Build your investment scenario
Choose an index, contribution amount and how long you plan to invest.
The full selected contribution period is included, even when some years are in the future.
Historical figures are hypothetical index-price calculations. Future results are illustrations, not guaranteed or investable returns.
Illustrative growth where projections are needed:
How much could it be worth?
Same contribution plan. Five different investing strategies.
Annualised return: Money-weighted rate using contributions funded at the start of each selected year. Index-price only: Market results exclude dividends, fees and FX; fixed-deposit results include illustrative interest.
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Ranked by final investment value. Bar lengths and differences vs Fixed Deposit compare final values, not annualised returns. Tap a bar to see the details.
How often did the market rise?
Investment years: —
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Annual price-index returns from the chosen starting year to 2025, irrespective of how many years you contribute. Years from 2026 onward are excluded from historical statistics. Returns exclude dividends, costs and currency movements. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
S&P 500 · Historical Market Sell-Offs
Only events overlapping the selected holding period
Only historical sell-offs overlapping your selected investment holding period are displayed.
| HISTORICAL EVENT | MARKET DROP | PEAK TO TROUGH | TIME TO RECOVER |
|---|
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Price-index daily closes, not intraday lows or total returns. A recovery means the first close at/above that event's selected previous peak. Events are included only when the peak-to-trough decline overlaps the investment holding period, not simply because recovery occurred later. Events may overlap; some earlier peaks remain unrecovered. Source: historical daily closes.
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Change any setting below to update all five results and the market history above.
Year-by-year contribution plan
Check which historical prices were used and where a projection begins.
| Year | Type | Contributed | Perfect buy price | Invest immediately | Bad buy price | DCA purchases |
|---|
How are the five strategies calculated? +
1989–2025: Perfect Timing invests each year's contribution at the year's lowest daily closing index level; Bad Timing uses the highest daily close; Invest Immediately uses the first trading day's close; Monthly DCA buys at the first trading day's close of each month. Fixed Deposit compounds at an illustrative 2.5% p.a.
From 2026: Existing observations from the historical-data snapshot are used where available; missing months and subsequent years use a stated compound-growth assumption. Future Perfect/Bad purchases are illustrative prices 20% below/above a projected reference level. For a partly observed year, the annual high/low buying scenario combines observed extremes and hypothetical future buying prices. The 2026 mixed results are not actual full-year outcomes.
Valuation: If contributions end no later than 2025, every position is valued at the end of 2025 using historical closing prices. If contributions end later, the portfolio is valued at the end of the final contribution year. Contributions always cover the entire selected duration. For a lump-sum plan, Monthly DCA spreads that single contribution over its first 12 months.
Annualised return: An estimated money-weighted rate (IRR) calculated using one full annual funding contribution at the start of each selected year and the portfolio value on 31 December of the final valuation year. For DCA, the annual budget is assumed set aside at the beginning of the year and purchases occur monthly. Negative figures indicate an overall annualised loss; this is not a simple CAGR of total contributions.
Important: Historical figures use price indices without dividends, fees, taxes or FX; projections are not historical returns. The legacy STI was called the Straits Times Industrials Index before 31 August 1998, and its methodology has changed over time. Dollar figures are hypothetical units, not a specific investable security.
Illustrative growth where projections are needed:
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