Success rate is a term we use on Timeline to describe the percentage of times that the portfolios ends with a balance lower than our desired legacy or runs out money within the specified retirement period.
For instance, suppose we run every 30-year scenarios from Jan., 1900 to Dec., 2018, using monthly historical investment return and inflation. We'd have 1068 scenarios.
If the portfolios runs out of money or ends with a balance lower than our desired legacy, in 79 out of those 1068 scenarios, than we have a success rate of 92.6% i.e {(91068 - 79)/1068 X 100}.
In Timeline, success rates are rounded to the nearest 1%.
Additional, Timeline caps success rate at 99%. This means that you'll never see a success rate of 100%. This is merely a behavioural measure to avoid giving the client an impression that there is guarantee.