 6% compounded annually?

b. 10% compounded annually?

Include accrued interest and round the answer to the nearest month.
SOLUTION

We require the maturity value of an investment to be twice the initial investment. Therefore, we can simply set
PV  $1 and FV  $2.
j

10%
In part (a), i  m  6%
1  6% per year. In part (b), i  m  1  10% per year.

a. Substituting in formula (9-2),

n


FV
ln a
b
PV

ln 11  i2

P/Y

I/Y

ENTER

(making C/Y = P/Y = 1)

1 +/

ln 122

PV

0 PMT

ln 11.062

 11.896

CPT

FV

Ans: 11.896

The doubling time is

11.896 years  11 years  0.896  12 months  11 years  10.75 months

An investment earning 6% compounded annually will double in 11 years and 11 months (rounded to the
nearest month).
b. Substituting in formula (9-2),
ln a

FV
b
ln 122
PV
n

 7.2725
ln 11  i2
ln 11.102

Same P/Y, C/Y

Same PV, PMT, FV

The doubling time is

10
CPT

I/Y
N

Ans: 7.2725

7.2725 years  7 years  0.2725  12 months  7 years  3.27 months

An investment earning 10% compounded annually will double in 7 years and 3 months (rounded to the
nearest month).

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

347

Rule of 72 Investors have a rule-of-thumb to quickly estimate the number of years it will
take an investment to double.3 Known as the Rule of 72, it says:
72
Doubling time (in years)
Percent annual rate of return
For example, an investment earning 9% compounded annually will double in approximately 729  8 years. If the investment earns 12% compounded annually, it will double in about
72
12  6 years.
The answers in the preceding Example 9.2C provide an indication of the accuracy of the
Rule of 72. At an annually compounded rate of 6%, we calculated a doubling time of 11.90
years (vs. 12.0 years using the Rule of 72). At 10% compounded annually, we calculated a
doubling time of 7.27 years (vs. 7.2 years using the Rule of 72). In both cases, the estimate is
within 1% of the correct value.

Valuing Strip Bonds and Other Single-Payment Investments Most loans and investments
are structured so that the full term equals an integer multiple of the compounding period.
However, an existing loan or investment contract may be sold and transferred to a new
investor on a date that does not coincide with an interest-conversion date. The time remaining until maturity includes a partial compounding interval which must be taken into
account in the price calculation. Consequently, n is not an integer in such cases.
In Table 9.1, consider the Government of Quebec strip bond maturing on January 16,
2015. Let us see how the markets required rate of return (4.161% compounded semiannually) on December 1, 2006 dictates the quoted market price of $71.56. (Recall that bond
prices are quoted in the media as the price per $100 of face value.)
TABLE 9.1

Strip Bond Price and Yield Quotations (December 1, 2006)

Issuer
Government of British Columbia
Nova Scotia Power Corp.
Government of Quebec
Government of Newfoundland
Government of Ontario
TD Bank

Maturity Date

Price ($)

Yield (%)

June 9, 2014
February 26, 2019
January 16, 2015
April 17, 2014
September 8, 2027
August 4, 2014

74.34
58.67
71.56
74.77
39.83
71.96

3.981
4.406
4.161
3.981
4.482
4.333

SOURCE: Globe and Mail Report on Business, December 1, 2006

As indicated on the following timeline, the price should be the present value of the $100
face value discounted at 4.161% compounded semiannually all the way back from the maturity date (January 16, 2015) to December 1, 2006. We need to determine the number of compounding periods in this interval. Working back from the maturity date, there are 16
compounding periods in the 8 years between January 16, 2007 and January 16, 2015. Then
there are an additional 46 days from December 1, 2006 to January 16, 2007. This 46-day
July 16,
2006

Dec. 1,
2006
Price

January 16,
2007
46 Days

January 16,
2015
8 years

$100

184 Days
3

The approximation is very good for annual interest rates between 5% and 11%; the value estimated for the doubling
time is within 2% of its true value.

348

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

46
interval is the fraction 184
of the full 184-day compounding period from July 16, 2006 to January
46
16, 2007. Therefore, n  16184
= 16.2500 compounding periods, i  4.161%
 2.0805%, and
2

Price, PV  FV(1  i)n  $100(1.020805)16.2500  $71.56

This equals the quoted price accurate to the cent. (In general, a yield rounded to four figures
guarantees only three-figure accuracy in the price.)

EXAMPLE 9.2D | CALCULATING THE TIME UNTIL MATURITY OF A STRIP BOND

A $10,000 face value strip bond was purchased for $4188.77. At this price, the bond provided the investor with
a return of 5.938% compounded semiannually until the maturity date. To the nearest day, how long before the
maturity date was the bond purchased? Assume that each half year is exactly 182 days long.
SOLUTION

The purchase price of a strip bond equals the present value, on the date of purchase, of the bonds face value. The
prevailing market rate of return should be used as the discount rate. In this example, $4188.77 is the present value
of $10,000 discounted at 5.938% compounded semiannually. To determine the time interval used in the present
value calculation, we must first calculate the number of compounding periods. We are given:
j

 2.969%
PV  $4188.77, FV  $10, 000, and i  m  5.938%
2
Substituting in formula (9-2),
FV
b
ln a
PV
n
ln 11  i2


$10, 000
ln a
b
$4188.77

5.938

I/Y

P/Y 2 ENTER

(making C/Y = P/Y = 2)

4188.77 + /

ln 11.029692

 29.74176

PV

0 PMT
10000

FV

CPT

Ans: 29.74176

Since each compounding period is 0.5 year, the time remaining to maturity is
(0.50  29) years  (0.74176  182) days  14.5 years  135.00 days
Hence, the bond was purchased with 14 years, 6 months, and 135 days remaining until its maturity date.

EXAMPLE 9.2E | SOLVING FOR A NONINTEGER n IN A DISCOUNTING PROBLEM

A loan contract requires the payment of $4000 plus interest two years after the contracts date of issue. The interest rate on the $4000 face value is 9.6% compounded quarterly. Before the maturity date, the original lender sold
the contract to an investor for $4327.70. The sale price was based on a discount rate of 8.5% compounded semiannually from the date of sale. How many months before the maturity date did the sale take place?

349

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

SOLUTION

The selling price represents the present value (on the date of sale) of the loans maturity value. In other words,
$4327.70 was the present value of the maturity value, discounted at 8.5% compounded semiannually. Therefore,
the solution requires two steps as indicated in the following time diagram.
1. Calculate the maturity value of the debt.
2. Determine the length of time over which the maturity value was discounted to give a present value of
$4327.70.
Date
0
of sale
2 Years
$4000

n = 8, i = 2.4%

Maturity
value

Step 1
n = ?, i = 4.25%
Step 2

$4327.70

Step 1:

For the maturity value calculation,

n  m 1Term2  4122  8 and i 

9.6
j
m

9.6%
4

 2.4%.

The maturity value of the contract is

FV  PV(1  i)n
 $4000(1.024)8
 $4835.70

P/Y

ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y 4)

8
4000 + /

N
PV

0 PMT
CPT

Step 2:

I/Y

FV

Ans: 4835.70

For discounting the maturity value,

j

i  m  8.5%
2  4.25%.
The number of compounding periods between the date of sale and the maturity date is
ln a

FV
b
PV
n
ln 11  i2


ln a

$4835.70
b
$4327.70

ln 11.04252

Same PMT, FV
8.5
P/Y

I/Y
ENTER

(making C/Y  P/Y 2)

4327.70 + /

 2.6666

Each compounding period is six months long.

Therefore, the date of sale was
2.6666  6 months  16.00 months before the maturity date.

CPT

PV
N

Ans: 2.6666

350

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

SPREADSHEET STRATEGIES

Number of Compounding Periods

The Online Learning Centre (OLC) provides a partially

completed template for calculating n, the number of
compounding periods. Go to the Student Edition of
the OLC, select the Excel Templates link in the navigation bar, and then click on the NPER Function
link. The Introduction page of the workbook
describes Excels built-in NPER function.
The main features of a completed NPER
Function template are presented below. The formula

programmed into cell C9 is displayed in cell C10. Here

data are entered to solve Example 9.2A. In this example, $4000 invested in a GIC earning 5.5% compounded annually grew to a maturity value of
$5227.84. We are asked to determine the term of the
GIC. After entering the known values into the input
cells, the computed number of compounding periods appears immediately in the output cell.

A
B
D
C
1
2 Using a spreadsheet to calculate the number of compounding periods.
3 Example 9.2A:
4
Future value, FV
5,227.84
5
Present value, PV
4,000.00
6
Periodic rate of interest, i (%)
5.500%
7
8
No. of cmpding periods, NPER
5.00000
9
Formula in cell C9:
=NPER(C7,0,C6,C5,0)
10
11

Since each compounding period equals one year, the term of the GIC was five years.

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. Under what circumstance does the value calculated for n equal the number of years in the
term of the loan or investment?

EXERCISE 9.2

2. Which investment scenario requires more time:

$1 growing to $2 or $3 growing to $5? Both
investments earn the same rate of return. Justify
your choice.

Spreadsheet template: A partially completed Excel template for calculating the number of compounding periods is provided in the Online Learning Centre (OLC). Go to the Student Edition of the OLC, click
on the Excel Templates link in the navigation bar, and then click on the NPER Function link. The
completed template may be used wherever you need to calculate n in Exercise 9.2.
Answers to the odd-numbered problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate the term of each loan or investment in Problems 1 through 6.

