S&P 500 · DCA since 2006
$500/month in S&P 500 since 2006
What a monthly $500 dollar-cost average into S&P 500 would be worth today if you'd started in January 2006 and never stopped. Real adjusted closes, T+1 execution, no transaction fees modeled.
If you invested $500/month in S&P 500 from 2006-01 to 2026-06...
$465,790
grown from $123,000 invested over 20.5 years. +$342,790 (+278.69%)
Growth over time
Dashed: cumulative invested · Solid: portfolio value
Investment schedule
- Per investment
- $500.00
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Window
- 2006-01-01 → 2026-06-29
- Duration
- 20.5 years
- Number of investments
- 246× $500.00 each
Results
- Total invested
- $123,000246 × $500.00
- Final value
- $465,790as of 2026-06-29
- Total return
- +$342,790+278.69%
- Annualized (IRR)
- 11.6%/yrcompounded over 20.5 years
What 2006 actually was: the late-cycle entry
Investors starting in 2006 were buying near the top of one of the longest bull markets in history. Within 18 months the financial crisis would erase years of gains. A DCA started here is a case study in why timing the market gets harder the longer you wait, and why a steady schedule eventually wins even when the entry feels late.
For a S&P 500 DCA buyer who started January 2006 with $500 a month, the schedule pulled in 246 purchases through 2026-06-29. Total invested: $123,000. Final value: $465,790. That works out to an annualized return of 11.6% per year on the irregular cashflow series.
The numbers above use adjusted closing prices (dividends reinvested, splits applied) and apply a T+1 policy: when the 1st of the month landed on a weekend or holiday, the trade executed at the next trading day's close. Bitcoin pages execute on the exact scheduled date because crypto trades 24/7.
Change the numbers
Want to test a different amount, frequency, or end date? The full calculator has the same S&P 500 dataset behind it.