Calculate Investment Loss: A Simple Percentage Formula

After purchasing a house, business or other investment, it is possible to lose money on that purchase.

Putting an investment into stocks, a business or a house can yield monetary rewards if that investment does well. Due to changing trends, however, it is possible for any investment to lose money. Investors can use a formula to calculate exactly how much money has been lost, also called the percent loss. This can be accomplished by determining the current value of an investment, and then subtracting the initial investment and adding dividends you may have earned.

Step 1

Determine your investment's current value. This is done in different ways, depending on the type of investment. For an investment such as stocks, for example, multiply the current individual share price by the number of shares you have.

Step 2

Subtract the initial investment amount from the current value you calculated. This shows your capital gains or losses.

Step 3

Add dividends, or extra money received, to the capital gains or losses. This gives the total gain or loss amount.

Step 4

Divide the total gain or loss by your initial investment amount, and then multiply that number by 100. You have calculated the percent loss.