Required recovery rate

To calculate the required recovery rate or breakeven rate for an investment loss, you can use a simple formula and format the result as a percentage. In the worksheet shown, the formula in cell F5 is: =1/(1+C5)-1 Where C5 is the loss in column C is expressed as a negative percentage. The result is the gain needed to recover the initial investment as a percentage. As the formula is copied down, it calculates the required recovery rate for each loss in the table. Notice that larger losses require much higher recovery rates.