Problem
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Principal ($)
1100
4625
5670
2000
2870
3250

Maturity
amount ($)

Compounding
frequency

Nominal
rate (%)

Term

4483.92
8481.61
10,365.39
3172.42
3837.30
4456.90

Annually
Annually
Semiannually
Annually
Monthly
Quarterly

6.3
7.875
9.5
8.75
10
7.5

? years, ? months
? years, ? months
? years, ? months
? years, ? months
? years, ? months
? years, ? months

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

351

7. A number of years ago, your client invested $6000 at a rate of return of 9% compounded annually. If the investment is currently worth $10,968.25, for how long
has she held the investment? (Taken from CIFP course materials.)
8. A few years ago Avtar invested $6000 in a compound-interest GIC that earned 4.5%
compounded semiannually. He recently received the maturity value of $7168.99.
What was the term of the GIC?
9. Your client wants to invest a $250,000 inheritance and grow it to $325,000. Rounded
to the nearest month, how long will this take if the investment earns 7% compounded annually? (Taken from CIFP course materials.)
10. Your client invests $10,000 today at a rate of return of 7.7% compounded quarterly.
Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take the investment to grow to
$22,000? (Taken from CIFP course materials.)
11. Marilyn was supposed to pay $1450 to Bernice on March 1. Some time later Marilyn
paid Bernice an equivalent payment of $1528.01, allowing for a time value of money
of 4.5% compounded monthly. When did Marilyn make the payment?
12. What is the remaining time until the maturity date of a $10,000 strip bond if it is
purchased for $4011.33 to yield 6.4% compounded semiannually until maturity?
13. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take a towns population to:
a. Grow from 32,500 to 40,000 if the annual growth rate is 3%?
b. Shrink from 40,000 to 32,500 if the annual rate of decline is 3%?
14. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take an investment to double if it earns:
a. 8.4% compounded annually?
b. 10.5% compounded semiannually?
15. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take an investment to triple if it earns:
a. 9% compounded annually?
b. 8% compounded quarterly?
16. Rounded to the nearest quarter year, how long will it take an investment to quadruple
if it earns:
a. 8% compounded annually?
b. 9% compounded semiannually?
17. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take money to lose half of its purchasing power if the annual inflation rate is:
a. 2.5%?
b. 3.5%?
18. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take money to lose 25% of its purchasing power if the annual rate of inflation is:
a. 2%?
b. 4%?
19. When discounted to yield 10.5% compounded monthly, a $2600 three-year promissory
note bearing interest at 12.25% compounded annually was priced at $3283.57. How
many months after the issue date did the discounting take place?
20. The proceeds from the sale of a $4500 five-year promissory note bearing interest at 9%
compounded quarterly were $6055.62. How many months before its maturity date was
the note sold if it was discounted to yield 10.5% compounded monthly?
21. A $4000 loan at 7.5% compounded monthly was settled by a single payment of $5000
including accrued interest. Rounded to the nearest day, how long after the initial loan
was the $5000 payment made? For the purpose of determining the number of days in
a partial month, assume that a full month has 30 days.
22. If money is worth 8% compounded quarterly, how long (to the nearest day) before a
scheduled payment of $6000 will $5000 be an equivalent payment? For the purpose of
determining the number of days in a partial calendar quarter, assume that a full quarter
has 91 days.

352

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

23. Wilf paid $557.05 for a $1000 face value strip bond. At this price the investment will
yield a return of 5.22% compounded semiannually. How long (to the nearest day)
before its maturity date did Wilf purchase the bond? Assume that each half-year has
exactly 182 days.
24. A $5000 face value strip bond may be purchased today for $1073.36 yielding the purchaser 7.27% compounded semiannually. How much time (to the nearest day) remains
until the maturity date? Assume that each half-year has exactly 182 days.
25. $7500 was borrowed for a four-year term at 9% compounded quarterly. The terms of
the loan allow prepayment of the loan based on discounting the loans maturity value
at 7% compounded quarterly. How long (to the nearest day) before the maturity date
was the loan prepaid if the payout amount was $9380.24 including accrued interest?
For the purpose of determining the number of days in a partial calendar quarter,
assume that a full quarter has 91 days.
26. Consider the Government of British Columbia strip bond in Table 9.1.
a. Calculate the bonds market price on December 1, 2006 based on the quoted yield
of 3.981% compounded semiannually.
b. What would the price be one year later if the bonds yield remains the same?
27. Consider the Government of Ontario strip bond in Table 9.1.
a. Calculate the bonds market price on December 1, 2006 based on the quoted yield
of 4.482% compounded semiannually.
b. What would the price be on December 1, 2020 if the bonds yield remains the same?
28. Consider the Government of Newfoundland strip bond in Table 9.1.
a. Calculate the bonds yield to four-figure accuracy on December 1, 2006 based on
the quoted price of $74.77.
b. What would the yield be one year later if the bonds price remains the same?
29. Consider the Nova Scotia Power Corp. strip bond in Table 9.1.
a. Calculate the bonds yield to four-figure accuracy on December 1, 2006 based on
the quoted price of $58.67.
b. What would the yield be one year later if the bonds price remains the same?

9. 3

EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE

The future value of $100 invested for one year at 10% compounded semiannually is
$110.25. The future value of $100 invested for one year at 10.25% compounded annually is
also $110.25. Therefore, an interest rate of 10% compounded semiannually has the same
effect as a rate of 10.25% compounded annually. The effective interest rate, f, is defined as
the annually compounded rate4 that produces the same future value after one year as the
given nominal rate. In the present example, 10% compounded semiannually has an effective rate5 of 10.25%.

There is a natural preference in business for discussing interest rates on the basis of annual compounding. This is
because an annually compounded rate of return represents the actual percentage increase in a year. For example, at a
return of 9% compounded annually, you can immediately say that $100 will grow by 9% ($9) in the next year. But at a
return of 9% compounded monthly, you cannot say how much $100 will grow in a year without a short calculation. In
the second case, the actual percentage increase will be more than 9%.
When an effective interest rate is quoted or calculated, the compounding frequency does not need to be specified.
Everyone understands from the definition of effective interest rate that effective implies annual compounding.

353

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

TIP

Intuitive Approach for Calculating f

Note in the preceding example that the effective interest rate (10.25%) is numerically
equal to the actual amount of interest ($10.25) that $100 will earn in one year at the given
nominal rate. This is a general result for all nominal interest rates. We can use this idea
for our financial calculator method for determining f. That is, we can calculate the future
value of $100 after one year at the given nominal rate. Then we can just inspect the future
value to see the amount of interest earned (and thereby identify the value of f.)

We can readily derive a formula for f. Suppose you invest $100 for one year at the effective rate f (compounded annually) and another $100 for one year at the nominal rate j  mi.
Their future values are calculated in parallel columns below.
The first $100 will undergo just one
compounding of the effective rate f.

The second $100 will undergo m

compoundings of the periodic rate i.
FV  PV(1  i)n

FV  PV(1  i)n
 $100(1  f )1

 $100(1  i)m

For f to be equivalent to the nominal rate j, these future values must be equal. That is,
$100(1  f )  $100(1  i)m
1  f  (1  i)m
EFFECTIVE
INTEREST RATE

f  (1  i)m  1

TIP

(9-3)

Comparing Nominal Rates of Interest

To compare two nominal rates of interest, convert each to its effective interest rate. Then
you can directly compare the effective rates, and thereby rank the given nominal rates.

EXAMPLE 9.3A | CONVERTING A NOMINAL INTEREST RATE TO AN EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE

What is the effective rate of interest corresponding to 10.5% compounded monthly?

SOLUTION

Given: j  10.5% and m  12

For the financial calculator solution, we will use the intuitive approach described
in the first TIP above.
Then

i

j
m

 10.5%
12  0.875% per month and

f  (1  i)m  1
 (1.00875)12  1

10.5

I/Y

P/Y 12 ENTER

(making C/Y = P/Y =12)

12
100 + /

 1.11020  1

N
PV

0 PMT

 0.11020

CPT

 11.02%

Ans: 111.020

The effective interest rate is 11.02% (compounded annually).

FV

354

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXAMPLE 9.3B | COMPARING ALTERNATIVE NOMINAL INTEREST RATES

Which is the most attractive of the following interest rates offered on five-year GICs?
a. 5.70% compounded annually

b. 5.68% compounded semiannually

c. 5.66% compounded quarterly

d. 5.64% compounded monthly

SOLUTION

The preferred rate is the one having the highest effective rate. The algebraic calculations of the effective rates are
presented in the table below.
j

f  (1  i)m  1

a. 5.70%

0.057

f  j when m  1; f  5.700%

b. 5.68%

0.0284

f  (1.0284)2  1  0.05761  5.761%

c. 5.66%

0.01415

f  (1.01415)4  1  0.05781  5.781%

d. 5.64%

12

0.0047

f  (1.0047)12  1  0.05788  5.788%

In Appendix 9A, we describe and demonstrate the use of the Texas Instruments BA II PLUSs Interest
Conversion Worksheet (ICONV). Let us now use this worksheet to calculate the effective interest rates in Parts
(b), (c), and (d).
Part (b)
2nd
i

Part (c)
ICONV

5.68

ENTER

ENTER

i
h

CPT

Press

Part (d)
(to scroll

back to the NOM line.)

i

Ans: 5.761

5.66

ENTER

ENTER

i
h

CPT

Ans: 5.781

Press

(to scroll

back to the NOM line.)

i

5.64

ENTER

12

ENTER

i
h

CPT

Ans: 5.788

The most attractive rate is 5.64% compounded monthly since it has the highest effective rate. For the alternative rates in this example, the ranking in terms of effective rates is in the reverse order of the nominal rates.

POINT OF INTEREST
Not in Your Best Interest
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) charges interest
on overdue income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and Employment Insurance Premiums. The
prescribed rate is adjusted by the CRA every 3
months based on changes in the Bank of Canada

rate. For the second quarter of 2007, the prescribed

nominal rate was 9%.
You now know that the compounding frequency
matters. The more frequently a given nominal rate is
compounded, the higher the effective rate of interest.
Considering who is setting the rate in this case, you

355

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

would probably guess that the prescribed rate is

compounded monthly (the highest compounding
frequency normally encountered in commerce). Not
so! But before you think the CRA has some compassion after all, think againthe prescribed rate is
compounded daily!

