S&P 500: $100 in 2001 → $119.73 in 2011

Stock market returns between 2001 and 2011

If you invested $100 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2001, you would have about $119.73 at the end of 2011, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 19.73%, or 1.65% per year.

This investment result does not beat inflation during this period, for an inflation-adjusted return of -5.73% cumulatively, or -0.54% per year.

The graph below shows the performance of $100 over time if invested in an S&P 500 index fund. The returns assume that all dividends are automatically reinvested.

This chart shows the rate of gains and loss by month, including dividends:

Adjusting stock market return for inflation

The nominal return on investment of $100 is $19.73, or 19.73%. This means by 2011 you would have $119.73 in your pocket.

However, it's important to take into account the effect of inflation when considering an investment and especially a long-term investment. You can convert S&P returns to their real (inflation-adjusted) value using an inflation calculation based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI).

In the case of the returns described above, the CPI in 2001 was 177.100 and the CPI in 2011 was 224.939.

The ratio between these CPIs describes how relative buying power of a dollar has changed over 10 years.

Adjusted for inflation, the $119.73 nominal end value of the original $100 investment would have a real value of roughly $-5.73 in 2001 dollars. This means the inflation-adjusted return is -5.73% as opposed to the original 19.73%.

For more information on inflation, see our U.S. inflation calculator for 2001.