Want to Become a Stock Market Millionaire? History Says This Investment Can Get You There.
Key Points
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Index ETFs provide you with an instant diversified portfolio, low fees, and the ability to trade easily.
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The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is the largest ETF in the world, with $1.7 trillion in assets.
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Starting early and adding funds consistently can get you to millionaire status.
Investing in the stock market is all about creating wealth. Today, through the proliferation of online platforms and no-fee trades, as well as increasing accessibility of investment advice, anyone can generate life-changing wealth.
There are many ways to become a millionaire over time, but there’s one method that’s simple, low-risk, and time-tested. I’m talking about buying an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500.
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Becoming an S&P 500 millionaire
Let’s take a step back and discuss what the S&P 500 is. It’s often used as a proxy for the market, but as its name implies, it’s an index of 500 stocks. There are various criteria to be included, such as having a minimum market capitalization of $20.5 billion, generating profits in the most recent quarter and over the trailing 12 months, and being based in the U.S.
The index is run by S&P Global, and it’s rebalanced quarterly. The index is weighted, which means larger stocks by market value have a greater representation.
Image source: Getty Images.
These features result in an index that’s geared toward growth. Faster-growing companies will naturally have larger market caps and account for more of the index, and unprofitable companies won’t be included or will be replaced.
Buying an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 takes all of the guesswork out of investing. S&P 500 ETFs mimic the index’s components and weight, and by default, its performance. Investors get a large array of top growth companies without poring over financial statements or feeling the anxiety of picking and choosing, and you get instant diversification across classes and categories, minimizing risk. Plus, because it’s an ETF, it’s traded on an open market and is simple to buy and sell.
The most popular S&P 500 ETF is also the most popular ETF of any kind in the world. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF(NYSEMKT: VOO) has $1.7 trillion in assets under management, and it has the lowest expense ratio, or how much you pay to Vanguard, of 0.03%.
Creating wealth over time
History shows that this method works. The S&P 500 gains much more often than it loses value, and over time, even including market crashes, it has steadily compounded and grown investors’ money. In fact, since 1990, it has delivered an annualized gain of almost 11%, which is outstanding.
Starting early yields the best results, and adding funds consistently offers even greater potential. Consider how much money you would have today if you had invested $10,000 in 1990 and how much you would have if you had added $150 monthly.
Image source: Investor.gov.
Image source: Investor.gov.
In either case, your money would have compounded significantly. But if you had added $150 per month and done nothing else except wait, you’d be a millionaire today.
Should you buy stock in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?
Before you buy stock in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $399,832!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,374,595!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 968% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of August 9, 2026.
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