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Index Calculator

Stock Index Calculator works out Ending balance and Investment growth from Amount invested today, Expected annual return and Compounding periods a year. The default figures on this page give ending balance of 37,696.71; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.

Ending balance
37,696.71
Investment Calculator
Investment growth
27,696.71
Total contributed
0.00
Total withdrawn
0.00
Total paid in
10,000.00
Effective annual return
6.8600 %
Money-weighted annual return
6.8600 %
Ending balance in today's money
37,696.71
Cost of fund fees over the term
1,000.14
Compounding periods
20
Worked out from Lump-sum compound growth, FV = P(1 + r/n)^(nt), with growth = FV - P and 2 other sources.
The return is the assumption you entered, not a forecast. Investment returns are not fixed and a portfolio can lose money.
The 0.14% fund cost is deducted from the return before compounding, so the portfolio grows at 6.86% a year.

Your figures

Updates as you type
The lump sum already invested. Use 0 if you are starting from nothing.
Your own nominal return assumption before fund costs. Nothing here forecasts a market.
1 for an annually compounded return, 12 for monthly, 365 for daily.
Deducted from the return before compounding, as a fund deducts its expense ratio.
Raises the contribution once a year, for example to track a pay rise.
Defaults to the whole term. Leave blank unless contributions stop early.
Money drawn out of the portfolio once the withdrawal phase starts.
Defaults to the year contributions stop. Withdrawals cannot overlap contributions.
Used only to restate the ending balance in today's purchasing power.

How this is worked out

4 steps
  1. Net return = 7% gross - 0.14% fund cost = 6.86% a year, compounded 1 times a year.
  2. Growth factor per period = 1 + 6.86/(100 * 1) = 1.0686.
  3. Lump sum alone: 10000 * (1 + r/n)^(n*t) over 20 years.
  4. Ending balance = 37696.71; of that, 27696.71 is investment growth on 10000 paid in.
Year-by-year balancetable
yearcontributionswithdrawalsinterestbalance
10068610,686
200733.0611,419.06
300783.3512,202.41
400837.0913,039.49
500894.5113,934
600955.8714,889.87
7001,021.4515,911.32
8001,091.5217,002.84
9001,166.3918,169.23
10001,246.4119,415.64
11001,331.9120,747.55
12001,423.2822,170.83
13001,520.9223,691.75
14001,625.2525,317.01
15001,736.7527,053.75
16001,855.8928,909.64
17001,983.230,892.84
18002,119.2533,012.09
19002,264.6335,276.72
20002,419.9837,696.71

Its 5 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed

Sources and references

3 sources
Lump-sum compound growth, FV = P(1 + r/n)^(nt), with growth = FV - P
US Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor.gov) - Compound Interest Calculator
The regulator-published reference implementation of the same identity.
Investment Company Institute, Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2024
2024 data, published 2025 · Asset-weighted average expense ratios used only to pre-fill the fund-cost field in the index-fund and mutual-fund presets: 0.14% for index equity ETFs, 0.40% for equity mutual funds overall.

Keep this result

Save it, change one figure, then compare the two

The calculation stays free. Save this scenario, adjust one assumption, save that too, and put them side by side to see exactly what the change costs you. A free account keeps 5 scenarios and 2 comparisons; Personal makes both unlimited and adds exports and private links. Nothing is saved unless you press Save.

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What the Stock Index Calculator calculates

Projects what an investment portfolio grows to from a starting amount, regular contributions and later withdrawals, net of fund costs, and splits the result into money paid in and investment growth.

How to use this Stock Index Calculator

Enter Amount invested today, Expected annual return, Compounding periods a year and Years invested. Ending balance updates as you type. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.

How the result is worked out

Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Ending balance, Investment growth and Total contributed.

The method follows Lump-sum compound growth, FV = P(1 + r/n)^(nt), with growth = FV - P, US Securities and Exchange Commission (Investor.gov) - Compound Interest Calculator and Investment Company Institute, Trends in the Expenses and Fees of Funds, 2024.

What you can compare

Change one input at a time to see how it affects Ending balance, Investment growth and Total contributed. The inputs you can vary are Amount invested today, Expected annual return, Compounding periods a year, Years invested, Annual fund cost (expense ratio) and Regular contribution.

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.

Embed this calculator on your website

Copy this code into any page. The calculator appears with the figures currently entered, sizes itself to fit, and a small credit line links back here. Free, no account, no ads inside it, no tracking of your readers. Set your own figures and fixed fields; Personal removes the credit line, sets your colour and shows you which sites use it.

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Frequently asked questions

How to calculate the S&P 500 index?

Projects what an investment portfolio grows to from a starting amount, regular contributions and later withdrawals, net of fund costs, and splits the result into money paid in and investment growth. Open “How this is worked out” beside the result to see each step for your own figures.

What information do I need for the Stock Index Calculator?

You need Amount invested today, Expected annual return, Compounding periods a year, Years invested, Annual fund cost (expense ratio), Regular contribution, Contribution frequency and Contributions are made. The page opens with default figures that give ending balance of 37,696.71, so you can see the scale before entering your own.

What does this Stock Index Calculator show?

It shows Ending balance, Investment growth, Total contributed, Total withdrawn, Total paid in, Effective annual return, Money-weighted annual return and Ending balance in today's money, with the working and any warnings for your entries.

Can I check how the Stock Index Calculator result was calculated?

Yes. The “How this is worked out” section shows the calculation steps, and the sources section identifies the references used for the method.

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