Questions
1. Calculate the effective rate of interest corresponding to 9% compounded daily.
2. How much more interest would accrue on a
$1000 debt in a year at 9% compounded daily
than at 7% compounded monthly?

EXAMPLE 9.3C | FINDING THE EFFECTIVE RATE GIVEN THE PRINCIPAL AND MATURITY VALUE

Calculate the effective rate of interest if $100 grew to $150 in 312 years with quarterly compounding.
SOLUTION

The problem could be solved by first finding the quarterly compounded nominal rate that produces the given
maturity value. Then the corresponding effective rate could be calculated. But this two-step solution is unnecessarily long.
The essential question (which may be answered in one step) is: At what annually compounded rate will $100
grow to $150 after 312 years?
With PV  $100, FV  $150, m  1, and n  3.5, formula (9-1) gives

i a

FV 1/n
b 1
PV

$150 1/3.5
 a
b
1
$100
 1.50.28571  1
 0.1228

P/Y 1 ENTER

(making C/Y = P/Y = 1)

3.5
100 + /

Since $100 will grow to $150 in years at 12.28% compounded

annually, the effective interest rate is 12.28%.

TIP

PV

0 PMT
150
CPT

312

FV

I/Y

Ans: 12.28

Clarification of Terminology

Be clear on the distinction between the descriptions compounded semiannually and per
half year. The former refers to the compounding frequency. The latter refers to the compounding period. For example, if you hear or read 6% compounded semiannually, you are
being given the value for j. Then i  j/m  6%/2  3% (per half year). On the other hand,
if an interest rate is described as 6% per half year, you are being given the value for i
and the period to which it applies. Then j  mi  2i  12% compounded semiannually.

356

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXAMPLE 9.3D | CALCULATING THE EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE ON A CHARGE CARD

A department store credit card quotes a rate of 1.75% per month on the unpaid balance. Calculate the effective
rate of interest being charged.
SOLUTION

Since accrued interest is paid or converted to principal each month, we have monthly compounding with
i  1.75% per month, m  12, and j  mi  12(1.75%)  21% compounded monthly.
Therefore,
f  (1  i)m  1
 (1.0175)12  1

2nd

 0.23144
i

 23.14%

ICONV

21

ENTER

12

ENTER

CPT

Ans: 23.14
The effective rate on the credit card is 23.14%.

EXAMPLE 9.3E | CONVERTING AN EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE TO A NOMINAL INTEREST RATE

What monthly compounded (nominal) rate of interest has an effective rate of 10%?
SOLUTION

Given:

f  10%

m  12

Substitute these values into formula (9-3) and solve for i.

f  (1 + i)m  1
0.10  (1 + i)12  1
1.10  (1 + i)12
Now use the rule that
If x  a ,
m

Therefore,

2nd

1/12

1.1

ICONV

then x  a

10

ENTER

1i

12

ENTER

1/m


0.083

1 + i  1.1
i  1.007974  1

CPT

Ans: 9.57

 0.007974
 0.7974%
Then j  mi  12(0.7974%)  9.57% compounded monthly.

EXAMPLE 9.3F | CONVERTING AN INTEREST RATE FROM NOMINAL TO EFFECTIVE AND BACK TO NOMINAL

The department store mentioned in Example 9.3D has been charging 1.75% per month on its credit card. In
response to lower prevailing interest rates, the Board of Directors has agreed to reduce the cards effective interest rate by 4%. To the nearest 0.01%, what will be the new periodic rate (per month)?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

357

SOLUTION

To solve this problem, we must first calculate the effective rate corresponding to i  1.75% per month. Then we
must calculate the new monthly compounded rate whose effective rate is 4% lower.
Step 1:

See the solution to Example 9.3D for this calculation. We obtained f  23.14%.

Step 2:

The new effective rate must be 23.14%  4%  19.14%.

Substitute f  19.14% and m  12 into formula (9-3).
f  (1  i)m 1
0.1914  (1  i)12 1

1.1914  (1  i)12

2nd

ICONV

19.14

ENTER

12

ENTER

1 + i  1.19141/12

0.083

i  1.1914

1
 1.01470  1

CPT

Ans: 17.641

 0.01470
 1.47%

The new periodic rate

will be

The new periodic interest rate on the credit card will be 1.47% per month.

i  m  17.641%
 1.47%
12

POINT OF INTEREST
Payday-Loan Operations Receive Unwanted Interest
Since 1990, storefront cheque-cashing and paydayloan businesses have proliferated in Canada. There
are many franchise operations with names like
Money Mart, Stop N Cash, Premier Cash Advance,
Money Sense, The Cash Store, and A OK Payday
Loans. In a 2005 survey, the Financial Consumer
Agency of Canada found that 7% of Canadians have
used a cheque-cashing or payday-loan company.
In a typical payday-loan transaction, the amount
of the loan can be up to 30% of the borrowers net
pay, which must be verified by a recent pay stub.
Payday lenders do not require credit checks or collateral. The loan may be advanced on the spot if the
borrower provides proof of:
Identification (by a suitable photo ID)
Residence (by a recent utility bill)

An active chequing account (by a bank statement

for the preceding month)
The interest rate charged on payday loans is high
but less than the 60% effective rate established as a
criminal rate of interest by Section 347 of the
Criminal Code. Payday lenders also apply other
charges or item fees in addition to interest on the
loan. For example, one operations Loan Agreement
specified the following charges:
Interest at the effective rate of 59% per annum.
A first-party cheque-cashing fee of 4.99% of the
amount of the loan plus interest.
A $12.99 per item fee.
At the time of receiving a loan, the borrower provides a cheque (post-dated to the next payday) for
the amount needed to repay the loan.

358

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

Questions
1. What periodic rate for one week is equivalent to
an effective rate of 59%? (Assume there are
exactly 52 weeks in a year.)
2. Under the terms of the Loan Agreement, what
would the total interest and other charges be
for a one-week loan of $300? (Note that the
cheque-cashing fee is 4.99% of the combined
principal and interest.)
3. Treating all charges as interest, what is the
overall effective rate of interest?
Since the beginning of 2003, class action
lawsuits have been filed against most paydayloan operations. The Statements of Claim
typically make the case that the effective rates of
interest charged on payday loans exceed the
60% limit set by the Criminal Code. Interest
has a broad definition in the Criminal Codeit
includes other charges and fees associated with
a loan.
4. Instead of charging the sort of item fees
previously listed, Stop N Cash charged a 48%
effective interest rate plus an insurance
premium to insure the loan against death or
disability of the customer. The insurance
premium was 24.75% of the money advanced!

SPREADSHEET STRATEGIES

(The lawyers filing a class action against Stop

N Cash in Ontario claim that the alleged
insurance company is not licensed to conduct
business in Ontario and is not in good
standing in the country of its incorporation,
Barbados.) Treating the insurance premium as
interest, what is the overall effective rate of
interest on a $400 loan for two weeks? (Assume
there are 52 weeks in a year.)
5. August of 2006 brought the first class-action
civil ruling in Canada regarding payday loan
companies. Justice Brenda Brown of the BC
Supreme Court ruled that the processing fees
and late fees charged by A OK Payday Loans
were effectively interest and, consequently,
A OK was charging a criminal rate of interest.
A OK Payday Loans was ordered to pay back
everything it had charged customers in excess
of an effective rate of 60%.
A OKs practice had been to charge a 21%
effective rate of interest plus a processing fee
of $9.50 for every $50 borrowed. Treating the
processing fee as additional interest, what
effective rate of interest did A OK charge on a
$400 loan for two weeks? (Assume there are 52
weeks in a year.) Under the judges ruling, how
much must A OK refund to that customer?

Interest Rate Conversion

The Online Learning Centre (OLC) provides a partially completed template for (1) converting a nominal
rate of interest to an effective rate and (2) converting
an effective rate to a nominal rate. Go to the Student
Edition of the OLC, select the Excel Templates link
in the navigation bar, and then click on the Interest
Rate Conversion link. The Introduction page of
the workbook describes Excels built-in EFFECT and
NOMINAL functions.
The main features of a completed Interest Rate
Conversion template are presented below. The formulas programmed into cells C9 and C16 are displayed in cells C10 and C17, respectively. Data are

entered to solve Example 9.3F. In this example, a

department store has been charging 1.75% per
month on its credit card. The Board of Directors have
decided to reduce the effective annual rate on the
card by 4%. The question asks us to determine the
new periodic interest rate (per month).
Enter the values for j  12(1.75%)  21.0% and
m  12 into cells C6 and C7. The effective rate immediately appears in C9. Next we reduce the effective
rate to 23.144%  4%  19.144% and enter this new
rate into C13. Also enter m  12 in C14. The new
nominal rate appears in C16.

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

359

Using a spreadsheet for interest rate conversions.

Example 9.3F:
Converting a Nominal Rate to an Effective Rate:
Nominal rate of interest, j (%)
# compounding periods per year, m

21.000%
12.00

Effective rate of interest, f

23.1439%
Formula in cell C9: =EFFECT(C6,C7)
Converting an Effective Rate to a Nominal Rate:
Effective rate of interest, f (%)
# compounding periods per year, m

19.144%
12.00

Nominal rate of interest, j

17.6446%
Formula in cell C16: =NOMINAL(C13,C14)

It remains only to calculate the new periodic rate: i  m 

17.6446%
 1.47% per month.
12

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by the effective rate of interest?
2. Is the effective rate of interest ever smaller than
the nominal interest rate? Explain.
3. Is the effective rate of interest ever equal to the
nominal interest rate? Explain.

4. A semiannually compounded nominal rate

and a monthly compounded nominal rate
have the same effective rate. Which has the
larger nominal rate? Explain.
5. From a lenders point of view, would you rather
disclose to borrowers the nominal interest rate
or the effective interest rate?

