
TIME VALUE OF MONEY 3-9
v.05/13/94 v-1.1
p.01/14/00
Compound Interest
Reinvestment
of interest
payment
It is common for investments to receive (pay) multiple interest
payments rather than one payment at the end of the investment period.
Usually, each interest payment is reinvested at the same rate as the
original principal.
For example, interest is calculated on a savings account balance at the
end of some period and the interest payment is credited to the
account. At the end of the next period, interest is calculated on the
new balance (the original principal plus the last interest payment) and
credited to the account. The process of compounding interest
continues for each period over the life of the investment. There are
two ways to calculate compound interest: discretely and
continuously.
Discrete Compounding for Annual Periods
Interest paid at
regular
intervals
Interest calculated at specified regular intervals is said to be
discretely compounded. An example is a savings account on which
interest is calculated monthly and deposited in the account. The
formula for calculating discretely compounded interest is:
I = P (1 + R)
T
- P
Where:
I = Interest earned or paid
P = Principal
R = Stated (nominal) interest rate for
each interest paying period
T = Number of interest paying periods
Let's use the formula to calculate the interest on an investment.
Suppose that you invest $400,000 at 6% per annum (p.a.) for two
years, compounded annually. At the end of the two years, the
investment earns $49,440 in interest.