Return On Investment (ROI) Formula: (Gain from Investment – Cost of Investment)/ Cost of Investment

This formula does not take any risks associated with the investment into consideration. Therefore, it can be assumed that it is one of the biggest limitations of Return on Investment. 

Let’s suppose that an investor wants to buy the property in Chicago for $400,000. After three years, he will sell the property for $750,000. Taking the above formula into consideration, we will calculate the return on his investment on this property.

ROI= ($750,000 – $400,000) / ($400,000) = 87.5%

The same formula is also useable to calculate the cost of investment if we know the ROI. For instance, if the investor wanted an ROI of 50%, and he knew his initial cost of investment, he could take out the gain from the initial investment to realize his desired return on investment.  

Annualised Return On Investment

Annualized return on Investment varies from basic Return on Investment as it takes into account the Investment Time/ Holding Period. Furthermore, if we compare the results of these two calculations, the annualized ROI is more useful than the basic ROI figure. While the time factor is the key for annualized ROI, it still does not include the investment risks and other situations.