Wall Street RegretsThe regret calculator.

What if you'd held IPB?

A $1,000 investment in Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 6.0518% Index Plus Trust Certificates Series 2003-1 (IPB) at the month-end close of 2004-01 would be worth $4,184 at the close of 2026-09 — +318.4% total return, dividends reinvested. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500, dividends reinvested, would be worth $10,467.

$1,000 since 2004$4,184Total return+318.4%Multiple4.2×CAGR+6.5%

Your scenario

Dates resolve to the nearest month-end close.
Leave empty for "held until today".
Invested at each month-end. Starts on the buy date.

Result

Worth$4,184Gain+$3,184 (+318.4%)Multiple4.2×CAGR+6.5%

    If you'd bought $1,000 at the start of each year

    Value of $1,000 invested on January 1 of each year, held to 2026-09, dividends included.

    2004$4,1842005$4,0632006$4,1712007$3,7602008$3,8632009$5,2482010$3,3502011$2,7352012$2,3172013$1,9992014$1,9472015$1,7192016$1,6832017$1,6222018$1,4652019$1,4612020$1,2882021$1,1692022$1,0862023$1,2722024$1,1412025$1,0902026$1,008

    Every year, $1,000 from 2004

    YearValue of $1,000Year return
    2004$1,000
    2005$974-2.6%
    2006$1,081+10.9%
    2007$1,052-2.7%
    2008$774-26.4%
    2009$1,213+56.7%
    2010$1,485+22.5%
    2011$1,753+18.0%
    2012$2,032+15.9%
    2013$2,087+2.7%
    2014$2,363+13.2%
    2015$2,415+2.2%
    2016$2,505+3.7%
    2017$2,773+10.7%
    2018$2,781+0.3%
    2019$3,153+13.4%
    2020$3,474+10.2%
    2021$3,742+7.7%
    2022$3,194-14.7%
    2023$3,561+11.5%
    2024$3,727+4.7%
    2025$4,032+8.2%
    2026$4,063+0.8%

    Best and worst month-end to buy

    The best single month-end close to have bought IPB was 2009-02 ($3.98): $1,000 then is $6,329 today. The worst was 2026-06 ($25.63): $1,000 then is $983.

    FAQ

    What would $1,000 in IPB be worth today?

    A $1,000 investment in Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 6.0518% Index Plus Trust Certificates Series 2003-1 (IPB) at the start of 2004 would be worth about $4,184 today, a total return of +318.4%. Dividends are reinvested in these figures.

    What were the best and worst years for IPB?

    Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 6.0518% Index Plus Trust Certificates Series 2003-1 (IPB)'s strongest calendar year since 2004 was 2009, a +56.7% return — $1,000 held through that year became about $1,567 by year-end. Its weakest year was 2008, at -26.4%.

    Does the calculator include dividends and splits?

    Yes where available. Prices are adjusted for both stock splits and reinvested dividends (total return), the same measure brokerages use.

    How much would $100 per month in IPB have grown?

    Investing $100 at the end of every month since 2004-01 would have grown to about $62,188 on $27,300 invested.

    Did IPB beat the S&P 500?

    Over the same period, $1,000 in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested (the S&P 500 Total Return index) would be worth $10,467. IPB trailed the S&P 500 by +60.0% in total return.

    Is this investment advice?

    No. Wall Street Regrets is an entertainment and education tool. Every number is a historical calculation, not a prediction, and past performance never guarantees future results.

    Methodology

    Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. 6.0518% Index Plus Trust Certificates Series 2003-1 (IPB) historical total-return data from 2004-01 to 2026-09, reduced to month-end closes for the tables above.

    Returns use adjusted close prices — adjusted for stock splits and reinvested dividends, the same convention used by major brokerages. End-of-day and live prices come from EODHD; parts of the deep historical series are carried over from Yahoo Finance data. A "year" scenario invests $1,000 at the prior December's month-end close and values it at the latest available month-end close. Non-USD amounts are converted at historical month-end exchange rates (EODHD): to USD on the buy date and back to your currency at the latest rate, so the return reflects the currency move as well as the asset.

    Month-end resolution means intra-month extremes are not captured in tables; the calculator uses exact trading-day closes where daily data is available. Figures ignore taxes, fees, and the currency effects of non-USD listings. History is not a forecast. Wall Street Regrets is entertainment, not investment advice.

    Full methodology →

    What if you'd held…

    Data: adjusted close prices via EODHD and Yahoo Finance. As of 2026-09-03. Not financial advice.