360

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXERCISE 9.3

Spreadsheet template: A partially completed Excel template for converting interest rates is provided
in the Online Learning Centre (OLC). Go to the Student Edition of the OLC, click on the Excel
Templates link in the navigation bar, and then click on the Interest Rate Conversion link. The completed template may be used throughout Exercise 9.3.
Answers to the odd-numbered problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate interest rates and growth rates accurate to the nearest 0.01%.
Calculate the missing interest rates in Problems 1 through 20.
Problem

Nominal rate and compounding frequency

Effective rate (%)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

10.5% compounded semiannually

10.5% compounded quarterly
10.5% compounded monthly
7.5% compounded semiannually
7.5% compounded quarterly
7.5% compounded monthly
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
12% compounded monthly
18% compounded monthly
11.5% compounded quarterly
9.9% compounded semiannually
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded monthly

?
?
?
?
?
?
10.5
10.5
10.5
7.5
7.5
7.5
?
?
?
?
10.25
7
10
8

21. What is the effective interest rate corresponding to a nominal annual rate of:
a. 9% compounded semiannually?
b. 9% compounded quarterly?
c. 9% compounded monthly?
22. What is the effective rate of interest on a credit card that calculates interest at the rate
of 1.8% per month?
23. What is the effective rate of interest corresponding to a nominal rate of:
a. 8% compounded semiannually?
b. 12% compounded quarterly?
24. If an invoice indicates that interest at the rate of 2% per month will be charged on
overdue amounts, what effective rate of interest will be charged?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

361

25. If the nominal rate of interest paid on a savings account is 2% compounded monthly,
what is the effective rate of interest?
26. A company reports that its sales have grown 3% per quarter for the last eight fiscal
quarters. What annual growth rate has the company been experiencing for the last
two years?
27. If a $5000 investment grew to $6450 in 30 months of monthly compounding, what
effective rate of return was the investment earning?
28. After 27 months of quarterly compounding, a $3000 debt had grown to $3810. What
effective rate of interest was being charged on the debt?
29. Lisa is offered a loan from a bank at 7.2% compounded monthly. A credit union offers
similar terms, but at a rate of 7.4% compounded semiannually. Which loan should she
accept? Present calculations that support your answer.
30. Craig can buy a three-year compound-interest GIC paying 4.6% compounded semiannually or 4.5% compounded monthly. Which option should he choose? Present calculations that support your answer.
31. Camille can obtain a residential mortgage loan from a bank at 6.5% compounded
semiannually, or from an independent mortgage broker at 6.4% compounded monthly.
Which source should she pick if other terms and conditions of the loan are the same?
Present calculations that support your answer.
32. ABC Ltd. reports that its sales are growing at the rate of 1.3% per month. DEF Inc.
reports sales increasing by 4% each quarter. What is each companys effective annual
rate of sales growth?
33. Columbia Trust wants its annually, semiannually, and monthly compounded five-year
GICs all to have an effective interest rate of 5.75%. What nominal annual rates should
it quote for the three compounding options?
34. Belleville Credit Union has established interest rates on its three-year GICs so that the
effective rate of interest is 7% on all three compounding options. What are the monthly, semiannually, and annually compounded rates?
35. A department store chain currently charges 18% compounded monthly on its credit
card. To what amount should it set the monthly compounded annual rate if it wants to
add 2% to the effective interest rate?
36. An oil company wants to drop the effective rate of interest on its credit card by 3%. If it
currently charges a periodic rate of 1.7% per month, at what amount should it set the
periodic rate?

362

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

9. 4

EQUIVALENT INTEREST RATES

Preamble The main purpose of this section is to prepare you for a routine calculation
you will carry out for a broad category of annuities in Chapters 10, 11, 12, and 14. The concept behind the calculation is developed here because it is an extension of ideas from
Section 9.3.
Equivalent interest rates are interest rates that produce the same future value after one
year. For example, 8% compounded quarterly and 8.08% compounded semiannually are
equivalent nominal interest rates. If you calculate the future value of $100 invested at either
rate for one year, you will obtain $108.24. You can see that equivalent interest rates have different numerical values but produce the same effect.
If nominal rates are equivalent, so also are their respective periodic rates. From the preceding example, we can conclude that:
i

8%
 2% per quarter
4

i

is equivalent to

8.08%
 4.04% per half year
2

They will both produce the same future value when compounded over a one-year term.
We want to be able to answer questions such as:
What periodic rate per half year is equivalent to 2.5% per quarter?
To answer this and similar questions, we will derive a formula that answers the general
question:
What i2 with a given m2 is equivalent to a given i1 with a given m1?
For equivalence, $100 invested at each rate for one year must have the same future value. The
two investments are shown in the following diagrams. Both future values are obtained using
FV  PV(1  i)n.
0
$100

1
n = m1, i = i1

years

$100(1 + i1)m1

0
$100

1
n = m2, i = i2

years

$100(1 + i2)m1

We want to solve for the value of i2 that makes the two future values equal. That is, solve for
i2 in
$100(1  i2 )m2  $100(1  i1)m1
(1  i2 )m2  (1  i1)m1
Divide both exponents by m2, giving
1  i2  (1  i1)m1/m2
Hence,
EQUIVALENT
PERIODIC RATE

i 2  (1  i 1 )m1/m 2  1

(9-4)

To answer the question: What periodic rate per half year is equivalent to 2.5% per quarter?
substitute m2  2, i1  2.5%  0.025, and m1  4 into formula (9-4).
i2  (1  i1)m1/m2  1  (1.025)4/2  1  1.0252  1  0.050625  5.0625% per half year

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

363

EXAMPLE 9.4A | CALCULATION OF THREE EQUIVALENT INTEREST RATES

For a given interest rate of 10% compounded quarterly, what is the equivalent nominal rate of interest with:
a. Annual compounding?

b. Semiannual compounding?

c. Monthly compounding?

SOLUTION

The given rate is j1  10% with m1  4. Therefore, i1  2.5% per quarter.

In the following columns, we substitute the given values for m1, m2, and i1 into formula (9-4).
a. m2  1

b. m2  2

i 2  (1.025)

4/1

1

c. m2  12

i 2  (1.025)

4/2

1

i2  (1.025)4/12  1

 0.10381

 0.050625

 0.0082648

 10.381% per year

 5.0625% per half-year

 0.82648% per month

j2  m 2  i 2

j2  m2  i 2

j2  m2  i2

 1  10.381%

 2  5.0625%

 12  0.82648%

 10.381% compounded
annually

 10.125% compounded
semiannually

 9.918% compounded
monthly

To use the ICONV worksheet, first compute the effective rate corresponding to the given nominal interest rate.
Then compute the requested nominal rates that are equivalent to this effective rate.
Part (a)
2nd
i

Part (b)

10

ENTER

ENTER

Press

ICONV

(to scroll

Press

down to the C/Y line.)

2
h

CPT

(to scroll

down to the C/Y line.)

12

ENTER

CPT

Ans: 10.125

Ans: 10.381
a. j  f  10.381%
compounded annually

Part (c)

b. j  10.125%
compounded semiannually

ENTER

CPT

Ans: 9.918
c. j  9.918%
compounded monthly

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. What is the significance of two nominal interest
rates being equivalent?
2. Suppose the periodic rate for six months is 4%.
Is the equivalent periodic rate for three months
(pick one):
(i) equal to 4% 

3
6

 2% ?

(ii) less than 2%?

(iii) greater than 2%?
Answer the question without doing any
calculations. Explain your choice.

3. Suppose the periodic rate for one month is

0.5%. Is the equivalent periodic rate for six
months (pick one):
(i) equal to 6(0.5%)  3%?
(ii) less than 3%?
(iii) greater than 3%?
Answer the question without doing calculations.
Explain your choice.

364

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXERCISE 9.4

Answers to the odd-numbered problems are at the end of the book.

Throughout this Exercise, calculate interest rates accurate to the nearest 0.01%.
Calculate the equivalent interest rates in Problems 1 through 12.
Problem

Given interest rate

Equivalent interest rate

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

10% compounded annually

10% compounded annually
10% compounded annually
10% compounded semiannually
10% compounded semiannually
10% compounded semiannually
10% compounded quarterly
10% compounded quarterly
10% compounded quarterly
10% compounded monthly
10% compounded monthly
10% compounded monthly

?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded annually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded annually
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded annually
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly

Calculate the equivalent interest rates in Problems 13 through 20.

Problem

Given interest rate

Equivalent interest rate

13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

9% compounded semiannually
10% compounded quarterly
8.25% compounded annually
4% compounded monthly
7.5% compounded semiannually
6% compounded quarterly
8.5% compounded quarterly
10.5% compounded monthly

?% compounded annually
?% compounded annually
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly
?% compounded monthly
?% compounded semiannually
?% compounded quarterly

21. What annually compounded interest rate is equivalent to 6% compounded:

a. semiannually?
b. quarterly?
c. monthly?
22. What monthly compounded interest rate is equivalent to 6% compounded:
a. annually?
b. semiannually?
c. quarterly?
23. For a three-year GIC investment, what nominal rate compounded monthly would put
you in the same financial position as 5.5% compounded semiannually?
24. A trust company pays 5.5% compounded semiannually on its three-year GIC. For you
to prefer an annually compounded GIC of the same maturity, what value must its
nominal interest rate exceed?
25. You are offered a loan at a rate of 9% compounded monthly. Below what nominal rate
of interest would you choose semiannual compounding instead?
26. Banks usually quote residential mortgage interest rates on the basis of semiannual
compounding. An independent mortgage broker is quoting rates with monthly compounding. What rate would the broker have to give to match 6.5% compounded semiannually available from a bank?
27. A credit union pays 5.25% compounded annually on five-year compound-interest
GICs. It wants to set the rates on its semiannually and monthly compounded GICs of
the same maturity so that investors will earn the same total interest. What should the
rates be on the GICs with the higher compounding frequencies?
28. A bank offers a rate of 5.0% compounded semiannually on its four-year GIC. What
monthly compounded rate should the bank offer on four-year GICs to make investors
indifferent between the alternatives?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

9. 5

365

INVESTMENT RETURNS FROM STOCKS AND MUTUAL FUNDS

There are two ways you can benefit from an investment. The first is by receiving income
money you receive without selling any part of the investment. Aside from any income it generates, an investment may grow in value. The increase in value of the investment is called the
capital gain. The forms taken by the income and capital gain from various types of investments are presented in Table 9.2.

