# Calculate the total returns from the total return index [closed]

I have the Total Return Index(RI) for several companies.

I know that I can calculate the log retunrs with $ln(RI_t/RI_{t-1})$. Therefore my first guess would be to calculate the total returns like that:

$RI_t/RI_{t-1}$

Is this true?

I appreciate your answer!

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## closed as off-topic by Joshua Ulrich, olaker♦Jan 2 '14 at 14:45

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## 1 Answer

No, it would be $$(RI_{t}-RI_{t-1})/RI_{t-1}$$

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Thx for your answer! Is it possible to do an event study by taking the Total Return Index to calculate the total returns and compare them to a stock index such as the dax(assuming that I calculated the total returns for the dax)? –  Kare Dec 30 '13 at 21:07
Assuming the events are dividends then yes, I do that for dividend yields using MSCI TR indices and their price level only indices. You can dnld both from MSCI. Note that they have different TR indices like gross and net. –  brian Dec 30 '13 at 23:10