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Many long-term investors consider the stock market to be the greatest wealth creator in the world. Since its inception in 1957, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has generated an average annual total return of about 10.5%. A $1,000 investment in the index, with reinvested dividends, would be worth more than $1 million today. That's equivalent to about $85,000 in 1957 dollars.
For most investors, it makes more sense to invest in the entire S&P 500 index, which is rebalanced quarterly to track the 500 largest U.S. companies, rather than in individual stocks. For growth-oriented investors, it might be smarter to invest in the Nasdaq-100, which includes the 100 largest non-financial stocks listed on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC).
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
In the past, the only way to invest in an entire index was through an index fund, a passively managed mutual fund that only traded once per day. But in the early 1990s, the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were launched as a more liquid alternative to index funds.