The NASDAQ returned 20.73% in 2021. Using a better calculation, which includes dividend reinvestment, the NASDAQ returned 22.17%.
The above returns assumed you bought the NASDAQ index at the open on January 4th, 2021 and sold at close on December 31, 2021. That's the maximum span you could have invested in the NASDAQ while all-in the year 2021.
Prefer a "full year" of history? If you bought the closing price on December 31, 2020 and sold the closing price on December 31, 2021, your returns were 21.39% and 22.18%, respectively.
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 12,958.52 | 15,644.97 | 20.731% |
| Dec 31 Close | 12,888.28 | 15,644.97 | 21.389% |
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 15,274.18 | 18,660.07 | 22.167% |
| Dec 31 Close | 15,272.97 | 18,660.07 | 22.177% |
As I say annually, the exact timing doesn't matter that much. As the old joke goes, time in the market beats timing the market.
However, even investing in a tech-laden index like the NASDAQ, dividends matter. Even if you didn't reinvest the dividend checks you received, I highly doubt you discarded them - you have to account for the dividend performance in some way.
The NASDAQ Index is owned and computed by NASDAQ Indexes. There you'll find the index level and total return data. Find NASDAQ total return data here or on investing.com.
See NASDAQ returns in other years:
Any NASDAQ predictions for 2021?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 18.65% in 2021. Using a better calculation including dividend reinvestment, the Dow Jones returned 20.94%.
I ran the above calculation for an index purchase at open on January 4th, 2021 and sold at close on December 31, 2021. This is the result if you did all of your investing in the maximum possible span inside 2021.
Alternatively, you might use a one-year holding proxy, where you instead bought the closing index price on December 31, 2020. If you used that date instead and still sold December 31, 2021 your returns would be 18.73% and 20.95%, respectively.
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 30,627.47 | 36,338.30 | 18.646% |
| Dec 31 Close | 30,606.48 | 36,338.30 | 18.727% |
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 70,783.58 | 85,602.90 | 20.936% |
| Dec 31 Close | 70,778.10 | 85,602.90 | 20.945% |
While the exact date doesn't really matter, dividends matter. With the larger, more mature firms in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, ignoring dividend reinvestment would be ignoring around 2.3% of returns from those awesome dividend checks. And even if you didn't choose to reinvest them, unless you discarded or refused the checks you still need to account for the gains.
Most stock indices nowadays are market capitalization weighted, (see the 2021 S&P 500 Return). The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index.
Price-weighted indices derive their index value by taking the trading price of the underlying company shares times some "individual stock factor".
Price weighting is not a great indexing method. However, honestly, it tracks other large cap indexes "fairly" well. For the most part, indices weighted by market capitalization is the superior methodology to track a basket of stocks.
All data is credit Dow Jones Indices, owned by S&P Dow Jones Indices. There they maintain the price index and the calculation to derive the dividend reinvested index.
Historically, here on DQYDJ we have gone pretty far with our content – both in investing, and with some Dow Jones specific posts and tools:
See DJIA returns in other years:
How do you see the Dow Jones Industrial Average performing in 2021?
The S&P 500 Price index returned 26.61% in 2021. Using a better calculation which includes dividend reinvestment, the S&P 500 returned 28.41%.
There are two ways to compute an annual return, and the numbers I just quoted you assume you did all your investing in a single year. Specifically, the above returns assume you bought the market open on January 4, 2021, and sold at the exact close on December 31, 2021.
If you alternatively meant a "one-year span", those two returns, respectively, are 26.893% and 28.705%. This assumes, instead, that you bought the December 31, 2020 close.
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 3764.61 | 4766.18 | 26.605% |
| Dec 31 Close | 3756.07 | 4766.18 | 26.893% |
| Price Based On | 2021 Begin | Dec 31 Close | Return |
| Jan 4 Open | 7,777.41 | 9,986.70 | 28.407% |
| Dec 31 Close | 7,759.35 | 9,986.70 | 28.705% |
Annually, I talk about how the exact date you pick doesn't much matter... as long as you keep your timeframes consistent. However, you do need to mind those dividends!
