Portfolio Yield Calculator

What the portfolio yield calculator does — and who it is for

This tool answers a specific, practical question: how much income is my portfolio actually generating, and where is that income coming from? You enter up to eight holdings — the value of each and its yield — and it returns your total annual income, the equivalent monthly figure, and the single blended yield that summarises the whole portfolio. It then breaks the income down holding by holding so you can see which assets are doing the heavy lifting. It is built for the internationally mobile and expatriate investors we work with across the Investments hub and the wider tools library, which is why it lets you report in GBP, USD, EUR or AED.

It is most useful in three situations: when you are living off (or planning to live off) portfolio income and need to know what it realistically produces; when you are comparing a yield-focused strategy against a total-return approach; and when you want a fast concentration check before adding to a position. The output is an illustration of income, not a recommendation to hold any particular asset.

How it works — the actual method

The maths is transparent and deliberately simple. For every holding, the calculator works out annual income = value × (yield ÷ 100). It sums those incomes to get your total annual income, divides by twelve for the monthly figure, and divides total income by total portfolio value to get the blended yield. Because the blend is value-weighted, larger holdings pull the headline number toward their own yield — it is not the plain average of the percentages you typed.

Alongside the headline, the tool computes two shares for each holding: its portfolio weight (its value as a percentage of the total) and its income share (its income as a percentage of all income). It identifies your largest income contributor, draws an allocation bar for each holding, and raises a concentration alert whenever any single position exceeds 40% of the portfolio. Everything recalculates live as you type, and you can switch reporting currency at any time.

Which yield figure to enter for each asset

Accuracy in equals accuracy out — the result is only as good as the yields you provide, so use the income figure your provider actually quotes rather than a performance number:

• Equities and ETFs — the trailing 12-month distribution or dividend yield from the factsheet.
• Bonds and bond funds — the running yield, or yield to maturity for a held-to-maturity view.
• Property funds and REITs — the distribution yield.
• Cash and deposits — the gross annual interest rate.
• Multi-asset or income funds — the “yield” or “income” figure shown on the factsheet.

Key assumptions and limitations

Read the numbers as a well-structured estimate, not a forecast. The calculator assumes the yields you enter are accurate and stay constant, whereas real distributions change and dividends can be cut. It reports income gross — before withholding tax, dividend or savings tax, and fund and platform charges — so your spendable income will be lower and depends on your tax residence and the wrapper the assets sit in. It does not convert currencies: it treats every entry as being in the reporting currency you have selected, so mixed-currency portfolios must be converted to one currency first. It captures income only and says nothing about capital growth, volatility or the sustainability of a payout. And because it is anonymous and figures are not stored, it cannot factor in your goals, liabilities or time horizon the way a full plan would.

How to read your result — a worked example

Take the three holdings the calculator loads by default: a £150,000 global equity fund at 2.5%, £80,000 of investment-grade bonds at 4.8%, and a £70,000 commercial-property REIT at 5.2%. The individual incomes are £3,750, £3,840 and £3,640 — a total of £11,230 a year, or about £936 a month, on a £300,000 portfolio. That gives a blended yield of 3.74%, comfortably below the highest single yield of 5.2% because the low-yielding equity fund is half the portfolio.

The breakdown is where the insight sits. The bonds are the largest income contributor at £3,840 (34% of all income) despite being only 27% of the portfolio by value, while the equity fund provides the least income relative to its size. And because that equity fund is 50% of the total, the tool raises its concentration alert: half your capital and its future depend on one holding. Read together, the figures tell you the portfolio leans on its bonds for income and on one fund for its capital — two very different exposures to keep an eye on. Widening the income base is exactly what our guide to building a sustainable income portfolio sets out to do.

Concentration and currency — why the extras matter

The 40% flag exists because a concentrated income stream is fragile: one distribution cut or price fall in a dominant holding can reshape your whole result. Spreading income across more assets, sectors and geographies is the standard defence, covered in our guide to international portfolio diversification. Currency is the second, easily overlooked, dimension: for a globally mobile investor the currency your income is paid in matters as much as the yield, because a portfolio yielding 5% in USD delivers a moving target in GBP or EUR terms as exchange rates shift. Convert your holdings into a single reporting currency — the FX transfer calculator can help — before you read too much into the blended figure.

Why it matters and what to do next

Knowing your real, value-weighted yield stops two common mistakes: assuming a couple of high-yielding holdings lift the whole portfolio (they rarely do), and mistaking a high headline yield for a good investment when total return net of tax and costs is what actually builds wealth. From here, three steps follow. First, make sure the income fits a risk level you are comfortable with — the attitude to risk questionnaire is a quick way to check. Second, set the portfolio in the context of everything else you own using the net worth calculator. Third, if the income is central to your plans, pressure-test its durability and structure — the expat retirement income guide and a conversation with an adviser are the right next moves before you rely on the numbers.