Definitions

By Jose Antonio Carrera

Payback Period
the length of time required for an investment to recover its initial outlay in terms of profits or savings. According to Google.

Net Cash Flow

Cash flow is the movement of money into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It is usually measured during a specified, limited period of time. Measurement of cash flow can be used for calculating other parameters that give information on a company's value and situation. According to Google.

Average Rate of Return

The simple mathematical average of a series of returns generated over a period of time. An average return is calculated the same way a simple average is calculated for any set of numbers; the numbers are added together into a single sum, and then the sum is divided by the count of the numbers in the set. According to Investopedia.

Average Return Explained

For example, suppose an investment had returned the following annual returns over a period of five full years: 10%, 15%, 10%, 0% and 5%. To calculate the average return for the investment over this five-year period, the five annual returns would be added together and then divided by five. This produces an annual average return of 8%. According to Investopedia.