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What is Capital Gains Yield CGY and Why is it Important? Everything You Need to Know

Are you curious about Capital Gains Yield (CGY) and its significance? If you’re an investor, understanding CGY is crucial for assessing the profitability of your investments.

In this article, we’ll dive into the ins and outs of CGY, exploring its definition, calculation, and why it holds importance in the world of finance. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting out, this guide will equip you with the knowledge you need to make informed investment decisions. So, let’s get started and unlock the power of Capital Gains Yield!

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What is Capital Gain Yield (CGY)?

A capital gains yield is a financial modeling formula that measures the increase in the price of an investment – whether it is a stock, bond, etc. It does not include dividends, and the capital gain yield is based only on price increases of the investment.

You may have seen capital gains yield also referred to as CGY (the initials) or the “rate of change formula”.

  • The capital gains yield is the percentage of a security’s price that is attributable to its capital gains. 
  • Capital gains are the profits that an investor realizes when he or she sells a security for a price that is higher than the purchase price. 
  • The CGY is a measure of the return on investment that an investor can expect to receive from a security that has appreciated in value.

Why Is The Capital Gains Yield Important?

The capital gains yield is important because it is a measure of the return that an investor receives from a security. The higher the capital gains yield, the greater the return.

The CGY is the percentage of a security’s price that is attributable to its capital gains. Capital gains are the profits that an investor realizes when he or she sells a security for more than the purchase price. The capital gains yield is calculated by dividing the security’s capital gains by its current price.

The rate of change formula can be a useful tool for investors who are trying to assess the potential return on their investment. However, it is important to remember that the rate of change yield is only one factor that should be considered when making investment decisions. Other factors, such as the security’s dividend yield and its price-to-earnings ratio, can also provide valuable insights into a security’s potential return.

What Factors Affect The Capital Gains Yield?

There are a number of factors that can have an affect, including: 

  • The investment’s original purchase price, or cost basis.
  • The security’s current or sale price
  • The amount of capital gains
  • and the length of time that the security is held.
Dividends & Capital Gains
Dividends & Capital Gains

The Benefits of Calculating Capital Gains Yield

By calculating the CGY, you can understand where your investment returns came from.  Whether the returns came from dividends, or growth of the investment over time.  

What Does Capital Gain Yield Show You?

CGY will show how the price or value of an investment has grown over a period of time.  This will show the investor whether or not the investment has been increasing in value, and give a good indication of how well the investment has been performing.

How to Find Capital Gains Yield – How Do You Calculate Capital Gains Yield?

When it comes to finding capital gains yield, there are a few different ways that you can go about it. You can either use an online calculator, or you can do the math yourself. 

If you want to use an online calculator, there are a few different options that you have. You can use the one that is offered by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or you can use a third-party website. 

If you want to do the math yourself, you will need to know the purchase price, the sale price, and know basic math. With this information, you can calculate the capital gains yield. 

The CGY is the percentage of the sale price that is profit. To calculate it, you will take the sale price and subtract the purchase price, or cost basis. This will give you the amount of money that you made on the sale. Also called profit, gain or capital gain.

You will then take this number and divide it by the purchase price. This will give you the capital gains yield. 

  1. Find the original purchase price of your investment. This is the “cost basis” and is used to calculate the percent return. 
  2. Find the current or the sale price of your investment.. 
  3. Subtract the cost basis from the sale price to get the capital gains of your investment. 
  4. Now calculate the capital gains yield – 
  5. Divide the capital gain by the cost basis and multiply by 100 to get the percent return. 

Capital Gain written on cube wooden blocks

Let’s look at an example of how to go through the capital gains yield calculation; 

Steps 1 & 2 

Let’s say you bought a stock for (step 1) $50 and sold it for (step 2) $70

Steps 3, 4, and 5

The capital gain would be (step 3)$20, and the capital gains yield would be (step 4) 40% (step 5) ((20/50)*100)

All we need to do is to put the information into the formula to calculate the capital gains yield calculation.

Here is a second example.  Let’s say that you bought 100 shares of stock for $10 per share price. You then sold those same 100 shares for $15 per share. To calculate the capital gains yield, you would

  • Take the $15 sale price and 
  • Subtract the $10 purchase price. 
  • This would give you a capital gain of $500 total for 100 shares, or $5 per share price. 
  • You would then take this $5 per share gain and divide it by the $10 purchase price. 
  • This would give you a capital gains yield of 50%.
Gain success silhouette

How to Calculate Capital Gains Yield Equation?

Now that we have walked through a few examples of how to calculate the rate of CGY – let’s look at the formula behind the calculation.

Capital Gain Yield Formula / Formula for Capital Gains Yield 

The CGY Formula is used to calculate the expected return from an investment in an asset, where the return is defined as the capital gains from the sale of the asset. The formula is:

Expected Capital Gains Yield Formula = (Sale price – Purchase price) / Purchase price

The expected return is a function of the sale price and the purchase price of the asset. 

  • The higher the sale price, the higher the expected return. 
  • The lower the purchase price, the higher the expected return.