Even with a pandemic raging in the background and all sorts of geopolitical worries, companies continued to pay dividends consistently. Even if you didn't reinvest your dividends, unless you burned your dividend checks or otherwise discarded your proceeds, you do need to account for that extra gain.
S&P Dow Jones Indices owns the S&P 500 Index and the total return index. They only added the total return index in 1987; before then, you have to construct your own index proxy to see how the index has fared.
We have a collection of investing calculators and tools – most including provisions for dividend, coupon, or interest reinvestment. Here are some which highlight the S&P 500:
You can find the S&P 500 and Total Return index at Yahoo!. Here's a graph showing the delta in 2021:
All you had to do to pick up an extra 1.802 percentage points of return? Reinvest your dividends.Yes, it's not exact due to the timing of your payments and purchases, slippage if you had actually made the order instead of only in theory, taxes, and the like. However - it was a very real amount.
Other years:
Bitcoin returned 307.83% in 2020, not including any transaction fees. After midnight (in the morning) on January 1, 2020, bitcoin's first trade was at $7,205.55 a coin. And the closing trade on December 31, 2020, before midnight was for $29,374.15 a coin.
307.8% is an eye popping gain.
And last year, 92% was a heck of a return. Bitcoin lost 73.56% in 2018... and gained a wild 1,318% in 2017. That's one volatile security – bitcoin is speculation not investment.
As I've said in the past, bitcoin comes with no claim on the future value of an income stream, merely the claim on a limited number of future coins. Unlike gold and other precious metal, there is no 'physical' bitcoin.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't own bitcoin or another cryptocurrency – just go into your investment with your eyes open. Holding bitcoin is risky, but if it makes sense in the context of a broader portfolio? Have at it.
Could bitcoin deliver 10%+ gains in 2021? Yeah, its possible – and it could also fall off a cliff. Be appropriately cautious, and have fun. To see how it's done with better resolution, I built a bitcoin return calculator with inflation adjustments.
I sourced historical bitcoin price data from CoinMarketCap.
The S&P 500 Price index returned 15.76% in 2020. Using a better calculation including dividend reinvestment, the S&P 500 returned 17.88%.
The numbers I quote in the intro assume you did all of your investing in a single year. That is, you bought the absolute opening price on January 2, 2020, and sold the closing price on December 31, 2020.
If you don't care about the calendar year and would like a "one-year span," I also ran the numbers to buy the close on December 31, 2019, and sell the S&P 500 closing price on December 31, 2020. In that case, the S&P 500 returned 16.26% – or 18.40%, counting reinvested dividends.
| Price Based On | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 3244.67 | 3756.07 | 15.76% |
| Dec 31 Close | 3230.78 | 3756.07 | 16.26% |
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 6582.55 | 7759.35 | 17.88% |
| Dec 31 Close | 6553.57 | 7759.35 | 18.40% |
Annually, I talk about how the exact date you pick doesn't matter much (but: keep your timeframes consistent!) – but counting your dividends does matter.
2020 was a terrible year – but again, returns were excellent. And only taking price return on the index doesn't tell the whole story. You need to account for the dividends you receive.
S&P Dow Jones Indices owns and maintains the S&P 500 Index (and the total return calculation). They added the total return index in 1987; before then, you'll have to construct your own index proxy to see how the index has fared. Or, you know – check out the rest of the site.
We have a collection of investing calculators and tools – most including provisions for dividend, coupon, or interest reinvestment. Here are some which highlight the S&P 500:
Find easy to grab data on both the S&P 500 and Total Return version at Yahoo!. Here's their overlay this year:
All you had to do to pick up an extra 2.12 percentage points of return? Reinvest your dividends back into the index. Well, you know, not counting fees, commissions, maintenance, and so on – but not a bad deal.
Let's hope the stock market keeps it up in 2021... and the world has a better year, in general. Happy investing!
Other years:
What do you see the S&P 500 doing in 2021?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned 6.87% in 2020. Using a better calculation, which includes dividend reinvestment, the Dow Jones returned 9.70%.
I ran the above calculation for an index purchase at open on January 2nd, 2020 and sold at close on December 31, 2020. This would match the year-to-date return if you looked on the last of the year.