TABLE 9.2

Forms of Income and Capital Gain From Various Types of Investments

Investment

Income

Stocks (or shares)

Canada Savings Bonds (Sec. 8.5)
Marketable bonds (Chapter 15)
Mutual fund units
Gold bullion
GICs (Sec. 8.5)

Dividends
Interest
Interest
Distributions
None
Interest

Capital gain
Change in share price
None (Redeemable at purchase price)
Change in bond price
Change in unit value
Change in market price of gold
None (Redeemable at purchase price)

A typical investment scenario is represented in Figure 9.1. The initial value (or beginning
value) of the investment is Vi. In finance, the term holding period is used for the time interval over which we are calculating the income and capital gain. Income may be received from
the investment at one or more points during the holding period. The final value of the
investment at the end of the holding period is Vf . The capital gain is the increase in value,
Vf  Vi. (If the value of an investment declines during the holding period, the capital gain
will be negative, indicating a capital loss.) The sum of the income and capital gain from the
investment is called the total return. In summary,
Capital gain  Final value 1Vf 2  Initial value 1Vi 2
Total return  Income  Capital gain

FIGURE 9.1

The Components of Investment Returns

Income
Capital gain
= Vf Vi
Initial
value,
Vi

Income

Final
value,
Vf
Time

Holding period

Total return
= Income +
Capital gain

366

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

The distinction between the income and capital gain components of the total return
is important for two reasons. One is that income represents actual cash inflow that can be
used by the investor to cover living expenses. To convert the capital gain component into a
usable cash inflow, the investor must first sell the investment. When the investment is sold,
we say that the capital gain is realized. (Up to that point it was an unrealized capital gain,
sometimes described in everyday language as a paper gain.) The second reason for separating the income and capital gain components of total return is that capital gains are subject to a lower rate of income tax than investment income.
The income, capital gain, and total return amounts are all in terms of dollars. When
discussing the performance of investments, investors prefer to express these amounts as a
percentage of the initial value, Vi. Accordingly, we define:
Income yield 

Capital gain yield 

INVESTMENT YIELDS
AND RATE OF TOTAL
RETURN

Income
 100%
Vi

Capital gain
Vi

 100% 

Vf  Vi
Vi

 100%
(9-5)

Rate of total return  Income yield  Capital gain yield



Income  Capital gain

Vi

 100%

In their advertising, mutual funds emphasize the rates of total return, but give little or no
information about the income and capital gain components. They do so because (1) the rate
of total return is the figure of greatest importance to investors, and (2) most investors in
mutual funds do not understand how the income (distribution) and capital gain components
of total return are determined for a mutual fund. When we used the term rate of return in
connection with mutual funds in Section 9.1, we were really referring to rate of total return.
To get information about the income and capital gain components of a mutual funds total
return, you need to go to the mutual funds annual financial report or to a mutual fund
database such as globefund.com (mentioned in the NET @ssets box in Section 9.1).

TIP

Watch for Key Words

The words yield and rate indicate amounts calculated as a percentage of the initial
investment. Particular names may be used for specific types of income yield. For example, shareholders refer to a stocks dividend yield, but bond investors speak of a bonds
current yield.
In everyday life, terms are sometimes used with less precision than in an academic
environment. For example, yield may be dropped from capital gain yield when
investors discuss capital gains.

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

367

Tables 9.3 and 9.4 provide price and income data for selected stocks and mutual funds. These
data are used in Example 9.5A and Exercise 9.5.
TABLE 9.3

Income and Price Data for Selected Stocks

Company Name
TD Bank
Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Cameco Corporation
Petro-Canada
Research in Motion Ltd.

TABLE 9.4

Price ($) at the end of:

2004
2005
2006
46.72
69.68
20.79
30.02
98.78

58.95
55.23
36.71
46.14
76.75

Dividends ($) paid in:

2005
2006

68.71
48.58
47.15
47.61
149.00

1.64
0.84
0.12
0.30
0.00

1.84
0.84
0.16
0.40
0.00

Income and Price Data for Selected Mutual Funds

Price ($) at the end of:
2004
2005
2006

Name of mutual fund

PH&N Canadian Equity Fund (Series A)
Mawer New Canada Fund
Sprott Canadian Equity Fund
RBC Canadian Dividend Fund
PH&N Bond Fund (Series A)

66.73
32.71
24.46
35.61
9.99

79.26
38.46
27.69
42.76
10.00

91.26
42.11
38.50
48.17
9.95

Distribution ($) in:

2005
2006
0.11
0.15
0.00
0.33
0.63

0.35
2.22
0.15
1.02
0.42

EXAMPLE 9.5A | CALCULATING INVESTMENT RETURNS FROM SECURITIES

To the nearest 0.01%, calculate the income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return in each of 2005 and
2006 for TD Bank shares and for PH&N Canadian Equity Fund units. Use the data in Tables 9.3 and 9.4.
SOLUTION

Security

Income yield
a

TD Bank shares (2005)

Income
 100% b
Vi

$1.64
 100%
$46.72
 3.51%

TD Bank shares (2006)

$1.84
 100%
$58.95
 3.12%

PH&N Cdn. Equity (2005)

$0.11
 100%
$66.73
 0.16%

PH&N Cdn. Equity (2006)

$0.35
 100%
$79.26
 0.44%

Capital gain yield

a

Vf  Vi
 100% b
Vi

$58.95  $46.72
 100%
$46.72
 26.18%
$68.71  $58.95
 100%
$58.95
 16.56%
$79.26  $66.73
 100%
$66.73
 18.78%
$91.26  $79.26
 100%
$79.26
 15.14%

Rate of total return

(Income yield 
Capital gain yield)
3.51%  26.18%
 29.69%
3.12%  16.56%
 19.68%
0.16%  18.78%
 18.94%
0.44%  15.14%
 15.58%

368

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXAMPLE 9.5B | CALCULATING V f GIVEN V i , INCOME, AND RATE OF TOTAL RETURN

An investor is prepared to buy common shares of Eagle Brewing Ltd. at the current share price of $11.50 if he
can expect at least a 15% rate of total return over the next year. Assuming that the company repeats last years
$0.40 per share dividend, what will the minimum share price have to be one year from now for the investment
objective to be achieved?
SOLUTION

Given: Vi  $11.50

Rate of total return  15%

Income  $0.40

We want to determine what Vf must be one year from now for the rate of total return to be 15%. If the annual
dividend is $0.40 per share,
$0.40
Income yield 
 100%  3.478%
$11.50
The rest of the 15% rate of total return must come from capital gain. That is,
Capital gain yield  15%  3.478%  11.522%
Hence,
Capital gain  0.11522  Vi  0.11522  $11.50  $1.33 per share
and
Vf  Vi  Capital gain  $11.50  $1.33  $12.83
The share price must be at least $12.83 one year from now for the investor to achieve the minimum desired rate
of total return (15%).

POINT OF INTEREST
False Profits and Bull Marketing
The following tale reveals how little scrutiny is given
to claims of investment performance. It also exposes
our tendency to suspend critical analysis in the face
of a good story.
In 1994 Hyperion published The Beardstown
Ladies Common-Sense Investment Guide. The book
describes the homespun stock-picking methods of
an investment club of sixteen women living in
Beardstown, Illinois (population 6000). We are told
they range in age from 41 to 87. According to the
books introduction, their hand-picked portfolio of
fewer than 20 stocks has earned an average annual
return of 23.4% over the preceding 10 years
(19841993). This return was almost twice the rate
of return earned by the benchmark Standard &

Poors 500 (S&P 500) portfolio, and more than twice

the average annual return achieved by professional
mutual fund managers! Naturally the story found
great appeal among the general public here was a
group of savvy septuagenarians emerging from the
Illinois cornfields to trounce Wall Streets overpaid
MBAs. (The book also contained the ladies favourite
recipes, such as Anns Kentucky Cream Cake and
Helens Springtime Pie.)
The Beardstown Ladies became celebrities almost
overnight. The book was at the top of the New York
Times bestseller list for three months and eventually
sold over 800,000 copies in seven languages. The
Beardstown Ladies were the subject of articles in
scores of publications and appeared as guests on sev-

369

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

eral television talk shows. Four more books followed

in rapid succession. Along the way, the geriatric
gurus produced their own home video titled Cookin
up Profits on Wall Street. After reviewing the video,
the late great movie critic Gene Siskel wrote what
proved to be a prescient one-liner: Wait till you see
what these ladies are up to!
In early 1998, Shane Tristch, a managing editor at
Chicago Magazine, started to write yet another warm
fuzzy story about the lovable ladies from
Beardstown. However, he was troubled by the following disclaimer which appeared in the front material of the Beardstown Ladies first book.
Investment clubs commonly compute their annual return by
calculating the increase in their total club balance over a period
of time. Since this increase includes the dues that the members
pay regularly, this return may be different from the return that
might be calculated for a mutual fund or a bank. Since the regular contributions are an important part of the club philosophy,
the Ladies returns described in this book are based on this common calculation.

