How to use the InvestGraph simulator and interpret the results

This guide walks through every input and output in the InvestGraph simulator, explains exactly how the numbers are calculated, and points out the places where results are easy to misread.

Step 1: Choose what to simulate

Ticker symbol

Type the symbol of a stock or ETF. As you type, a list of matching US and Korean listings appears; you can pick one with the mouse or the arrow keys. You can also type a symbol that is not in the list. Korean listings use Yahoo Finance's suffixes, such as .KS for KOSPI and .KQ for KOSDAQ.

Start and end dates

The form starts with a ten-year range ending yesterday. The end date is optional; if you clear it, the simulation runs up to yesterday. The start date cannot be earlier than the first trading day for which the security has price data, and the simulator will tell you if it is.

Step 2: Describe the plan

Initial investment

A one-time amount invested on the start date (or the next trading day if the start date is a weekend or holiday). Set it to 0 if you want to simulate purely regular contributions.

Contribution interval and recurring contribution

How often new money is added (weekly, every two weeks, monthly, or quarterly) and how much each time. The first recurring contribution happens one interval after the start date, so it does not double up with the initial investment. Any contribution that falls on a non-trading day is executed on the next trading day, and contributions that would land after the end date are skipped.

Currency label

This is only a label shown next to amounts. It does not convert anything. Prices are always in the currency the security trades in, so a Korean stock's results are in won even if the label says USD. Set the label to match the security to avoid confusing yourself.

Reinvest dividends

When checked, dividends buy additional shares on the ex-dividend date at that day's closing price. When unchecked, they accumulate as cash that earns nothing. Our guide on dividend reinvestment explains why this choice can matter over long periods.

Click Run simulation. The calculation runs on our server using historical data and usually takes a few seconds.

Step 3: Read the results panel

• Final value: what the holding was worth on the last trading day of the range, equal to shares held times that day's closing price, plus any dividend cash if reinvestment was off.
• Total invested: the initial investment plus every recurring contribution that was actually made. Dividends are never included.
• Total return: final value minus total invested, as an amount and as a percentage of total invested.
• CAGR: a compound annual growth rate calculated as (final value ÷ total invested) raised to the power of 1 ÷ years, minus 1. It appears only when the range spans at least a year.
• Cumulative dividends: all dividend cash earned over the period, whether or not it was reinvested.
• Final share count: shares held at the end, including fractions.

Below these, the Transactions table lists every purchase: the date it executed, whether it was the initial buy, a contribution, or a dividend reinvestment, the amount, the closing price used, and the number of shares bought. This is the best place to check that the plan ran the way you intended.

A caution about CAGR

CAGR here treats your total invested as if it had all gone in on the start date. With regular contributions, much of your money was invested for only a fraction of the period, so this figure tends to understate how large the annualized return on your money really was, whether that return was positive or negative. Use it to compare runs with the same contribution pattern rather than as a precise annual rate. For a pure lump sum (contribution of 0), the approximation is much closer.

Step 4: Watch the chart

The animated chart replays the simulation from start to finish. Press Play to animate it, or drag the slider beneath the chart to move to any point in time.

• The solid blue line is the total value of the plan.
• The dashed line is the cumulative amount you have invested. It rises in steps as contributions are made.
• The shaded area between them shows the gain (or, when the value line is below the dashed line, the loss) on your shares.
• If dividends are not reinvested, a gold band on top shows the dividend cash being held, and a readout shows its amount.
• The readout in the top-left shows the date, the total value, and the return so far as a percentage of what you had invested by that date.

The axes zoom out as the animation progresses, so early movements stay visible instead of being squashed at the bottom. The chart shows evenly spaced points from the daily data, so very short-lived spikes may be smoothed out. The orientation menu switches between landscape, square, and portrait layouts, which is useful for different social media formats.

Step 5: Share or export

Share creates a link that contains your inputs. Anyone who opens it sees the same simulation run automatically. If your browser supports native sharing, as most phones do, it opens the share sheet; otherwise it copies the link to your clipboard.

Export video renders every frame of the chart and encodes an MP4 and a GIF entirely on your own device, so nothing is uploaded. It can take a while on older phones or laptops. Under "Advanced" you can change the frame rate and duration.

Interpreting results sensibly

• Try several periods. Move the start date forward and back by a few years. If the conclusion changes dramatically, the result is telling you more about the period than about the plan.
• Mind the gaps in the model. No fees, taxes, spreads, or currency conversion are included, and dividends are credited on the ex-date. Real results would usually be somewhat lower.
• Watch the path, not just the end. A strong final number can hide a long stretch below the invested line. Ask yourself whether you would really have kept contributing through it.
• Remember survivorship. You can only test securities that still have data, which tilts results toward winners.

Our guide to common backtesting mistakes goes deeper into each of these. For precise definitions, see the results explanation on the simulator page.

Try it in the simulator →