Alternatively, you might like a one-year holding proxy. If you bought the closing price on December 31, 2019 and sold the close on December 31, 2020 the returns would be 7.25% – 9.72% with dividends reinvested.
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 28638.97 | 30606.48 | 6.87% |
| Dec 31 Close | 28538.44 | 30606.48 | 7.25% |
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 64517.44 | 70778.10 | 9.70% |
| Dec 31 Close | 64505.48 | 70778.10 | 9.72% |
The takeaway message? The exact date doesn't really matter. However, dividends matter.
You can see the effects of reinvesting over a single year – ~ 2.83%. And even if you didn't reinvest, you'd still have to do something with your dividends (or use the checks to start a fire to heat your house, I guess!).
Most stock indices nowadays are market capitalization weighted, (e.g., the 2020 S&P 500 Return). The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index, by contrast.
Price-weighted indices derive their actual trading prices by the trading price of the underlying company shares times some individual stock factor.
Price weighting is not a great indexing method. However, I'm not here to doubt its usefulness – in 1896, it was easier to track price changes than up-to-the-minute market capitalization. Also, it has historically tracked other indices pretty well... so Dow Jones got a ton right.
Data is sourced from the Dow Jones Indices, owned by S&P Dow Jones Indices. There you'll find both the price index and total return index.
Want even more? DQYDJ has you covered – both investing content, and some Dow Jones specific posts:
See DJIA returns in other years:
How do you see the Dow Jones Industrial Average performing in 2021?
The NASDAQ returned 42.58% in 2020. Using a better calculation, which includes dividend reinvestment, the NASDAQ returned 42.99%.
The above numbers assume you bought the NASDAQ index at the open on January 2nd, 2020 and sold at close on December 31, 2020. This is the same as "Year to Date" or YTD return if you check the last day of the year.
Prefer trying a "full year" of history? If you bought the closing price on December 31, 2019 and sold the closing price on December 31, 2020 the returns were 43.64% and 44.92%, respectively.
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 9039.46 | 12888.28 | 42.58% |
| Dec 31 Close | 8972.60 | 12888.28 | 43.64% |
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 | 10680.92 | 15272.97 | 42.99% |
| Dec 31 | 10,539.04 | 15272.97 | 44.92% |
Really, timing doesn't matter that much – but even in the historically tech-heavy NASDAQ, dividends matter. Even if you didn't reinvest your dividends, they're a real factor in returns.
Not that you had a rough time even if you lost your dividend checks though. The pandemic seemed to pull forward many company's digital plans. My company ran a survey: the typical firm moved their digital transformation plans up 6 years due to COVID-19.
Transformations or not, and even when this virus is in the past: Dividends matter.
The NASDAQ Index is owned by NASDAQ Indexes. They provide both the index level and total return data. Find NASDAQ total return data here or on investing.com.
See NASDAQ returns in other years:
Any NASDAQ predictions for 2021?
On this page is a stock calculator or stock investment return calculator. Enter the details of a stock purchase and sale, including the number of shares, commissions, and buy and sell price to see your net stock investment return and return percentage.
Optionally, choose to compute compound annual growth rate. If you choose it, enter the buy and sell date or the number of holding years to see your average annual return.
After that, hit the 'Compute Stock Investment Return' button to compute your stock investment performance. Here are the results you'll see:
If you choose to compute CAGR, also see the additional fields in the next section.
If you choose to compute a CAGR, you'll also need to enter how long you held the stock into the tool. You can either enter years explicitly or enter a buy and sell date:
If you choose to compute CAGR, there will be one additional output field:
Inside the tool, there are a few formulas which give you your final investment results.
The formula to compute your net stock investment gain is:
gain\ (\$)=sell\ price-buy\ price-sell\ commission-buy\ commission
The loss to commission formula is straightforward, the tool merely does this calculation:
lost\ to\ commissions\ (\$)=sell\ commission+buy\ commission
The tool computes your net stock return on investment using this formula:
net\ return\ on\ investment\ (\%)=\frac{sale\ proceeds-sale\ commissions}{cost\ basis+buy\ commissions}And finally, if you choose to compute the compound annual growth rate there is one more calculation in the tool. The formula for your stock CAGR is:
net\ return\ on\ investment\ (\%)^{(\frac{1}{holding\ years})}The stock calculator here can help you reason about investments you made in stocks or ETFs. It's only based on the price return of your investments, including factoring in any commissions or trading fees.
