We wanted to let you know about some changes we’ve made to the account summary screens in the app and specifically a couple of performance measures that we’ve added. We’ve tried to make it clearer to understand how your account is doing – it’s something a few Beanstalk users had asked for – so hopefully you will find it helpful. As always we welcome any feedback so please feel free to ping us an email if you have more suggestions.
The updated summary tab
The main changes we’ve made are on the account summary screen. Just click on “Manage” on the account you want to look at on the app home screen to get there.
If you are a donor linked to someone else’s child and the parent has given “Full View” permission you’ll see the same changes in your app.
At the top, you will see we’ve added a number to show how your account has done since it was opened. We’ve explained in a bit more detail below what each of the numbers shows but this one is the difference between the current value of your account and the net contributions that have been received. As the market values of investments that you hold move on a daily basis, this number will change each day.
Further down, we’ve provided a summary break-down of how the value in your account is made up. This shows items such as:
- contributions that have been made by you (and others if it is a Junior ISA) including any transfers in that we have received;
- any withdrawals that have been made (obviously for ISAs only);
- investment gains;
- any money back/rewards you have earned.
We’ve also added two performance indicators. These are explained later, but the two are:
- the total percentage growth since you opened your account with us;
- the average annual growth rate (we only show this once the account has been open for more than a year).
Previously the account summary screen included a summary of your investment and cash holdings. You can now find these by selecting “Holdings” on the drop down.
Holdings
What are the different measures?
To help you understand what is shown, we wanted to explain what is in each of the numbers.
“Investment gains”
This is the difference between the current value of the account plus any withdrawals, less the contributions that have been made which includes:
- money received from you
- transfers in
- money received from other contributors or money you’ve collected from cashback or bonuses (if account is a Junior ISA).
“Since opening” growth rate
This shows the percentage growth the account has experienced since it was opened and is calculated by dividing the sum of investment gains from above by the total contributions that have been received.
For example: if you have made £1,000 in contributions, have withdrawn £100 and the account is now worth £1,400, then your investment gains would be £500 (£1,400 value plus £100 withdrawn less £1,000 contributed) and the growth would be 50% (£500 divided by £1,000).
Annualised growth rate
We wanted to include the "since opening" growth rate as a number of users said they would find it helpful. However it can be misleading: in the example above, if you were to make another contribution of £1,000, then as soon as you had done that your growth rate would fall because the investment gains would still be £500, but your contributions would now be £2,000.
It is for this reason we have included an annualised growth rate as well. This is a complex calculation but in essence it looks at all the contributions and withdrawals that have been made, how long ago they were made and the current value and then calculates the annualised rate of return that you have received on your investments assuming it is constant over the period.
We are also planning to add some additional charts to the performance section which will show how the value of your account compares with contributions you have made for different time periods. We are putting the finishing touches to these and hope to have them released to the app shortly.
We hope you like the new features but as always please do let us know what you think or whether you have further suggestions.