Although many sources will report that the S&P 500 returned -0.73% in 2015... if you include dividend reinvestment, the 2015 S&P 500 Return was actually 1.19%.
Including dividends is the difference between reporting a negative return and a positive one.
Dividend Reinvested Returns are Key!
As we point out every year, most financial publications will report a lower return on the S&P 500 than a buy & hold investor would actually experience. Most stories leave out the effect of reinvesting dividends and distributions - the act of buying more shares of a security when that security returns money to shareholders.
Logically, this doesn't make much sense - even if investors aren't reinvesting dividends, they aren't using their dividend checks to heat their homes by throwing them in a fire - making an attempt to account for dividends is a necessity. S&P Dow Jones Indices, the owner of the S&P 500, publishes an index called the "S&P 500 Total Return Index" specifically for this purpose. The S&P TR reports how investors would have performed had they immediately reinvested dividends.
We maintain two calculators which do the math for you with monthly resolution:
- S&P 500 Dividend Reinvestment Calculator
This one reports how the index (or a lump sum investment) would have returned based on buying and selling in months you choose. - S&P 500 Periodic Reinvestment and Dividend Calculator
This calculator builds on the first calculator and lets you try to model the effect of taxes and periodic reinvestments in the S&P 500, also with a monthly resolution.
The 2015 S&P 500 Return
2015 S&P 500 Return: Price vs. Index
So there you have it - simply choosing how to report the index's returns made a massive difference this year, literally the difference between making and losing money. Since the psychological difference of a loss with even a small gain is so great, we hope you'll agree with our assessment - you need to account for those dividend checks!
| 01/01/2015 Open | 12/31/2015 Close | Annual Return | |
| S&P 500 Total Return | 3776.49 | 3821.6 | 1.19% |
| S&P 500 Index | 2058.9 | 2043.94 | -0.73% |
See other annual S&P 500 returns:
- 2023 S&P 500 Return
- 2022 S&P 500 Return
- 2021 S&P 500 Return
- 2020 S&P 500 Return
- 2019 S&P 500 Return
- 2018 S&P 500 Return
- 2017 S&P 500 Return
- 2016 S&P 500 Return
- 2014 S&P 500 Return
- 2013 S&P 500 Return
- 2012 S&P 500 Return
For those of your with a crystal ball or a need to answer some questions, chew these ones over:
- Where will the S&P 500 go from here?
- Are you a dividend reinvester? A dividend spender? A user of dividend checks to heat your home?
