instructions in this Fact Sheet.
Period Returns
The percent change in the share price of a given fund from the end of a prior period (e.g., day,
week, month, or year) to the end of the current period is the rate of return for that period. The
following example shows how to calculate a monthly rate of return. You can use this method to
calculate the return for any length of time.

Calculation of the monthly return for the C Fund for July 2005:






Month-end Share Price



June 30, 2005

12.81



July 31, 2005

13.28 (from Friday, July 29)

Percent Change = [(13.28 12.81)/12.81] x 100 = 3.67%

Monthly Return = 3.67%
Compound Annual Returns
The Board provides compound annual returns when showing investment performance for 10
years. The compound annual return represents the geometric average annual return for the period.
An example of the 4-step calculation using the S&P 500 index returns from 1995 through 2004 is
provided on the back of this page.
(Continued on back) - 2 -
Step 1
: Convert percentages to decimals (move the decimal point two places to the left) and add 1 (You must
add 1 to the returns and multiply the resulting factors together (see Step 2) to include the effect of com-
pounding. Calculating the simple average (adding the returns and dividing by 10) ignores the effect of
compounding.):
1995
37.58% = .3758 + 1 = 1.3758
1996
22.96% = .2296 + 1 = 1.2296
1997
33.36% = .3336 + 1 = 1.3336
1998
28.58% = .2858 + 1 = 1.2858
1999
21.04% = .2104 + 1 = 1.2104
2000
(9.10%) = .0910 + 1 = .9090
2001
(11.89%) = .1189 + 1 = .8811
2002
(22.10%) = .2210 + 1 = .7790
2003
28.69% = .2869 + 1 = 1.2869
2004
10.88% = .1088 + 1 = 1.1088
Step 2:

Multiply the factors you calculated in Step 1 together:
1.3758 x 1.2296 x 1.3336 x 1.2858 x 1.2104 x
.9090 x .8811 x .7790 x 1.2869 x 1.1088 = 3.1259
Note: If you subtract 1 from the result of this step (3.1259 1 = 2.1259), and multiply by
100 (2.1259 x 100 = 212.59%), you get the cumulative return for the period.
Step 3:
Take the nth root (where n equals the number of years in the period) of the result of Step 2:
10
3.1259 = 1.1207
Step 4:
Subtract 1 from the result of Step 3 and multiply by 100:
(1.1207 1) x 100 = .1207 x 100 = 12.07%

12.07% equals the compound annual return for the S&P 500 index for 1995 - 2004. You may get
slightly different results because of rounding.