How long is the holding period?

How do I calculate 'weekly' holding period return?

• I know HPR is (Ending-Beginning+Sum(Payments))/Beginning, but how do I find weekly HPR?

• Answer:

  Generally (emphasis there), and esp. in a textbook context, that question is more precisely intending, "What rate, if earned each week over the holding period, and compounded weekly, would produce the same overall return over the holding period as that actually experienced (or expected)?" ... in which case it's (Ending val / Beginning val)^(1/n) - 1 ...where n is the number of weeks in the holding period. For example, a weekly return of 0.351234% generates the same ending value after one year as a 20% annual return. That's the most common approach to a question worded that way, but not the only approach---make sure the question's asker (or your text) is clear on the underlying assumptions, particularly with respect to compounding frequency.