How to Use the Growth Projector to Model Your Income Portfolio

The Growth Projector is one of the most useful tools on Digital Credit Yield. Enter an investment amount, choose a yield, set a time horizon, and toggle dividend reinvestment — and the projector shows you a chart of projected portfolio value and cumulative income over time. Here is how to use it effectively and what the numbers actually mean.

Where to find the projector

There are two Growth Projectors — one for each instrument:

• STRC Growth Projector
• SATA Growth Projector

Both work identically. The projector pre-fills the current live effective yield when it loads, so the default scenario always reflects today's market conditions rather than a static rate. If you return to the page tomorrow, the pre-filled yield may be slightly different as the price moves.

The key inputs

Investment amount: the capital you are modelling. This is assumed to be deployed as a lump sum at the start of the projection period. The projector does not model regular additional contributions — it models a single initial investment.

Yield: pre-filled with the current live effective yield. You can adjust this manually to test scenarios: what if yield compresses to 10% as the price rises? What if it stays at current levels for five years? Stress-testing the yield assumption is one of the most valuable uses of the projector.

Time horizon: 1 to 20 years. Longer horizons make the compounding effect most visible. The difference between reinvesting and not reinvesting becomes dramatic beyond the ten-year mark.

Reinvestment toggle: the most impactful single input in the projector. With reinvestment on, dividends buy additional shares each period. With it off, dividends are taken as cash and your share count stays constant.

Understanding the output

The chart shows portfolio value over time. With reinvestment off, the value line stays flat — your share count is constant, so if the price stays near par, so does your portfolio value. Below the chart, the cumulative income figure grows steadily, showing the total cash you have received.

With reinvestment on, the value line curves upward. As dividends buy more shares and those shares generate more dividends, the growth accelerates over time. This is the visual representation of compound interest at a high yield rate.

No reinvestment: modelling an income stream

Without reinvestment, you are modelling a simple, predictable income stream. At 11.50% on a $50,000 investment, you receive approximately $5,750 per year. Over ten years, that is $57,500 in total income, with your original $50,000 remaining in shares throughout (assuming the price stays near par). The projector makes it straightforward to assess whether that annual income level meets a specific income target.

With reinvestment: compounding in action

With reinvestment enabled, each month's dividends purchase additional shares at the current effective yield. Those shares generate their own dividends, which buy more shares, and so on. At 13% with monthly reinvestment, $50,000 grows to approximately $664,000 over 20 years — entirely through dividend reinvestment, assuming yield stays constant. The same $50,000 at 11.50% with reinvestment reaches approximately $493,000 over 20 years.

The yield assumption has a large impact on long-term outcomes. Running scenarios at the current yield, 2 percentage points below, and 2 percentage points above is a useful way to understand the range of plausible outcomes.

What the projector does not model

The projector uses a fixed yield for the entire projection period. In reality, yields move as prices change and dividend rates adjust. The model answers "if conditions hold roughly constant, what does this trajectory look like?" — not "what will definitely happen." It is a planning framework, not a forecast.

It also does not account for tax. Dividend income is typically subject to tax, and your actual net return will depend on your personal tax position. It does not model transaction costs, currency risk, or the impact of price movements on portfolio value beyond the income-driven growth shown in the chart.

Saving your settings

Your projector inputs are saved automatically in your browser's local storage. When you return to the page, your last scenario is preserved — you do not need to re-enter your numbers each visit. You can use this to keep a specific scenario as your baseline and return to check it against updated live yields over time.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Projections are illustrative and are not a guarantee of future returns. Always consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.