
The geometric mean is the average growth of an investment computed by multiplying n variables and then taking the nth – root. In other words, it is the average return of an investment over time, a metric used to evaluate the performance of a single investment or an investment portfolio
What is the geometric mean used for in stocks?
Stock Index. The geometric mean is also occasionally used in constructing stock indexes. Many of the Value Line indexes maintained by Financial Times use geometric average. In this type of index, all stocks have equal weights, regardless of their market capitalizations or prices.
How to calculate the geometric mean?
The geometric mean is used to tackle continuous data series which the arithmetic mean is unable to accurately reflect. Geometric Mean Formula for Investments . Geometric Mean = [Product of (1 + Rn)] ^ (1/n) -1 . Where: Rn = growth rate for year N . Using the same example as we did for the arithmetic mean, the geometric mean calculation equals:
What is the geometric mean of return on investment?
Return, or growth, is one of the important parameters used to determine the profitability of an investment, either in the present or the future. When the return or growth amount is compounded, the investor needs to use the geometric mean to calculate the final value of the investment.

How do you figure geometric mean?
In order to find the geometric mean, multiply all of the values together before taking the nth root, where n equals the total number of values in the set. You can also use the logarithmic functions on your calculator to solve the geometric mean if you want.
What is the easiest way to find the geometric mean?
1:482:57Geometric Mean How to Find - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo if you want just a quick way of doing it all you do is just multiply the two numbers togetherMoreSo if you want just a quick way of doing it all you do is just multiply the two numbers together take the square root and that's your geometric. Mean.
How do you calculate geometric mean growth rate?
To do this, we add one to each number (to avoid any problems with negative percentages). Then, multiply all the numbers together and raise their product to the power of one divided by the count of the numbers in the series. Then, we subtract one from the result.
How do you calculate the geometric mean return in Excel?
For example, given two numbers, 4 and 9, the long-hand calculation for the geometric mean is 6:=(4*9)^(1/2) =(36)^(1/2) =6.=GEOMEAN(4,9) // returns 6.=(4+9)/2=6.5.=GEOMEAN(D6:D10)-1.
Which is the correct process in solving for geometric means?
You get geometric mean by multiplying numbers together and then finding the nth n t h root of the numbers such that the nth n t h root is equal to the amount of numbers you multiplied.
What's the geometric mean of 8 and 12?
Geometric Mean TableGeometric Mean of 4 and 96Geometric Mean of 8 and 129.7980Geometric Mean of 9 and 1612Geometric Mean of 8 and 1812Geometric Mean of 5 and 158.66039 more rows
What is a geometric mean ratio?
In statistics, the geometric mean is calculated by raising the product of a series of numbers to the inverse of the total length of the series. The geometric mean is most useful when numbers in the series are not independent of each other or if numbers tend to make large fluctuations.
How do you find the geometric mean and standard deviation?
Definitions of geometric statistics The quantity GM = exp(μ) is the geometric mean. It is estimated from a sample by the quantity exp(m), where m is the arithmetic mean of the log-transformed data. The quantity GSD = exp(σ) is defined to be the geometric standard deviation.
How do you calculate geometric return?
0:002:46How to Calculate the Geometric Average Return - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnnual rate of return or the compounded annual growth rate. So when we think about this compoundedMoreAnnual rate of return or the compounded annual growth rate. So when we think about this compounded rate of return what we're going to do to calculate. It is we're going to take the return each period.
What is geometric mean Excel?
0:441:54Using Excel's Little Known GEOMEAN Function - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMean of a range of numbers to calculate a geometric mean in Excel you can use the Geo mean functionMoreMean of a range of numbers to calculate a geometric mean in Excel you can use the Geo mean function which returns the average growth rate with. The effect of compounding. You can use Geo mean to
How do you calculate the mean return on a portfolio?
Mean returns are calculated by adding the product of all possible return probabilities and returns and placing them against the weighted average of the sum.
How do I calculate the geometric mean?
There are two steps to calculating the geometric mean : Multiply all values together to get their product. Find the n th root of the product ( n...
What’s the difference between the arithmetic and geometric means?
The arithmetic mean is the most commonly used type of mean and is often referred to simply as “the mean.” While the arithmetic mean is based on...
What are measures of central tendency?
Measures of central tendency help you find the middle, or the average, of a data set. The 3 most common measures of central tendency are the mean,...
Why use Geometric Mean?
The arithmetic mean is the calculated average of the middle value of a data series. It is accurate to take an average of independent data, but weakness exists in a continuous data series calculation.
Example of the Geometric Mean in Finance
Return, or growth, is one of the important parameters used to determine the profitability of an investment, either in the present or the future. When the return or growth amount is compounded, the investor needs to use the geometric mean to calculate the final value of the investment.
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We hope this has been a helpful guide to understanding geometric mean as it applies to finance and portfolio management. To keep learning, we recommend exploring these relevant CFI resources below:
Geometric mean formula
The geometric mean formula can be written in two ways, but they are equivalent mathematically.
When should you use the geometric mean?
The geometric mean is best for reporting average inflation, percentage change, and growth rates. Because these types of data are expressed as fractions, the geometric mean is more accurate for them than the arithmetic mean.
Example: Geometric mean of percentages
You’re interested in the average voter turnout of the past five US elections. You’ve gathered the following data.
Example: Geometric mean of widely varying values
You compare the efficiency of two machines for three procedures that are assessed on different scales. To find the mean efficiency of each machine, you find the geometric and arithmetic means of their procedure rating scores.
Geometric mean vs. arithmetic mean
The geometric mean is more accurate than the arithmetic mean for showing percentage change over time or compound interest.
When is the geometric mean better than the arithmetic mean?
