Portfolio Builder
Set your mix of stocks, bonds and cash, and how the equity splits across Canada, the US and the world, then see the expected return net of fees, a range of outcomes, and the retirement income it could support. Built on FP Canada's 2026 planning assumptions.
Allocation
Your target weights. The equity sleeve is broken out by region so you can see your home-country tilt.
Projected growth & range of outcomes
The solid line is the expected path at your net return. The dashed lines are an illustrative corridor assuming returns ran a full ±1σ every single year, not a confidence interval (a true ±1σ spread over many years is much narrower). A planning sketch, not a forecast.
Expected contribution by asset class
Each class's assumed return and its share of the projected final balance (assuming you rebalance back to these target weights).
| Asset class | Weight | Assumed return | Share of final value |
|---|
Year-by-year projection
Expected balance and the illustrative ±1σ-every-year corridor, alongside what you've contributed. The final row is your horizon.
| Year | Contributed | Low (−1σ) | Expected | High (+1σ) |
|---|
How this is calculated
Expected return (FP Canada 2026 assumptions)
Each asset class is assigned a long-run nominal return from the FP Canada 2026 Projection Assumption Guidelines (before fees): Canadian equity 6.3%, US equity 6.4%, international equity 6.6%, fixed income 3.2%, cash 2.4%. Your portfolio's gross return is the weighted average, and the equity portion is itself blended by your Canada/US/international split:
gross = stocks% × (CAD% × 6.3 + US% × 6.4 + Intl% × 6.6) + bonds% × 3.2 + cash% × 2.4
Your net return subtracts the MER: net = gross − MER. The MER is charged on the whole balance every year, so it comes straight off the return and compounds against you.
Growth projection
We compound monthly, adding your contribution at the end of each month: balance = balance × (1 + m) + monthly, using an effective monthly rate m = (1 + net)^(1/12) − 1. The final balance minus everything you contributed is your total gains. The MER drag is the dollar gap between this path and an identical zero-fee path.
Range of outcomes (a planning approximation)
Portfolio volatility uses a simple proxy: σ ≈ stocks% × 15 + bonds% × 5 + cash% × 1 (percentage points). We then project two extra paths that earn net + σ and net − σ every single year. That is deliberately an illustrative corridor, not a confidence interval: real annual returns vary independently, so a genuine ±1σ spread of the final value grows only about σ√n and is far narrower than this corridor (which compounds the full σ every year). It is not a probability band or a Monte Carlo simulation, and the high path in particular runs hot. Treat it as a rough sense of how much outcomes can spread, not a promise. (A proper lognormal/Monte-Carlo interval is a planned upgrade.)
Retirement income at 4%
The income figure applies a 4% safe withdrawal rate to your projected final balance. The 4% rule of thumb has historically supported roughly 30 years of inflation-adjusted withdrawals, but it ignores taxes, CPP/OAS, and sequence-of-returns risk, see the retirement drawdown and FIRE tools for a fuller picture.
Diversification & rebalancing
Spreading across regions and asset classes reduces the chance that any single market sinks your plan; a home-country tilt to Canada is common, but the TSX is heavily weighted to financials and energy, which is why global diversification matters. The per-class table assumes you rebalance back to your target weights, which is what keeps your risk level steady over time.
What this doesn't model
Inflation adjustment on the headline (figures are nominal/future dollars), taxes and account type (TFSA vs RRSP vs non-registered), correlation between asset classes, dividend versus capital-gains treatment, or currency risk on foreign holdings. For fee-only detail try the compound growth & fee drag tool.
Common questions
What expected return should I use for a Canadian portfolio in 2026?
This tool uses the FP Canada 2026 Projection Assumption Guidelines (nominal, before fees): 6.3% Canadian equity, 6.4% US equity, 6.6% international equity, 3.2% fixed income, and 2.4% cash. Your portfolio's expected return is the weighted average of these based on your allocation, minus your MER.
How much does a 1% MER cost me over the long run?
The MER is charged on your whole balance every year, so it comes straight off your return and compounds against you. On a portfolio held for 25-30 years, each 1% of MER can quietly consume a large share of your gains. This tool shows the MER drag as a dollar figure by comparing your net path to a zero-fee version.
What does the range of outcomes band mean?
It is an illustrative corridor, not a confidence interval. We estimate portfolio volatility from a simple proxy (stocks contribute 15%, bonds 5%, cash 1%) and project two extra paths that earn your expected return plus and minus one standard deviation every single year. Because real annual returns vary independently, a genuine one-standard-deviation spread of the final value grows only about sigma times the square root of the years and is much narrower than this corridor. Treat it as a rough sense of dispersion, not a probability guarantee; a proper Monte Carlo interval is a planned upgrade.
How much retirement income can my portfolio support?
As a rule of thumb the tool applies a 4% safe withdrawal rate to your projected final balance, giving a rough annual income that has historically had a good chance of lasting about 30 years. It is a starting estimate; a real drawdown plan should account for taxes, CPP/OAS, sequence-of-returns risk, and your actual account types.
Why do my allocation sliders always add up to 100%?
A portfolio is always 100% invested. When you drag one slider the others scale proportionally so the weights always sum to 100%. The same auto-normalizing behaviour applies to the Canada/US/international split within your equity sleeve.