Choose the measure before comparing
A move from 100 to 108 produces a price return of 108 / 100 − 1 = 8%. Cash distributions are absent from that calculation. For a simple holding without external contributions, return including cash income is (ending price − starting price + distributions per share) / starting price.
A total-return index generally assumes that distributions are reinvested according to its methodology. A portfolio retaining dividends as cash follows a different path. Check the series name, currency and adjustment policy before making comparisons.
Worked example: 8% price gain, 12% including income
Buy 25 fictional shares at 100 units each, investing 2,500. They finish at 108 and distribute 4 per share during the period. The shares are worth 2,700 and the cash income is 100. Gross profit is 300, or 12%, while the quotation rose only 8%.
With an assumed 20% withholding on the distribution, cash income becomes 80. Before dealing costs, profit is 280 / 2,500 = 11.2%. A buying fee of 5 and a selling fee of 5 reduce profit to 270. The actual initial outlay includes the buying fee, so return on that outlay is 270 / 2,505 ≈ 10.78%. These tax and fee assumptions are fictional, not the terms of a particular account.
Avoid counting the same dividend twice
A provider may adjust historical prices for distributions and corporate actions. If a series already incorporates reinvestment, adding those dividends again double counts the income. Ordinary prices, adjusted prices and total-return indices can follow different conventions.
A dividend is not a free addition to wealth: prices can change when shares trade without the dividend entitlement. Reinvestment across several payments depends on the payment dates and purchase prices. Currency changes and expenses also matter. A return over an arbitrary period is not automatically an annual return.
A practical chart check
In Student Wyckoff Pro, open an available instrument and identify the same start and end dates on closed bars. Record the instrument and data-source information. If the adjustment policy is unknown, label that uncertainty rather than treating the chart as total return.
List starting value, ending value, distributions and expenses separately. Save the workspace to revisit the price observation. The platform supports chart analysis; the exercise’s dividend and tax arithmetic is performed separately from the chart.
Primary sources
Sources explain the mechanics and limitations; the editorial examples use invented numbers rather than market quotations.
Your next practical step
Check the price-series definition first, then save a consistent comparison period on your chart.
Open the first-chart instructions ↗