The dues refer to regular contributions of new

money that most investment clubs require from each

member. In the case of the Beardstown Ladies, each

member contributed $25 per month right from the
start in 1984. Anyone with a basic knowledge of
investing should have an Excuse me? moment
upon reading the disclaimer. It is preposterous to
treat new injections of investment capital as part of
the total return from a portfolio! Frankly, it is highly
doubtful that this method of calculating returns is
commonly used by investment clubs.
Tristch wrote an article for the March 1998 issue of
Chicago Magazine exposing the flaw and challenging
the claim of a 23.4% average annual return. The
Beardstown Ladies allowed the international
accounting firm Price Waterhouse to audit their
records. Instead of the 23.4% average annual return,
Price Waterhouse determined that the average annual rate of return was a modest 9.1%. This was far
short of the publicized 23.4% return and well short
of the 14.9% annual return on the unmanaged S&P
500 portfolio. The Ladies beat the S&P 500 in only
two of the 10 years. The Beardstown Ladies and their
publisher had built an empire based on a profoundly flawed calculation that went unchallenged by over
800,000 readers for four years!

Compounding Rates of Return Suppose you read that a stocks price rose by 10% in Year
1 and 20% in Year 2. Does this mean that the overall price increase for the two-year period
was 10% + 20% = 30%? Nothe understanding is that, in Year 2, the price rose 20% from
its value at the end of Year 1. In other words, the understanding is that you should compound
the returns given for successive periods. This corresponds to what you did in Section 8.4 with
the interest rates earned in successive periods by GICs and Canada Savings Bonds. (For these
investments, the interest rate equals the rate of total return each year because GICs and CSBs
do not experience capital gains or losses.) We can use
FV  PV(1  i1)(1  i2)(1  i3)(1  in)

(8-4)

for compounding rates of total return. Simply view i1, i2, i3, , in as the rates of total return
in each of the n successive periods.

370

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXAMPLE 9.5C | COMPOUNDING RATES OF TOTAL RETURN ON AN INVESTMENT

The China Fund is a mutual fund that can be purchased on the New York Stock Exchange (trading symbol
CHN). As its name suggests, the fund invests in the stocks of companies in China. The investment research firm
Morningstar Inc. reports that the rates of total return provided by the fund for individual years 2002 to 2006
were 12.4%, 215.6%, 9.3%, 21.6%, and 66.5%, respectively. (As these rates of return indicate, Chinese
stocks are notoriously volatile.)
a. If you had invested $1000 in the fund at the beginning of 2002, what was your investment worth at the end of
2006?
b. What would have been the dollar amount of your total return in 2004?
SOLUTION

a. We can directly substitute the given values into formula (8-4).

FV = PV(1 + i1)(1 + i2)(1 + i3)(1 + i4)(1 + i5)
 $1000(1  0.124)(1  2.156)[1  (0.093)][1  (0.216)](1  0.665)
 $1000(1.124)(3.156)(0.907)(0.784)(1.665)
 $4199.92
b. In 2004 the rate of total return was 9.3%. The dollar amount of the total return was
0.093  (Value of the investment at the end of 2003)
 0.093  $1000(1.124)(3.156)
 $329.90
The value of your investment would have fallen by $329.90 in 2004.

EXAMPLE 9.5D | COMPARING THE PERFORMANCE OF A MUTUAL FUND TO A BENCHMARK

The following table presents the rates of total return on the Phillips Hager & North (PH&N) Dividend Income
mutual fund for each year from 2002 to 2006 inclusive. Corresponding figures are also given for the Toronto
Stock Exchanges S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index. (This Index measures the performance of a portfolio of the common shares of over 250 of the largest Canadian companies trading on the Toronto Stock
Exchange. The index is often used as the benchmark for evaluating the performance of other portfolios of
Canadian stocks.)
What is the difference between the overall rate of total return on the mutual fund and on the benchmark portfolio represented by the S&P/TSX Index?

Fund name
PH&N Dividend Income Fund (Series A)
S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index

2002
7.2
12.4

Rate of total return (%)

2003
2004
2005

2006

24.9
26.7

16.5
17.3

14.5
14.5

13.6
24.1

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

371

SOLUTION

Suppose you invested an amount PV in the PH&N Dividend Income Fund at the beginning of 2002. By the end
of 2006, the investment would have grown to
FV  PV(1  i1)(1  i2) (1  i3)(1  i4)(1  i5)
 PV(1  0.072)(1  0.249)(1  0.145)(1  0.136)(1  0.165)
 PV(1.756)
Since the final value is 1.756 times the initial value, the investment in the mutual fund grew by a total of 75.6%.
For the same initial investment in the portfolio represented by the S&P/TSX Composite Index,
FV  PV(1  i1)(1  i2)(1  i3)(1  i4)(1  i5)
 PV(1  0.124)(1  0.267)(1  0.145)(1  0.241)(1  0.173)
 PV(1.850)
This portfolio grew by 85.0%. Therefore, the PH&N Dividend Income Fund grew by
85.0%  75.6%  9.4%
less than the unmanaged S&P/TSX Index portfolio.

EXAMPLE 9.5E | CALCULATING ONE OF A SERIES OF PERCENT CHANGES

Hanako invested in a stock that doubled in the first year and rose another 50% in the second year. Now at the
end of the third year, Hanako is surprised to discover that the stocks price is up only 80% from her purchase
price. By what percentage did the stocks price change in the third year?
SOLUTION

The stocks price is up 80% over the entire three-year period. Therefore,
FV  1.80PV
In terms of the capital gain yield in individual years,
FV  PV(1  i1)(1  i2)(1  i3)
 PV(1  1.00)(1  0.50)(1  i3)
 PV(3.0)(1  i3)
For the same final value in both cases, we require
PV(1.80)  PV(3.0)(1  i3)
1.80  3.0(1  i3)
1.80
 1  i3
3.0
i3  0.60  1  0.40  40%
The stocks price declined 40% in Year 3.

372

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

POINT OF INTEREST
A 20% Gain Doesnt Offset a 20% Loss
Equal positive and negative rates of return in successive years have a curious lack of symmetry in
their effects on the overall return from an investment. A 20% gain in Year 2 will not recoup a 20%
loss in Year 1you need a 25% gain to break even
after a 20% loss!
Conversely, a 20% gain followed by a 20% loss also
leaves you in a net loss position. A 20% loss will, in
fact, erase an earlier 25% gain!
The Globe and Mails Personal Finance writer Rob
Carrick pointed out effects of this sort in an October
4, 2001 article titled In denial about your stocks? Its
time to get real. Quoting from the article:
Lose half your money and you need a 100% rise (to recover your
losses.) Lose 60% and you need a 150% gain. To get back to even,
a stock down 80% would have to surge 400%. A stock down
90%hello Nortelwould have to rise 900% to get back to
where you bought it.

Question 1:
Verify Rob Carricks numbers. That is, show the calculation of the percent gains required to break even
after losses of 50%, 60%, 80%, and 90%.
When a series of annual returns are given for an
investment, you may be tempted to calculate the
average of the annual returns to obtain a measure of
the overall long-term performance of the investment. At best, this average is only an approximation
of the investments annual rate of growth. At worst,
it can give a very misleading result. We can dramati-

cally illustrate this point using the rather extreme

example of a 100% gain followed by a 50% loss in
successive years. The simple average of a 100% gain
and a 50% loss is [100%  (50%)] / 2  25% per
year. But if a $1000 investment doubles to $2000 (a
100% gain) and then loses half its value (50% loss),
the investment will be right back at its beginning
value of $1000. The actual two-year gain was 0%!
The average (25%) of the individual rates of return
for the two years is meaningless!
You must, therefore, be very cautious about drawing conclusions based on a simple average of a series
of annual rates of return. It will always overstate the
actual performance. The more volatile the year-toyear rates of return, the greater will be the degree of
overstatement.

Question 2:
For the ten years 1997 to 2006 inclusive, the AIM
Global Technology Fund had rates of return of 37.9%,
34.5%, 200.3%, 27.9%, 43.8%, 48.9%, 16.2%,
5.2%, 4.2%, and 7.4%, respectively.
a. What was the average annual rate of return for the
ten years?
b. If a $1000 investment earned this average rate of
return each and every year for ten years, what was
its final value?
c. If $1000 was invested in the AIM Global
Technology Fund at the beginning of 1997, what
was the actual value of the investment at the end
of 2006?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

SPREADSHEET STRATEGIES

Calculating Investment Returns

cells E7, F7, G7, and H7 are displayed in Row 13. Data
are entered for answering Example 9.5A. In this
example, we are to determine the income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return in both 2005
and 2006 for TD Bank shares and the PH&N
Canadian Equity Fund based on data provided in
Tables 9.3 and 9.4. After entering the given information for each investment in the yellow input cells, the
answers appear in the blue output cells.

The Online Learning Centre (OLC) presents a partially completed template for calculating the income
yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return for
each of several investments, given their initial value,
final value, and income for the holding period. Go to
the Student Edition of the OLC, select the Excel
Templates link in the navigation bar, and then click
on the Investment Returns link.
The main features of the completed template are
presented below. The formulas programmed into

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

373

Income
$1.64
$1.84
$0.11
$0.35

Capital
gain
$12.23
$9.76
$12.53
$12.00

Using a spreadsheet to calculate investment returns.

Example 9.5A:

Security
TD Bank shares (2005)
TD Bank shares (2006)
PH&N Cdn. Equity (2005)
PH&N Cdn. Equity (2006)

Initial
Final
value, Vi value, Vf
$58.95
$46.72
$68.71
$58.95
$79.26
$66.73
$91.26
$79.26

Income Capital
Rate of
yield gain yield total return
3.51%
26.18%
29.69%
3.12%
16.56%
19.68%
0.16%
18.78%
18.94%
0.44%
15.14%
15.58%

Formulas in Row 7: =C7B7 =D7/B7

=E7/B7

=F7+G7

CONCEPT QUESTIONS
1. What is meant by a capital loss?
2. What is meant by the total return from an
investment?
3. Can the income yield from an investment be
negative? Explain or give an example.
4. Is it possible for the capital gain yield to exceed
100%? Explain or give an example.
5. Is it possible for a capital loss to be worse than
100%? Explain or give an example.
6. Does the combined effect of a 20% increase
followed by a 20% decrease differ from the
combined effect of a 20% decrease followed
by a 20% increase? Justify your answer.

