Regular investing projection.
Final balance
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Total invested
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Growth
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Your breakdown
Updates live as you type| Item | Amount |
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What dollar-cost averaging actually does for you
Dollar-cost averaging means investing a fixed sum on a fixed schedule, typically each payday, regardless of where the market sits. You buy more units when prices are low and fewer when they are high, which removes the impossible job of timing the market and replaces it with a habit. In Singapore this is usually done through a regular savings plan with a bank or broker, or a recurring purchase of a low-cost ETF. This tool projects where that discipline lands you, compounding a monthly amount plus any starting lump sum at an expected annual return.
The tax tailwind unique to investing here
One reason long-term investing is so efficient for a Singapore resident is the absence of capital gains tax. When your units grow over fifteen or twenty years, the gain is yours in full when you sell, with nothing skimmed off the top. Dividends from Singapore companies arrive tax-free under the one-tier system as well. So the growth figure this calculator shows is closer to what you actually keep than it would be in a country that taxes investment gains, which makes the compounding all the more worth protecting from fees.
$1,000 a month for 15 years
Start with $10,000 and add $1,000 every month for 15 years at an assumed 7 percent annual return, compounded monthly. You invest $190,000 of your own money over that time. The projection grows it to about $345,452, meaning roughly $155,452 of the final balance is investment growth rather than your contributions. Growth overtakes contributions in the later years, which is the compounding effect doing the heavy lifting.
| Input or result | Figure |
|---|---|
| Initial lump sum | $10,000 |
| Monthly investment | $1,000 |
| Years at 7% p.a. | 15 |
| Total invested | $190,000 |
| Investment growth | about $155,452 |
| Final balance | about $345,452 |
Watch the fees, especially on regular savings plans
The projection assumes a clean return with no costs, and that is where reality can erode the result. Some bank regular savings plans charge a sales fee on every monthly purchase, often around 0.5 to 1 percent, which sounds small but compounds against you over decades. A low-cost ETF bought through a broker with flat or minimal commissions usually wins over a long horizon. My practical tip: before committing to a plan, work out the all-in annual cost as a percentage and subtract it from your expected return, then re-run this tool with that lower figure to see the honest number. A single percent of fees can cost you tens of thousands over fifteen years.
Two questions on regular investing
Is 7 percent a realistic return to assume?
It is a common long-run assumption for a diversified global equity portfolio before inflation, but it is not guaranteed and real years are lumpy, with losses along the way. Treat it as a planning estimate, not a promise. If you are investing in a more conservative mix, or you want a margin of safety, model 4 or 5 percent instead and see how the final balance changes. The tool makes it easy to test a range rather than anchor on one optimistic figure.
Should I invest a lump sum or drip it in?
Mathematically, investing a lump sum immediately tends to beat spreading it out, because markets rise more often than they fall, so time in the market wins on average. The case for dollar-cost averaging is behavioural and practical: it matches how most people earn, monthly, and it removes the regret risk of investing everything the day before a fall. For money you already hold, weigh the two; for money you earn each month, regular investing is simply the natural approach.
Does the projection account for inflation?
No, the final balance is in today’s dollars of nominal value, not adjusted for the rising cost of living over fifteen years. That distinction matters: $345,452 sounds like a lot, but with inflation eroding purchasing power, its real spending value will be lower by the time you reach it. A simple way to ground the figure is to use a more conservative return that already nets off expected inflation, say 4 to 5 percent instead of 7, which gives you a rough sense of the balance in today’s purchasing power. The discipline of investing every month is what builds the pot; just read the headline number with inflation in mind.