Ten years is a long time in the stock market. Long enough to live through a pandemic, a historic bull run, inflation spikes, and a handful of correction scares. And somehow — through all of it — the S&P 500 just kept doing its thing.
I’ve been investing in index funds since my early-20s, and the most valuable thing I’ve learned is simple: time in the market beats timing the market. The numbers below prove it.
What $50,000 would actually be worth today
According to The Motley Fool research, the S&P 500 returned an average of 15.5% annually over the last decade when dividends are reinvested — well above the 30-year average of 10.4%.
Here’s what a one-time $50,000 investment would have grown to across three different time horizons, based on those historical averages:
|
Time Invested |
Avg. Annual Return |
Today’s Balance |
|---|---|---|
|
10 years ago |
15.5% |
$211,246 |
|
20 years ago |
10.4% |
$361,702 |
|
30 years ago |
10.4% |
$972,841 |
Data source: Author’s calculations.
Worth noting: the 10-year return of 15.5% is unusually strong compared to the long-term historical average of around 10%. In other words, the last decade was a particularly good run — and it would be overly optimistic to count on that pace repeating over the next 10 years.
But here’s the thing: even if the next decade looks more like the long-term average (or less), the 20 and 30-year numbers in that table still tell a compelling story. Time is doing most of the heavy lifting. A one-time $50,000 investment approaching $1 million over 30 years isn’t dependent on an exceptional decade — it just requires patience and leaving it alone.
Lump sum vs. dollar-cost averaging
Dumping $50,000 into the market all at once is genuinely nerve-wracking. You hit confirm, the market dips two weeks later, and your stomach drops with it.
An alternative option is dollar-cost averaging (DCA), which is breaking that large sum into smaller equal parts, and investing on a regular schedule instead of all at once. Eg. instead of a $50,000 once off investment, you invest $1,000 per month for 50 months.
You’ll buy more shares when prices are low and fewer when they’re high, which smooths out the short-term volatility.
No matter which approach you choose, the most important move is simply getting started. The sooner your money is in the market, the longer compounding has to work in your favor.
Don’t let your cash sit on the sidelines
The best time to invest $50,000 in an S&P 500 index fund was decades ago. The second best time is today. The historical data is about as encouraging as it gets — and you don’t need to be a market expert to take advantage of it.
Pick a low-cost platform, choose a broad S&P 500 index fund, and let time do the work. That’s the whole strategy.
Explore top-rated brokerage accounts and start investing today.