Building an investment portfolio worth $1 million or more is a dream many people share, yet relatively few will achieve. In fact, when asked what a "high net worth" looks like in a 2023 survey by Empower, the median response was $400,000 -- and 74% of survey participants believed they'd never reach that threshold.
Investing in the stock market is one of the most attainable ways to generate serious wealth, and you don't need to be an expert at choosing stocks or timing the market. Sometimes, all it takes is one investment that can transform your finances.
Image source: Getty Images.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are bundles of securities grouped into a single investment, often containing dozens or even hundreds of stocks. Investing in just one share of an ETF, then, can allow you to gain exposure to a wide variety of stocks at once with minimal effort.
While not all ETFs are strong investments (and what you choose to buy will depend heavily on your risk tolerance and overall goals), there's one fund that could potentially turn $300 per month into $1.2 million or more over time.
A growth fund with built-in protection
Many investors of all experience levels buy ETFs based on the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). These funds contain slices of every company within the benchmark index.
The S&P 500 is reserved for only the strongest and largest companies in the U.S., and most of these businesses are industry-leading juggernauts -- ranging from tech giants like Apple and Amazon to longstanding brands like Coca-Cola and 3M.
While investing in an S&P 500 ETF can be a wise choice, if you're looking to supercharge your potential earnings, a growth fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF(NYSEMKT: VOOG) could be an even better option.
This ETF contains only the fastest-growing companies within the S&P 500. There are a total of 234 stocks in the fund, with close to half of them coming from the technology industry. The three largest holdings are Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft, which collectively make up roughly 35% of the entire fund.
The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF can be a wise choice if you're looking to balance risk and reward. Because all of the stocks in this fund are also in the S&P 500, they have a strong track record and are more likely to survive market turbulence. However, they're also more likely to earn above-average returns over time.
Building a $1.2 million portfolio
There are never any guarantees with any investment, and growth funds, in particular, can carry more risk. While these particular growth stocks are among the strongest out there, many fast-growing companies will still experience intense volatility -- especially in the short term.
That said, if you're willing to ride out any stock market storms for the chance to earn above-average returns, a growth ETF could be a fantastic option.
Over the past 10 years, the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF has earned an average rate of return of 14.95% per year, as of this writing. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, by comparison, has seen an average return of just 13.30% per year in that time.
It's unclear whether this growth ETF will continue earning these types of returns going forward, so it's wise to keep your expectations in check and assume you might see lower earnings in the future.
For simplicity's sake, let's assume you could earn either 13%, 14%, or 15% average annual returns. (While the fund has only been around since 2010, it earned an annualized return of roughly 12.6% from its inception through the bottom of the most recent bear market.) If you're investing $300 per month, here's approximately how those contributions could add up over time:
Number of Years
Total Portfolio Value: 13% Avg. Annual Return
Total Portfolio Value: 14% Avg. Annual Return
Total Portfolio Value: 15% Avg. Annual Return
20
$291,000
$328,000
$369,000
25
$560,000
$655,000
$766,000
30
$1,056,000
$1,284,000
$1,565,000
Data source: Author's calculations via investor.gov.
To reach $1.2 million in total savings, you'd need to invest consistently for around 30 years while earning a 14% average annual return -- slightly less than what the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF has achieved over the last decade.
Even if this ETF earns much lower returns going forward, you could still earn a lot of money over time. Say, for example, you only earn 8% average annual returns -- which is lower than the market's historic average of around 10% per year. With $300 per month, you could still accumulate around $400,000 after 30 years.
While that's far less than $1 million, it's still a life-changing amount of wealth for most people. If you're putting off investing because you're worried about earning below-average returns, you could be missing out on serious gains.
The right investment can supercharge your savings, and ETFs require next to no effort on your part other than investing consistently. By keeping a long-term outlook and choosing the right investment, you could earn more than you might think in the stock market.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Katie Brockman has positions in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends 3M, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