Even though it’s less commonly used, the geometric mean is more accurate than the arithmetic mean for positively skewed data and percentages.
Pritha Bhandari
Pritha has an academic background in English, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As an interdisciplinary researcher, she enjoys writing articles explaining tricky research concepts for students and academics.
What is geometric mean?
Geometric mean, sometimes referred to as compounded annual growth rate or time-weighted rate of return, is the average rate of return of a set of values calculated using the products of the terms. What does that mean? Geometric mean takes several values and multiplies them together and sets them to the 1/nth power.
Why is geometric mean important?
Geometric mean is an important tool for calculating portfolio performance for many reasons, but one of the most significant is it takes into account the effects of compounding .
Can the arithmetic mean be used as a quick and dirty estimate of the actual annual return?
First, if the return variance is small from year to year, then the arithmetic mean can be used as a quick and dirty estimate of the actual average annual return. Second, if there is great variation each year, then the arithmetic average will overstate the actual average annual return by a large amount.
Is the geometric mean easy to use?
Arithmetic mean is easy to use, quick to calculate, and can be useful when trying to find the average for many things in life. However, it is an inappropriate metric to use to determine the actual average return of an investment . The geometric mean is a more difficult metric to use and understand. However, it is an exceedingly more useful tool ...
What is geometric mean return?
What is the Geometric Mean Return? The geometric mean return calculates the average return for the investments which are compounded on the basis of its frequency depending on the time period and it is used to analyze the performance of investment as it indicates the return from an investment.
What is money market?
Money Market The money market is a market where institutions and traders trade short-term and open-ended funds. It enables borrowers to readily meet finance requirements through any financial asset that can be readily converted into money, providing an organization with a high level of liquidity and transferability. read more
What is the geometric mean in stock indexes?
In Stock Indexes. The geometric mean is also occasionally used in constructing stock indexes. Many of the Value Line indexes maintained by the Financial Times employ the geometric mean. 1 In this type of index, all stocks have equal weights, regardless of their market capitalizations or prices. The index is calculated by taking ...
When is the geometric mean used?
The geometric mean is most useful when numbers in the series are not independent of each other or if numbers tend to make large fluctuations. Applications of the geometric mean are most common in business and finance, where it is frequently used when dealing with percentages to calculate growth rates and returns on a portfolio of securities. ...
Who created the geometric mean?
The geometric mean was first conceptualized by Greek philosopher Pythagoras of Samos and is closely associated with two other classical means made famous by him: the arithmetic mean and the harmonic mean. The geometric mean is also used for sets of numbers, where the values that are multiplied together are exponential.
When is it more difficult to calculate geometric mean?
However, when there are many numbers, it is more difficult to calculate unless a calculator or computer program is used . The longer the time horizon, the more critical compounding becomes, and the more appropriate the use of geometric mean.
What is geometric mean?
The geometric mean is the average of a set of products, the calculation of which is commonly used to determine the performance results of an investment or portfolio. It is technically defined as "the nth root product of n numbers.".
Why is geometric mean important?
The geometric mean is an important tool for calculating portfolio performance for many reasons, but one of the most significant is it takes into account the effects of compounding .
Which means is most appropriate for series that exhibit serial correlation?
Geometric mean is most appropriate for series that exhibit serial correlation—this is especially true for investment portfolios. Most returns in finance are correlated, including yields on bonds, stock returns, and market risk premiums.
Geometric Mean Return
The geometric mean return, also called the geometric average return, is a way to calculate the average compounding rate of return on the investments. It considers the compound interests multiplied by the interest over the number of periods.
Geometric Average Return Formula
The most commonly used formula to calculate the Geometric Average Return is −
Geometric Average Return Analysis
The geometric mean is called by many names, such as the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR), the geometric average, or the time-weighted rate of return (TWRR). It represents the rate of the average return for a set of values.
What is the geometric mean?
There are many ways to measure financial portfolio performance and determine if an investment strategy is successful. Investment professionals often use the geometric average, more commonly called the geometric mean .
Why is the geometric mean more accurate than the arithmetic mean?
The geometric mean differs from the arithmetic average, or arithmetic mean, in how it is calculated because it takes into account the compounding that occurs from period to period. Because of this, investors usually consider the geometric mean a more accurate measure of returns than the arithmetic mean.
Why do we use an arithmetic average for test scores?
This would be calculated as: The reason we use an arithmetic average for test scores is that each score is an independent event. If one student happens to perform poorly on the exam, the next student's chances of performing poorly (or well) on the exam is not affected.
How to find average of test scores?
If you were asked to find the class (arithmetic) average of test scores, you would simply add up all the test scores of the students and then divide that sum by the number of students.
Which means is most appropriate for series that exhibit serial correlation?
The geometric mean is most appropriate for series that exhibit serial correlation. This is especially true for investment portfolios. Most returns in finance are correlated, including yields on bonds, stock returns, and market risk premiums. The longer the time horizon, the more critical compounding becomes, and the more appropriate the use ...

Why Use Geometric Mean?
- Multiply the values you want to find the geometric mean for. You can either use a calculator or do the math by hand when you find the product. Multiply all of the numbers in the set you’re calculating so you can find the product. Write down the product so you don’t forget it.[1] X Research source For example, if the value set is 3, 5, and 12, then you would write: (3 x 5 x 12…
- Find the nth root of the product where n is the number of values. Count how many values are …
Geometric Mean Formula For Investments
Example of The Geometric Mean in Finance
More Resources
- Geometric Mean = [Product of (1 + Rn)] ^ (1/n) -1
Where: 1. Rn = growth rate for year N Using the same example as we did for the arithmetic mean, the geometric mean calculation equals: Multiply the result by 100 to calculate the percentage. This results in a -3.62% annual return.