7. How much will an investment of $100 be worth

after 20 years if it increases in value by 25% in
each of 10 years, but declines by 20% in each of
the other 10 years?
8. If a series of compound percent changes are all
positive, is the overall percent increase larger or
smaller than the sum of the individual percent
changes? Justify your answer.
9. If a series of compound percent changes are all
negative, is the overall percent decrease larger
or smaller (in magnitude) than the sum of the
individual percent changes? Justify your answer.

374

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

EXERCISE 9.5

Spreadsheet templates: The Investment Returns template provided in the Online Learning Centre
(OLC) may be used in Problems 1-8 and 17-26. The Formula (8-4) Calculator template in the OLC is
helpful in answering Problems 29 and 42-46.
Answers to the odd-numbered problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate the missing quantities in Problems 1 through 16. Determine yields and rates of return to the
nearest 0.01%. Calculate dollar amounts accurate to the cent.

Problem

Initial
value ($)

Income ($)

Final
value($)

Income
yield

Capital
gain yield

Rate of
total return

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.

100
100
90
135
1367
879
2500
1380
2000
4300
3730
1800
?
?
1600
?

10
10
10
0
141
280
200
250
?
?
250
50
?
100
?
150

110
90
86
151
1141
1539
0
2875
2200
3950
?
?
1800
?
?
2700

?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
5%
?
?
?
?
5%
8%
?

?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
150%
40%
15%
?
?

?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
5%
5%
?
30%
?
0%
80%

17. Calculate the income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return in each of 2005
and 2006 for Loblaw Companies shares and Mawer New Canada Fund units. Use the
data in Tables 9.3 and 9.4.
18. Calculate the income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return in each of 2005
and 2006 for Cameco Corporation shares and Sprott Canadian Equity Fund units.
Use the data in Tables 9.3 and 9.4.
19. Calculate the income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return in each of 2005
and 2006 for Research in Motion shares and PH&N Bond Fund units. Use the data in
Tables 9.3 and 9.4.
20. Assume that the TD Bank shares in Table 9.3 will pay a $2.04 per share dividend in
2007. What must the share price be at the end of 2007 for a total rate of return in
2007 of 10%?
21. Assume that the Loblaw shares in Table 9.3 will pay a $0.84 per share dividend in 2007.
What must the share price be at the end of 2007 for a total rate of return in 2007 of 7%?
22. One year ago, Art Vandelay bought Norwood Industries shares for $37 per share. Today
they are worth $40 per share. During the year, Art received dividends of $0.60 per share.
What was his income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return for the year?
23. Rose purchased units of the Trimark Fund one year ago at $24.10 per unit. Today
they are valued at $25.50. On the intervening December 31, there was a distribution
of $0.83 per unit. (Distribution is the term used by most mutual funds for income
paid to unitholders.) Calculate Roses income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of
total return for the year.

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

375

24. The market value of Stephanies bonds has declined from $1053.25 to $1021.75 per
bond during the past year. In the meantime she has received two semiannual interest
payments of $35. Calculate Stephanies income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total
return for the year.
25. Vitalys shares of Dominion Petroleum have dropped in value from $36.75 to $32.25
during the past year. The shares paid a $0.50 per share dividend six months ago.
Calculate Vitalys income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return for the year.
26. Jeff purchased some Mitel preferred shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for $13.50.
The shares pay a quarterly dividend of $0.50. Twelve months later the shares were trading at $15.25. What was Jeffs rate of total return for the year?
27. One year ago, Morgan invested $5000 to purchase 400 units of a mutual fund. He has
just noted in the Financial Post that the funds rate of return on investment for the year
was 22% and that the current price of a unit is $13.75. What amount did the fund distribute as income per unit during the year?
28. The Globe and Mail Report on Business noted that shares of Compact Computers produced a 55% rate of total return in the past year. The shares paid a dividend of $0.72
per share during the year, and they currently trade at $37.50. What was the price of the
shares one year ago?
29. Adjusted for stock splits, the price of Microsoft shares rose 88.3%, 56.4%, 114.6%, and
68.4% in the years 1996 to 1999 respectively. In 2000, the share prices fell 62.8%.
a. What was the overall five-year percent change in the price of Microsoft shares?
b. If the share price at the end of 2000 was $43.38, what was the price at the beginning
of 1996?
30. The federal government cut transfer payments to the provinces by a total of 20% over
a five-year period. In the next budget speech, the Minister of Finance announced the
level of transfer payments will be restored to their former level by a 20% increase to
be phased in over the next two years. Is this an accurate statement? Explain briefly.
31. The price of Bionex Inc. shares rose by 25% in each of two successive years. If they
began the two-year period at $12 per share, what was the percent increase in price over
the entire two years?
32. The price of Biomed Corp. shares also began the same two-year period (as in Problem
31) at $12, but fell 25% in each year. What was their overall percent decline in price?
33. What rate of return in the second year of an investment will wipe out a 50% gain in
the first year?
34. What rate of return in the second year of an investment will nullify a 25% return on
investment in the first year?
35. What rate of return in the second year of an investment is required to break even after
a 50% loss in the first year?
36. What rate of return in the second year of an investment is required to break even after
a rate of return of 20% in the first year?
37. After two consecutive years of 10% rates of return, what rate of return in the third year
will produce a cumulative gain of 30%?

376

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

38. After two consecutive years of 10% losses, what rate of return in the third year will produce a cumulative loss of 30%?
39. Victor cannot find the original record of his purchase four years ago of units of the
Imperial Global Fund. The current statement from the fund shows that the total current value of the units is $47,567. From a mutual fund database, Victor found that the
funds rates of return for Years 1 to 4 have been 15.4%, 24.3%, 32.1%, and 3.3%,
respectively.
a. What was Victors original investment in the fund?
b. What was the dollar increase in the value of his investment in Year 3?
40. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 3.4%, dropped 1.4%, and then rose 2.1% in three
successive months. The Index ended the three-month period at 9539.
a. What was the Index at the beginning of the three-month period?
b. How many points did the Index drop in the second month?
41. In three successive years the price of the common shares of Abysmal Resources Ltd. fell
35%, 55%, and 80%, ending the third year at 75 cents.
a. What was the share price at the beginning of the three-year skid?
b. How much (in dollars and cents) did the share price drop in the third year?
The following table lists the rates of return from five well-known Canadian equity mutual funds
during each of five years. The last line in the table gives the corresponding percent changes in the
S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index. For each fund, calculate:
The percent increase (over the entire five years) in the value of an investment made at the
beginning of 2002.
The difference between the funds overall percent increase and the S&P/TSX Indexs overall percent increase. Did the fund outperform the Index?

Problem
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.

Fund name
Altamira Equity
AGF Canadian Stock
Ethical Growth
Sceptre Canadian Equity
Sprott Canadian Equity
S&P/TSX Total Return Index

2002
return
(%)
16.1
14.0
15.1
11.7
39.3
12.4

2003
return
(%)

2004
return
(%)

2005
return
(%)

2006
return
(%)

8.6
22.2
17.5
15.5
30.0
26.7

13.2
12.2
8.2
16.2
37.9
14.5

20.4
20.3
15.7
21.5
13.2
24.1

19.2
18.6
19.6
29.8
39.6
17.3

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Gurther Topics and Applications

377

KEY TERMS
Capital gain p. 365

Equivalent interest rate p. 362

Rate of total return p. 366

Capital gain yield p. 366

Holding period p. 365

Rule of 72 p. 347

Capital loss p. 365

Income p. 365

Total return p. 365

Effective interest rate p. 352

Income yield p. 366

SUMMARY OF NOTATION AND KEY FORMULAS

f  Effective rate of interest
FORMULA (9-1)

i

FV 1/n
FV
b 1
1 a
B PV
PV
n

ln a

Finding the periodic interest rate (or periodic rate of return)

FV
b
PV

FORMULA (9-2)

n

FORMULA (9-3)

f  (1  i)m  1

Finding the effective rate of interest

(or effective rate of return)

FORMULA (9-4)

i 2  (1  i1)m1/m2  1

Finding an equivalent periodic interest rate

Finding the number of compounding periods

ln11  i2

Income yield 

Capital gain yield 

FORMULA (9-5)

Income
 100%
Vi

Capital gain
Vi

 100% 

Vf Vi
Vi

 100%

Rate of total return  Income yield  Capital gain yield

Income  Capital gain

Vi

Finding investment
yields and rate of
total return

 100%

REVIEW PROBLEMS
Answers to the odd-numbered review problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate percentages accurate to the nearest 0.01%.