Let’s take a look at the expected capital gains formula now:

CGY Capital Gains Yield Formula

Capital Gains Yield Formula

P0 = price of the investment when you first invested in it

P1 = price of the investment currently, or when you sold it

* The Capital Gain Yield Formula can be used to estimate the return from an investment in any asset, including stocks, bonds, real estate, and collectibles.

Let’s look at an example of a capital gains yield, combining the previous example we used with the formula:

We already went over the Capital Gains Yield formula of (P1 – P0) / P0

  • So our capital gain in the example would be calculated as follows:  ($70 – $50) / $50
  • Capital Gains calculation as follows $20 / $50 or ⅖.
  • So our capital gains yield would be 40%.

By following the formula, we know that you had a 40% capital gain yield with this investment.

* Capital gains may result in paying capital gains taxes. However, investors can offset the taxes by capital losses or carry it over into the following year.

Capital Gains Yield Calculator

Now you have a good knowledge of what goes into the capital gains yield calculation, the capital gains yield formula, and how they work.  But you may still not like doing the math by hand.  That’s fine, you are not alone.

Here is an online calculator you can use to help you in calculating your capital gains yield:



If You Prefer to Download Your Free Copy Of The Capital Gains Yield Calculator – CLICK BELOW

Capital Gains Yield Excel Worksheet

 *Directions 

  • Be sure to click FILE > MAKE A COPY > MAKE A COPY 
  • This will allow you to have your own version of the credit utilization calculator – and no one will see your information that you enter.

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Gold Text Bond Yield 3D

Capital Gains Yield Bonds – How to Calculate Capital Gains Yield on Bonds

You calculate the capital gains yield for bonds the same way you would calculate it for a stock, or any other investment for the most part.  

To calculate the capital gains yield for bonds, you once again look at the price you paid for the bond, and divide it by the current or sale price of the bond. 

You would use the same capital gains yield formula or calculator as you used above for a bond or a stock.

What Is The Difference Between Capital Gains Yield And Current Yield?

The primary differences between capital gain yield and current yield is simple:

  • Capital gains yield will only look at the amount that the investment went up in value (or down), and will not factor in any dividend paid from the investment.
  • Current yield will look at BOTH, the increase in the value of the investment AND the dividends paid from the investment as well..

Is There a Difference Between Capital Gains Yield and Current Yield for a Bond?

They are very different – the current yield measures the income while the capital gain yield measures the growth of the investment.

There are many different ways to measure the performance of an investment, but two of the most common are capital gain and dividend yield. Capital gain yield is the increase in the value of an investment over time, while dividend yield is the percentage of the investment’s value that is paid out in dividends each year.

  • As we have discussed earlier, capital gains yield measures a given investment rate that it increased or appreciated. The key here is, this is the measure of growth of the investment.
  • Current yield of a bond is a measure of the income being produced by the bond.  You measure a bond’s current yield by dividing the annual interest income by the current bond price.

Both capital gain and dividend yield can be useful measures of an investment’s performance, but they have different strengths and weaknesses. 

  • Capital gain is a good measure of an investment’s overall growth, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the income that the investment is generating. 
  • Dividend yield, on the other hand, is a good measure of an investment’s income, but it doesn’t tell you anything about the investment’s overall growth.

So, which is more important? That depends on your goals. If you’re looking for an investment that will grow in value over time, then capital gain is more important. If you’re looking for an investment that will generate income, then dividend yield is more important.

Total Return = Capital Gain Plus Dividend Yield

Total return is the percentage of increase or decrease in an investment over a given period of time. 

It is composed of two parts: 

  • Capital gain yield and 
  • Dividend yield. 

Capital gain is the increase in the value of an investment, while dividend yield is the return in the form of dividends. 

Calculating the rate of total return of an investment is important because it provides investors with an idea of how their investment is performing. It is also a good way to compare different investments. 

For example, if two investments have the same capital gain yield, but one has a higher dividend yield, the total return of the investment with the higher dividend yield will be higher. 

Total return is also a good way to measure risk. Typically the higher the total return, the higher the risk. This is because higher returns are expected to usually come with higher risks. For example, a stock that has a high total return is usually more volatile than a stock with a lower total return. 

Investors should keep in mind that total return is not the only thing that matters when it comes to investing. They should also consider other factors such as the stability of the investment, the company’s financial condition, and the political and economic conditions of the country where the investment is located.

Holding Period Return Calculator

Have you ever wondered what your investments rate of return has been? Your capital gain yield? What is my dividend yield or holding period return? Try this calculator and find out:


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Capital Gains Yield FAQs

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Michael Ryan
Michael Ryanhttps://michaelryanmoney.com/
A former stockbroker, financial planner, and owner of my own financial planning practice and then a property & casualty agency. I have since retired and decided I want to help individuals and business owners by offering personal financial coaching. And now, I have started my blog - www.michaelryanmoney.com - to bring financial literacy to everyone. In a short time I have already been quoted and featured in US News & World Report, Business Insider, Yahoo Finance, and more (https://michaelryanmoney.com/home/press/) As a financial planner, I helped people from all walks of life. If you have questions about money, I will help you find the answers at www.MichaelRyanMoney.com
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