Robert Mackenzie, CFA, buys 100 shares of GWN Breweries each year for four years at prices of C$10, C$12, C$15 and C$13 respectively. GWN pays a dividend of C$1.00 at the end of each year. One year after his last purchase he sells all his GWN shares at C$14. Mackenzie calculates his average cost per share as [(C$10 + C$12 + C$15 + C$13) / 4] = C$12.50. Mackenzie then uses the internal rate of return technique to calculate that his money-weighted annual rate of return is 12.9%. Has Mackenzie correctly determined his average cost per share and money-weighted rate of return?
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Average cost |
Money-weighted return |
Because Mackenzie purchased the same number of shares each year, the arithmetic mean is appropriate for calculating the average cost per share. If he had purchased shares for the same amount of money each year, the harmonic mean would be appropriate. Mackenzie is also correct in using the internal rate of return technique to calculate the money-weighted rate of return. The calculation is as follows:
Time |
Purchase/Sale |
Dividend |
Net cash flow |
0 |
-1,000 |
0 |
-1,000 |
1 |
-1,200 |
+100 |
-1,100 |
2 |
-1,500 |
+200 |
-1,300 |
3 |
-1,300 |
+300 |
-1,000 |
4 |
400 × 14 = +5,600 |
+400 |
+6,000 |
CF0 = ?1,000; CF1 = ?1,100; CF2 = ?1,300; CF3 = ?1,000; CF4 = 6,000; CPT → IRR = 12.9452.
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