Note that price return isn't the only type of investment return – importantly, many stocks, ETFs, CEFs and ADRs also pay dividends. Use our stock return calculator or ETF return calculator for real-life examples showing the effects of reinvesting dividends.
However, this tool is great to see the price return of a stock investment. Hope it was useful for you – check out our other investment tools and posts.
Here are some other tools which show the return on a real life index or investment
Bitcoin returned 92.00% in 2019, not including any transaction fees. After midnight UTC on January 1, 2019, bitcoin traded at $3,746.71 a coin. And the closing trade on December 31, 2019, before midnight UTC was for $7,193.60 a coin.
92% is a heck of a return.
Contrast that with bitcoin's 73.56% loss in 2018... and its 1,318% gain in 2017. Those are some wild numbers – so keep in mind that, even with 11 years of history, bitcoin is speculation not investment.
With bitcoin, you have no claims on the future value of an income stream – as it is with gold and other commodities. Unlike gold and other commodities, bitcoin is entirely virtual. It would be best if you regarded bitcoin as riskier than a typical investment.
I've characterized cryptocurrencies this way in the past, but it remains controversial. You don't need to avoid speculations entirely.
Speculations are still assets – they are just assets that tend to vary more in value than other assets. If you are saving money you need on a specific date (for example, a wedding this year) you shouldn't speculate with that money. For these scenarios, look at something on the über-safe end of the spectrum – something like a money market account, certificate of deposit (with appropriate end date!), or something similar.
If you're young and in good health and don't need money immediately? Have at it. Ditto if you want to deploy money that you otherwise aren't investing and can afford to lose.
Just be prepared for bitcoin's value to fall off a cliff. It's also – of course – possible that bitcoin can provide you with wild positive returns. Who knows?
Historical bitcoin price data comes from CoinMarketCap.
Also: I built a bitcoin return calculator that can factor in inflation.
Enjoy volatility? Have an iron stomach? Have money you could lose without too much pain? Bitcoin is a chance to speculate and a chance at significant gains.
Every year I've been tracking it, bitcoin has fluctuated wildly. We've seen it go up many times only to fall quickly. We've seen it cut 3/4 of its price in a year only to bounce back and recover.
The only thing I can predict: bitcoin's price will fluctuate in 2020.
The 2019 NASDAQ return was 37.89% calculated from opening and closing prices. Using a superior calculation factoring in dividend reinvestment, the NASDAQ returned 39.39% in 2019.
The above numbers assume you bought the NASDAQ index at the open on January 2nd, 2019 and sold at the close on December 31, 2019. This is the equivalent to the "Year to Date" or YTD return if you check after the last close of the year.
Prefer trying to get a full year of history? If you change the buy date to the closing price on December 31, 2018 the returns were 35.23% and 36.69%, respectively.
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 6506.91 | 8972.60 | 37.89% |
| Dec 31 Close | 6635.28 | 8972.60 | 35.23% |
| Price From | Price | Dec 31 Close | Gain/Loss |
| Jan 2 Open | 7,560.76 | 10,539.04 | 39.39% |
| Dec 31 Close | 7,709.91 | 10,539.04 | 36.69% |
As we mentioned in the 2019 return posts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, the timing you choose – last day of last year or beginning of this one – doesn't matter much. Just stay consistent.
However, even with a traditionally technology heavy index like the NASDAQ, dividends matter. Sure, technology doesn't pay as many dividends as other industries... but it does pay them. Over a longer timeframe, they still make up a massive chunk of returns,
In summary: Dividends matter. Even with the NASDAQ.
The NASDAQ Index is owned by NASDAQ Indexes. They also provide both the index level and total return (read:dividend reinvested) data. You can find NASDAQ total return data here or on investing.com.
See NASDAQ returns in other years:
Any NASDAQ predictions for 2020?