Vanguard Rate of Return Calculation

[toboramai]

Does anyone know how vanguard calculates the 1 year personal rate of return?

I have been timing my reallocations as the market has moved up and down pretty successfully but do not believe it is correct. My overall portfolio shows a 1 year return of 25.5 and one fund shows a return of 281.1.

Can someone explain?

[Broken Arrow]

Which fund was it that returned 281.1%? (I assume it's a percentage, but correct me if I am wrong.) What is the ticker?

What is the make-up of all the funds (and their tickers) in your account? Are you sure they don't average out to be 25.5?

[toboramai]

VEIEX is the one that is up 281.1. I am also assuming percent but it is not clearly stated. It is not overall amount.

I have been moving in and out of funds so it is hard to calculate the returns on my own. I know I have bought and sold VEIEX a few times...

[disneysteve]

According to Vanguard's site, VEIEX has a YTD return as of 9/30/09 of 62.62%. I'm not sure where you are getting the 281.1% figure.

The 52-week low is $12.11 and the 52-week high is $24.48 so no matter when you bought or sold, I don't see how you could possibly have a personal return of 281.1%.

[toboramai]

According to Vanguard's site, VEIEX has a YTD return as of 9/30/09 of 62.62%. I'm not sure where you are getting the 281.1% figure.

The 52-week low is $12.11 and the 52-week high is $24.48 so no matter when you bought or sold, I don't see how you could possibly have a personal return of 281.1%.

Stock movements are not straightly linear so it is possible to have a higher return than the YTD return.

I am guessing vanguard takes net cash flow and current value to determine the rate of return which is not accurate. Below is a screenshot of the info.

[disneysteve]

I just looked at the performance chart posted here:

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0533&FundIntExt=INT#hist=tab%3A1

The 1-year return as of 9/30/09 is 16.81%. I realize that your personal return could be different based on when you bought and sold, but if the 52-week price range is about double ($12.11-$24.48), how could your return be nearly 300%?

I'd be curious to hear if you get an answer from Vanguard. Give them a call and see what they say.