Capital roll-forward
Own capital month by month, runway and break-even.
By Surojit Chakraverti, founder of L3VLUP and an investor running a long-short healthcare and technology equities strategy.
On this subject: capital roll-forward.Updated 30 October 2026
What it does
The schedule that says whether a business that lives on its own capital is growing or shrinking. Opening capital plus the month’s trading result, less the costs of trading, any profit share owed on outside money, fixed costs, the owner’s draw and tax, plus any injection, is closing capital. From the same lines come the months of runway if trading earns nothing and the return at which capital stands still.
Where it lives
The same schedule in each model that carries it, with the rows to open. Open a model in the browser, go to the sheet, and click the lines.
- Assumptions, rows 12–16: Starting capital, own, Outside capital, Profit share paid on outside capital, Further injection by the owner…
- Capital, rows 6–15: Opening own capital, Gross trading P&L, Costs of trading, Profit share paid on outside capital…
- Capital, rows 18–19: Net trading P&L kept by the business, Taxable profit
- Capital, rows 22–25: Months of runway at the current burn, with zero trading profit, Months of runway at the start, with zero trading profit, Change in own capital over three years, before injections, Lowest own capital
- Capital, rows 28–31: Break-even net return a month, % of capital deployed, Break-even gross return a year, % of capital deployed, Break-even Sharpe ratio at the volatility used, Base Sharpe ratio less break-even
What a reviewer looks for
- Outside capital counted as the owner’s, so the runway and the return on capital are both overstated.
- Tax charged on profit after the draw where the draw is not deductible.
- A runway worked out on fixed costs alone, without the draw the owner lives on.
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