The Performance insight allows users to adjust assumed returns on investments incrementally upwards or down to see the results of higher or lower than expected returns in the plan’s charts.
The Performance slider can be used to adjust capital growth upwards or downwards in 1% increments from their starting position. For example, if you have an account that is set to grow at a growth rate of 2% (net of any account fees) and you move the performance slider up a notch from midpoint, the growth rate would be 3%. Move the slider a notch down from midpoint and the growth rate would be 1%.
This assumes the Growth settings for the investment or savings account does not have the Growth is Fixed option ticked. When ticked, the account growth rate will not be altered by the Performance slider. Cash accounts (accounts entered on the Savings screen) are defaulted to have the Growth is Fixed option ticked, effectively omitting them from this simulation, at least by default, provided cash/savings accounts are not set in Plan Settings to be grown using a 100% cash allocation.
Accounts that are set to be grown using asset allocation, are handled differently. When you view the Growth (or Growth & Yield) panel for a Savings, Investment or Pensions, you will see the option to grow the account by “Portfolio/Holdings”.
When this option is selected, rather than using a fixed growth rate, the account's growth will be derived from market assumptions based on the account's asset allocation.
When you move the slider upwards or downwards, the growth rate for the account will move closer to the Upside or Downside return rate, depending on the direction you move the slider.
You can view the adjusted return rates while using the Performance slider in the ledger and also by double clicking any bar of the Let's See chart. The annual chart details legend will display. Click the Investments or Pensions tab. These tabs will show the adjusted growth rates for savings and investments (the Investments tab) and for money purchase pensions (the Pensions tab). The growth rates shown will be net of any fees set for the given account.
Also note that the Performance slider only adjusts capital growth. Natural income, dividend and interest yield, are not adjusted by the slider apart from adjustments made to interest earned on cash accounts grown using 100% cash asset allocations.