What If You Invested $100 a Month in the Nasdaq-100 Since 2000?
Investing $100 a month in the Nasdaq-100 from Jan 2000 to Oct 2026 would have turned $32,200 into about $386,491, a gain of $354,291 and a money-weighted annual return of 15.4%. Dividends are reinvested.
- Invested
- $32,200
- Value today
- $386,491
- Gain
- +$354,291
- Annual return
- 15.4%
Year by year
The value of the portfolio at the end of each year, investing $100 a month at the start of every month from Jan 2000. Money went in 322 times, and the total grew to 12.0 times what was invested.
| Year | Invested | Portfolio value | Gain or loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $1,200 | $784 | −$416 |
| 2001 | $2,400 | $1,634 | −$766 |
| 2002 | $3,600 | $2,051 | −$1,549 |
| 2003 | $4,800 | $4,579 | −$221 |
| 2004 | $6,000 | $6,397 | +$397 |
| 2005 | $7,200 | $7,771 | +$571 |
| 2006 | $8,400 | $9,605 | +$1,205 |
| 2007 | $9,600 | $12,738 | +$3,138 |
| 2008 | $10,800 | $8,273 | −$2,527 |
| 2009 | $12,000 | $14,375 | +$2,375 |
| 2010 | $13,200 | $18,682 | +$5,482 |
| 2011 | $14,400 | $20,523 | +$6,123 |
| 2012 | $15,600 | $25,467 | +$9,867 |
| 2013 | $16,800 | $36,254 | +$19,454 |
| 2014 | $18,000 | $44,546 | +$26,546 |
| 2015 | $19,200 | $50,010 | +$30,810 |
| 2016 | $20,400 | $54,848 | +$34,448 |
| 2017 | $21,600 | $74,128 | +$52,528 |
| 2018 | $22,800 | $75,131 | +$52,331 |
| 2019 | $24,000 | $105,813 | +$81,813 |
| 2020 | $25,200 | $158,610 | +$133,410 |
| 2021 | $26,400 | $203,488 | +$177,088 |
| 2022 | $27,600 | $138,219 | +$110,619 |
| 2023 | $28,800 | $215,513 | +$186,713 |
| 2024 | $30,000 | $271,989 | +$241,989 |
| 2025 | $31,200 | $329,857 | +$298,657 |
| Oct 2026 (latest) | $32,200 | $386,491 | +$354,291 |
The hardest moment to keep going
The biggest fall in the portfolio's value came between Oct 2007 and Feb 2009, when it dropped 42%, from $13,464 to $7,846, even with new money going in every month. An investor who kept buying through that stretch got more shares for each $100, and those purchases are part of the result above.
Monthly investing vs other choices
- All at once: putting the same $32,200 into the Nasdaq-100 in Jan 2000 would be worth $299,470 today. Monthly investing did better because it kept buying at lower prices after the start. Most people invest from their income, so few have the whole amount at the start.
- The S&P 500 instead: $100 a month in the S&P 500 over the same months, with dividends reinvested, would be worth $197,895 (11.6% a year). NASDAQ 100 came out $188,596 ahead, with more risk from holding a single company.
- Cash: keeping the money uninvested would leave exactly $32,200, worth less after inflation.
Annual return is the money-weighted return (IRR) of the monthly contributions. Prices are monthly closes from Yahoo Finance, updated each time the site is rebuilt. See the methodology. This is for education only and is not investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.