1. A sum of $10,000 invested in the TD Science and

Technology Fund at the end of 1999 would have
declined to $2961 by the end of 2006. What compound annual rate of return did the fund realize
during this period?
2. Maxine found an old pay statement from nine years ago.
Her hourly wage at the time was $13.50 versus her

current wage of $20.80 per hour. At what equivalent

(compound) annual rate has her wage grown over
the period?
3. If a companys annual sales grew from $165,000 to
$485,000 in a period of eight years, what has been
the compound annual rate of growth of sales during
the period?
www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/jerome

378

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

4. An investors portfolio increased in value by 53% over

a five-year period while the Consumer Price Index
rose from 121.6 to 135.3. What was the annually
compounded real rate of return on the portfolio for
the five years?
5. A portfolio earned 13%, 18%, 5%, 24%, and 5% in
five successive years. What was the portfolios five-year
compound annual return?
6. The Front Street Special Opportunities Canadian Fund
was the top-performing fund in Canada for the five years
ending December 31, 2006. What three-year and fiveyear compound annual returns to December 31, 2006,
did the fund report if its annual returns in successive
years from 2002 to 2006 inclusive were 14.5%, 121.2%,
19.2%, 46.8%, and 22.5%, respectively?
7. Terry was supposed to pay $800 to Becky on March 1.
At a later date, Terry paid Becky an equivalent payment
in the amount of $895.67. If they provided for a time
value of money of 8% compounded monthly, on what
date did Terry make the payment?
8. What is the time remaining until the maturity date of
a $50,000 strip bond if it has just been purchased for
$20,822.89 to yield 5.38% compounded semiannually
until maturity?
9. When discounted to yield 9.5% compounded
quarterly, a $4500 four-year promissory note bearing
interest at 11.5% compounded semiannually was
priced at $5697.84. How long after the issue date did
the discounting take place?
10. The population of a mining town declined from
17,500 to 14,500 in a five-year period. If the population continues to decrease at the same compound
annual rate, how long, to the nearest month, will it
take for the population to drop by another 3000?
11. To the nearest day, how long will it take a $20,000
investment to grow to $22,000 (including accrued
interest) if it earns 7% compounded quarterly?
Assume that a quarter year has 91 days.
12. What monthly compounded nominal rate would
put you in the same financial position as 5.5%
compounded semiannually?
13. You are offered a loan at a rate of 10.5% compounded
monthly. Below what figure would a semiannually
compounded nominal rate have to be to make it
more attractive?

www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/jerome

14. A bank offers a rate of 5.3% compounded semiannually on its four-year GICs. What monthly and annually
compounded rates should it quote in order to have the
same effective interest rate at all three nominal rates?
15. If an invoice indicates that interest at the rate of 1.2%
per month will be charged on overdue amounts, what
effective rate of interest will be charged?
16. If the nominal rate of interest paid on a savings
account is 3% compounded monthly, what is the
effective rate of interest paid?
17. If an interest rate of 6.9% compounded semiannually
is charged on a car loan, what effective rate of interest
should be disclosed to the borrower?
18. If a $15,000 investment grew to $21,805 in 412 years of
quarterly compounding, what effective rate of return
was the investment earning?
19. Camille can obtain a residential mortgage loan from a
bank at 8.75% compounded semiannually or from an
independent mortgage broker at 8.6% compounded
monthly. Which source should she pick if other terms
and conditions of the loan are the same? Present calculations that support your answer.
20. One year ago, Christos bought 1000 units of the
Dominion Aggressive Growth Fund at $20.35 per unit.
Today a units value is $19.10. During the year, the
fund made a distribution of $0.40 per unit. On this
investment, what is Christoss:
a. Income yield?
b. Capital gain yield?
c. Total return in dollars?
d. Rate of total return?
21. A companys annual report states that its common
shares had price gains of 23%, 10%, 15%, and 5%
during the preceding four fiscal years. The share price
stood at $30.50 after last years 5% gain.
a. What was the price of the shares at the beginning of
the four-year period?
b. How much (in dollars and cents) did the share price
decline in the third year?
22. An $8600 investment was worth only $7900 one year
later. If the rate of total return for the year was 5%,
how much income was received from the investment
during the year?

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Gurther Topics and Applications

379

SELF-TEST EXERCISE
Answers to the self-test problems are at the end of the book.
Calculate percentages accurate to the nearest 0.01%.

1. The home the Bensons purchased 13 years ago for

$85,000 is now appraised at $215,000. What has been
the annual rate of appreciation of the value of their
home during the 13-year period?
2. If the Consumer Price Index rose from 109.6 to 133.8
over an 812-year period, what was the equivalent
compound annual inflation rate during the period?
3. A companys sales dropped 10% per year for five years.
a. What annual rate of sales growth for the subsequent
five years would return the sales to the original level?
b. To the nearest month, how long would it take for
sales to return to the original level if they increased
at 10% per year?
4. An investors portfolio increased in value from $35,645
to $54,230 over a six-year period. At the same time, the
Consumer Price Index rose by 26.5%. What was the
portfolios annually compounded real rate of return?
5. One of the more volatile mutual funds in recent years
has been the AGF China Focus Fund. The funds annual
returns in successive years from 2001 to 2006 inclusive
were 20.8%, 11.0%, 63.4%, 9.3%, 8.6%, and 67.6%,
respectively. What was the funds equivalent compound
annual return for the six years ended December 31, 2006?
6. To the nearest month, how long will it take an investment to increase in value by 200% if it earns 7.5%
compounded semiannually?
7. Rounded to the nearest month, how long will it take
money to lose one-third of its purchasing power if the
annual inflation rate is 3%?

CASE

8. An investor paid $4271.17 to purchase a $10,000 face

value strip bond for her RRSP. At this price the investment will provide a return of 6.47% compounded
semiannually. How long (to the nearest day) after the
date of purchase will the bond mature? Assume that
each half-year is exactly 182 days long.
9. A trust company pays 5.375% compounded annually on
its five-year GICs. What semiannually compounded
interest rate would produce the same maturity value?
10. Which of the following rates would you prefer for a
loan: 7.6% compounded quarterly, 7.5% compounded
monthly, or 7.7% compounded semiannually?
11. A $10,000 investment grew to $12,000 after 39 months
of semiannual compounding. What effective rate of
return did the investment earn?
12. One thousand shares of Frontier Mining were
purchased at $6.50 per share. The share price rose
110% in the first year after purchase, declined 55% in
the second year, and then dropped another 55% in the
third year.
a. What was the percent change in share price over the
entire three years?
b. How much (in dollars and cents) did the share price
drop in the second year?
13. Gabriel received $200 of income from an investment
during the past year. This represents an income yield
of 4%. If the capital gain yield for the year was 10%,
what was the value of the investment (not including
income) at the end of the year?

Mountains of Money

One of the oldest mutual funds in Canada is the Templeton Growth Fund, Ltd. Shares in the fund were first
sold at the end of November 1954. A common graphic for dramatically illustrating the long-term performance of a mutual fund is known as a mountain chart. The vertical scale of the chart is a logarithmic scale.
On a logarithmic scale, each doubling of the investment produces the same interval on the vertical scale.
The time axis covers 51 years and 7 months (from November 29, 1954 to June 30, 2006). The chart indicates that an investment of $10,000 on November 29, 1954 was worth $6,111,971 on June 30, 2006. (This outcome assumes that all dividends paid on shares of the fund were reinvested in additional shares.)

www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/jerome

380

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Further Topics and Applications

$6,111,971

Total value of Templeton

Growth Fund investment
on June 30, 2006

Average annual compounded rates

of return of Templeton Growth Fund
as of June 30, 2006
1 year

3 years

5 years

10 years

15 years

6.6%

11.3%

1.2%

5.1%

9.3%

20 years

30 years

40 years

Since Inception
(November 29, 1954)

8.4%

13.4%

13.8%

13.2%

Value of shares acquired through

reinvestment of dividends from income
($921,208).
Value of shares initially acquired
($1,353,560) plus value of shares
acquired through reinvestment
of dividends from capital gains
($3,837,203).

Value of investment after

inflation adjustments
May 31, 2006

$77,278
Source: Statistics Canada

Value of initial investment

after inflation adjustments

Net investment
November 29, 1954

$10,000

SOURCE: Reproduced with permission of Franklin Templeton Investments.

Based on increases in the Consumer Price Index, the chart also indicates that you needed $77,278 in June
of 2006 to have the same purchasing power as $10,000 in November of 1954.

Questions
1. Calculate the funds equivalent compound annual rate of return over the entire 51127 years.
2. What was the equivalent compound annual rate of inflation during the entire period?
3. What was the funds real compound annual rate of return over the entire period?
4. From the chart, we can estimate that the original $10,000 investment was worth about $350,000 in
November 1979. Compare the funds performance before this date to its performance after this
date. (That is, compare the funds compound annual rates of return before and after November
30, 1979.)

www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/jerome

Chapter 9 | Compound Interest: Gurther Topics and Applications

APPENDIX 9A

381

THE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS BA II PLUS

INTEREST CONVERSION WORKSHEET
Notice the letters ICONV above the 2 key. This means that the Interest Conversion
2
Worksheet is the second function of the
key. You can access the worksheet by
2
pressing 2nd
in sequence. Hereafter, we will represent these keystrokes as 2nd
ICONV . The calculators display then shows:
NOM =

n.nn

where the ns represent numerical digits. (Your display may show more or fewer ns.)
You should think of a worksheet as a single column of items that you can view one-at-atime in the display. The Interest Conversion Worksheets column consists of the following
three items:
NOM =
n.nn
EFF =

n.nn

C/Y =

The solid line around the first item indicates that the calculators display currently provides
a window to the first item in the column. You can use the scroll keys i and h to
move down or up the list. The three worksheet symbols are defined as follows:
NOM = Nominal annual interest rate, j
EFF = Effective interest rate, f
C/Y = Number of compoundings per year, m
The Interest Conversion Worksheet allows you to enter values for any two of these three
variables and then compute the value of the remaining third variable. Close the worksheet
by pressing 2nd QUIT . (By the QUIT key, we mean the key showing QUIT as its second
function.)
Let us use the worksheet to answer Example 9.3A which asks us to calculate the effective
interest rate corresponding to 10.5% compounded monthly.
2nd

Open the Interest Conversion Worksheet.

ICONV

10.5

ENTER

CPT

Enter and save the value for NOM.

12

ENTER

Scroll down to C/Y. Enter and save its value.

Scroll back up to EFF. Compute its value.

The effective interest rate appearing in the display is 11.02%.

www.mcgrawhill.ca/olc/jerome