What-If Calculator

The What-If Calculator is designed to be an aid to those who are wishing to learn more about the stock market, and—as such—does not apply solely to a particular business. Many people wish to learn how to invest in the stock market through simulations. While many simulations seek to mock real stock market conditions, the What-If Calculator puts users through historical stock conditions. The ups and downs of the market are therefore quite believable, because they actually happened.

The one disadvantage to this method, it is acknowledged, is that users working with historical data will have foreknowledge of major stock market events, such as the bursting of the Dot-Com bubble in 2000 or the collapse of Enron in 2002. For this reason, users are encouraged to pick time periods or stocks they are unfamiliar with. Some general historical research can aid in their investing, but seeking out specific dates (e.g. What day should I dump Enron’s stock?) is discouraged.

The Calculator gives the user the ability to view the state of stock indices and individual stocks on any date of the user’s choosing before beginning a simulation. When beginning a simulation, the user must specify an initial date. A user has $10,000 for initial investing. The user is able to move forward in time at various increments and view the performance of the portfolio. At any time, the user can make changes to the portfolio. A simple report on the performance of the portfolio to that point can also be generated at any time.