How much can you make through ETFs?
Average ETF returns vary, but on average, you should expect to generate an annualized return of 7-10% over a ten-year period. Investors must also understand that ETFs will not always produce positive returns each year.
Some ETFs pay dividends while others do not. Bond ETFs, for example, typically pay monthly distributions. Some equity ETFs also pay monthly dividends, like the income-focused JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI).
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.
Since then, the ETF has delivered an average annual return of 8.66%. You'd have a nest egg of over $1.18 million if you invested $3,600 per year over 40 years. Historically, small-cap value stocks have achieved average annual returns of a little over 14%.
Why Invest in ETFs Rather Than Mutual Funds? ETFs can be less expensive to own than mutual funds. Plus, they trade continuously throughout exchange hours, and such flexibility may matter to certain investors. ETFs also can result in lower taxes from capital gains, since they're a passive security that tracks an index.
ETF issuers collect any dividends paid by the companies whose stocks are held in the fund, and they then pay those dividends to their shareholders. They may pay the money directly to the shareholders, or reinvest it in the fund.
The single biggest risk in ETFs is market risk. Like a mutual fund or a closed-end fund, ETFs are only an investment vehicle—a wrapper for their underlying investment. So if you buy an S&P 500 ETF and the S&P 500 goes down 50%, nothing about how cheap, tax efficient, or transparent an ETF is will help you.
| Years Invested | Balance At the End of the Period |
|---|---|
| 10 | $102,422 |
| 20 | $379,684 |
| 30 | $1,130,244 |
| 40 | $3,162,040 |
If you invested in the company 10 years ago, that decision could have paid off. According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment in Coca-Cola in 2009 would be worth more than $2,800 as of Feb. 15, 2019.
For instance, say your investments are earning a 12% average annual return compared to 10% per year. If you're still investing $100 per month, you'd have a total of around $518,000 after 35 years, compared to $325,000 in that time period with a 10% return.
Has anyone gotten rich from ETFs?
In a nutshell: Yes, ETFs alone are enough to make you rich. With just one investment, you can capture the growth of the overall stock market or a certain segment of it. For example, you can find ETFs that focus on pretty much any industry, investment theme, or region of the globe.
Too many people are paid a lot of money to tell investors that yields like that are impossible. But the truth is you can get a 9.5% yield today--and even more. But even at 9.5%, we're talking about a middle-class income of $4,000 per month on an investment of just a touch over $500K.
Their prices will fluctuate throughout the day, like stocks do. You can make money from ETFs by trading them. And some ETFs pay out the money the ETF makes to investors. These payments are called distributions.
You expose your portfolio to much higher risk with sector ETFs, so you should use them sparingly, but investing 5% to 10% of your total portfolio assets may be appropriate. If you want to be highly conservative, don't use these at all.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are ideal for beginning investors due to their many benefits, which include low expense ratios, instant diversification, and a multitude of investment choices. Unlike some mutual funds, they also tend to have low investing thresholds, so you don't have to be ultra-rich to get started.
| Symbol | Name | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|
| GBTC | Grayscale Bitcoin Trust | 67.03% |
| USD | ProShares Ultra Semiconductors | 63.05% |
| FNGU | MicroSectors FANG+™ Index 3X Leveraged ETN | 53.37% |
| FNGO | MicroSectors FANG+ Index 2X Leveraged ETNs | 49.56% |
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) includes a basket of securities and trades on an exchange. If the stocks owned by the fund pay dividends, the money is passed along to the investor. Most ETFs pay these dividends quarterly on a pro-rata basis, where payments are based on the number of shares the investor owns.
From the perspective of the IRS, the tax treatment of ETFs and mutual funds are the same. Both are subject to capital gains tax and taxation of dividend income.
ETFs held for longer than a year are taxed as long-term gains. If you sell an ETF, and buy the same (or a substantially similar) ETF after less than 30 days, you may be subject to the wash sale rule.
However, it's rare for broad-market ETFs to go to zero unless the entire market or sector it tracks collapses entirely. The sharpest decline the last few decades has been in 2007, when some total stock market ETFs like IWDA lost 37% in one year.
Is it better to buy ETF or individual stocks?
Because of their wide array of holdings, ETFs provide the benefits of diversification, including lower risk and less volatility, which often makes a fund safer to own than an individual stock.
| ETF | Assets Under Management | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Invesco QQQ Trust (ticker: QQQ) | $240 billion | 0.2% |
| Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) | $71.7 billion | 0.1% |
| Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT) | $254 million | 0.6% |
| MicroSectors FANG+ Index 3X Leveraged ETN (FNGU) | $3.3 billion | 0.95% |
In a market that generates a 2% annual yield, you would need to invest $600,000 up front in order to reliably generate $12,000 per year (or $1,000 per month) in dividend payments.
Bottom Line. If you can invest $200 each and every month and achieve a 10% annual return, in 20 years you'll have more than $150,000 and, after another 20 years, more than $1.2 million. Your actual rate of return may vary, and you'll also be affected by taxes, fees and other influences.
Those who are able to save a significant amount beyond their retirement account contributions may be able to generate $200 monthly in interest. “If you have $50,000 in a high-yield savings account offering 5% APY, that's $200 a month right there,” Henry says.
