Another kind of stock fund is the exchange-traded fund (ETF), which tracks an index, sector, commodity, or other assets. An ETF fund can be purchased or sold on a stock exchange the same way as a regular stock. An ETF can be structured to track anything, such as the S&P 500 index, certain types of real estate, commodities, bonds, or other assets.

That sum could become your investing principal. Your principal, or starting balance, is your jumping-off point for the purposes of investing. Most brokerage firms that offer mutual funds and index funds require a starting balance of a few hundred dollars to $1,000 or more. You can buy individual equities and bonds with less than that, though.

Stock market index return calculator is a tool that helps you estimate the growth and value of your investment in an stock market index over time with periodic contributions. You can use it to compare different stock market indexes like S&P500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones Industrial Avarage and see how they perform in different market scenarios.

Free investment calculator: Calculate how much your money will grow based on your planned contributions, investment timeline, return and compounding frequency. ... Exchange-traded funds are ...

Sep 4, 2023 · The calculator will multiply the return by the ‘Years of Growth’ value. The longer the years of growth, the more time compounding has to take effect. Why is it important to calculate your approximate index fund returns? There are two reasons you should calculate how much you can earn from passively investing in index funds.