Is it smart to only invest in S&P 500? (2024)

Is it smart to only invest in S&P 500?

However, the S&P 500 isn't the only index you should own in your portfolio, and it probably isn't even the best index to own for your US stock exposure. As usual, the best bet that most investors can make is to invest in a globally diversified portfolio of low-cost funds in the world's best companies.

So if you're happy with a portfolio that performs comparably to the stock market as a whole, then sticking to S&P 500 ETFs alone isn't a bad idea. However, if you assemble a portfolio of individual stocks that perform better, you might enjoy a 12% or 15% return over time -- or more.

A $1000 investment made in November 2013 would be worth $5,574.88, or a gain of 457.49%, as of November 16, 2023, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 150.41% and gold's return of 46.17% over the same time frame.

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

You can become a millionaire by investing $500 per month consistently for almost 30 years. This is a low-effort strategy, but you can achieve this goal even faster through the right combination of individual stocks. Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?

Is Investing in the S&P 500 Less Risky Than Buying a Single Stock? Generally, yes. The S&P 500 is considered well-diversified by sector, which means it includes stocks in all major areas, including technology and consumer discretionary—meaning declines in some sectors may be offset by gains in other sectors.

Perhaps the biggest downside of an S&P 500 index fund is that it can only earn average returns. This type of investment is designed to follow the market, so it's simply not possible for it to beat the market. For many people, lower returns are a worthwhile trade-off for the ease and simplicity of an S&P 500 index fund.

Think about this: If you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 1980 and left the money untouched until 2022, you'd have accumulated nearly $1.1 million by the end of last year, according to the Hartford Funds. The S&P 500 has an annualized total return of more than 12% over the last decade.

The historical average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 9.69% over the last 20 years, as of the end of December 2023.

Should I put all my 401k in S&P 500?

Diversification is an important factor, and you'll want to balance having too much in one type of asset. For example, many experts recommend having an allocation to large stocks such as those in an S&P 500 index fund as well as an allocation to medium- and small-cap stocks.

Regardless of where you invest, it's wise to keep a long-term outlook. The market could be shaky over the coming months or even years. But if you invest in an S&P 500 ETF and hold that investment for at least a couple of decades, you're almost guaranteed to make money.

The key to keeping your money safe

While there are never any guarantees when it comes to investing, opting for an S&P 500 index fund or ETF is about as close to guaranteed long-term returns as you can get. It's not the only way to build wealth in the stock market, however.

There are two approaches you could take. The first is increasing the amount you invest monthly. Bumping up your monthly contributions to $200 would put you over the $1 million mark. The other option would be to try to exceed a 7% annual return with your investments.

$3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year. $36,000 / 6% dividend yield = $600,000. On the other hand, if you're more risk-averse and prefer a portfolio yielding 2%, you'd need to invest $1.8 million to reach the $3,000 per month target: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.

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The S&P 500 is up about 23% year to date. Investors in that index should 'set a strategy and stay invested,' expert says. The S&P 500 has seen strong gains in 2023. Here's what experts say you should consider before doubling down on exposure to that index in 2024.

By investing now and staying invested for as long as possible, you can rest easier knowing you're likely to see positive long-term returns -- no matter what happens in the coming weeks or months. Katie Brockman has positions in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

Wealthy investors can afford investments that average investors can't. These investments offer higher returns than indexes do because there is more risk involved. Wealthy investors can absorb the high risk that comes with high returns.

What is the 10 year return of the S&P 500?

Basic Info. S&P 500 10 Year Return is at 171.8%, compared to 158.1% last month and 172.1% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 114.0%.

Rowe Price U.S. Equity Research fund (ticker: PRCOX) is in this exclusive club, having bested—along with a team of about 30 research analysts—the S&P 500 index for the past five years on an annualized basis. U.S. Equity Research is a Morningstar five-star gold-medal fund.

Given this, you plug a principal amount of $1,000,000, a rate of 3.18% and a time of 30 years into the compound interest formula. And voila, in 30 years the equivalent of $1,000,000 would be $2,557,794 and some change.