What if you had invested?

This tool is a hypothetical stock investment tool that offers you the ability to look at historic stock investment scenarios. Select a given stock, an initial investment amount and date, and you'll be provided with "charted" investment results. In addition, you can select an automatic re-investment amount with a selected start/stop date and a recurring investment period.

Additional features include the ability to view the effect of reinvested dividend distributions, display total principal invested, display total dollar return, compare with up to four additional stocks or compare with a popular market index.

The What If You Had Invested? tool is intended to be used as an investment scenario tool. The calculations are believed to be accurate, but are not guaranteed or warranted. This material is intended only as general information and should not in any way be construed as investment or tax advice.

Note: Using a hypothetical model, the "What If You Had Invested" tool lets you see how you might have done with a potential investment. Note that past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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The user should provide the necessary information about the hypothetical investment(s).

• Symbol - The primary symbol is either set by the user or, when accessed via the Charts tab, is pre-populated with the symbol currently being researched.
• Compare Symbols - Additional Stock Investments - The other symbols input boxes allow the user to add up to four additional stocks. The investment amount for each selected stock is the same as what was entered for the primary symbol. This feature allows you to compare the same investment in different stocks.
• Calculate Button - The Calculate button recalculates the chart with any user changes made to input criteria. The button must be clicked on for any changes to be recalculated and displayed.
• Initial Amount Invested - The Initial Amount Invested input box allows you to select an initial investment that will be used for all stocks and comparison indexes.
• Initial Investment Date - The Initial Investment Date input box allows you to select the date of the first investment. If prices are not available for a stock (because, for example, it was not yet publicly traded), the tool will default to the first available date with price data.
• Recurring Investment Amount - The Recurring Investment Amount input box allows you to select a recurring amount. The practice of investing a set amount of money at regular set-time intervals is called "dollar cost averaging." This allows the investor to gradually invest money over time in an individual stock, in both bull and bear markets, and can help to minimize the user risk of putting all their money in at an inopportune time. You may use the initial investment amount, the recurring investment amount, or both.
  
  Note: You should understand that dollar cost averaging does not protect against loss or assure profit. You should also consider your financial ability to continue investing in periods of declining markets.
  
  
• Recurring Investment Frequency - The Recurring Investment Frequency select list allows you to invest the selected amount in the recurring investment on a daily, weekly, bi-monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. This is based on trading days - not calendar days.
• Recurring Investment Start Date - The Recurring Investment Start Date input box allows you to select the date of the initial recurring investment.
• Recurring Investment Ending Date - The Recurring Investment Ending Date input box allows you to select the ending date of the recurring investment. In the event no end date is selected, the date defaults to the current date.
• Display Options - The Display Options section allows you to select a comparison index.
• Display Comparison Index - The Display Comparison Index pull-down menu allows you to select a comparison index, (DJIA, S&P 500 or NASDAQ Composite).
• View Indicators - The View Indicators section allows you to display principal invested and display the total value of the investment.
• View Principal - The principal check box allows you to display the total principal invested. This will include both the initial investment amount and all recurring amounts. You should not mix stocks priced in different currencies, as this will result in inaccurate principal totals.
• View Total Value - The Total Value check box allows you to display the total investment value of all stocks selected. The total value line is based on the initial and recurring investments (the principal), multiplied by the market close price, for each day of the investment period. If Reinvest Dividends has been selected, it will include the cumulative effects of dividend reinvestment. Note: If only one stock is selected, the stock value line is the same as the total value line and therefore the total line is not plotted. You should not mix stocks priced in different currencies as this will result in inaccurate total value totals.
• Reinvest Dividends - The Reinvest Dividends check box allows you to view how reinvesting dividends affects the market value in the selected stock over a period of time.
• Top Line Results - The Top Line Results are displayed at the top of the chart. Included are total invested, market value, change, and change % as of the current date. If the plotted time period requires weekly or monthly resolution, the plotted lines will only plot up to the most recent frequency period, while the calculation result will continue to the current date.

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