Data Table Alternative

Ray_Gianantoni 

You can use the Excel formula "FV" (Future Value) within a formula to calculate the ending value for each simulation, as I described in my previous answer. Here is an example formula that uses the FV formula within it:

=SUM(IF(FV(A2/12,B2*12,-C2,-D2:D2)>0,1,0))/B2

This formula assumes that your simulation data is in columns A to D, with the interest rate in column A, the number of years in column B, the systematic withdrawal amount in column C, and the initial investment amount in column D.

By using this method, you can achieve the same result as with the data table, but without using macros or any special Excel features that may not be supported by your vendor's software.

Here's how the formula works:

• FV(A2/12,B2*12,-C2,-D2:D2) calculates the ending value for each simulation using the interest rate, number of years, systematic withdrawal amount, and initial investment amount.
• The IF function checks whether the ending value for each simulation is greater than zero (i.e., positive), and returns a 1 if it is, or a 0 if it is not.
• The SUM function adds up the 1s and 0s from the IF function to count the number of positive ending values.

• The final division by B2 calculates the percentage of positive ending values, where B2 is the total number of simulations.

This formula should give you the same result as using a data table to simulate 1,000 different ending values.

Additional Link: SWP Calculator - Systematic Withdrawal Plan Calculator

Hope I could help you with that!