Imagine this: It’s December 7, 2015. You’ve got $100,000 sitting in your bank account. You make one bold move—you invest it all in a single fund—and then… do absolutely nothing for 10 years. No trading, no panic selling, no trying to “time the market.”
Fast forward to today, December 5, 2025, and that $100,000 has skyrocketed to $358,957. 😲 That’s a gain of $258,957 just by staying the course.
Sounds insane, right? But here’s the catch: it wasn’t a smooth ride. Along the way, the market threw two brutal crashes that scared even seasoned investors. Could you have actually held your nerve?
Let’s break it down year by year and show you exactly what happened.
December 7, 2015: The Big Move
You buy 523.7 shares of VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) at $190.95 per share. What’s VOO?
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It’s not crypto. Not some risky tech stock.
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It’s an index fund owning pieces of 504 of America’s largest companies: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Johnson & Johnson, and more.
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Ultra-low fees: 0.03% per year, meaning you pay only $3 for every $10,000 invested—much cheaper than typical managed funds charging 1% or more.
You now own a slice of the American economy, and your only task is simple: hold for 10 years.
The Rollercoaster Years 🎢
2015: +1.38% – A quiet start.
2016: +11.96% – Confidence grows.
2017: +21.83% – Feeling like a genius investor. Friends ask for advice. Life’s good.
2018: -4.38% – The first scare. Trade wars, interest rate fears… panic everywhere. Do you sell?
2019: +31.49% – If you held, this is your big rebound.
2020: +18.4% – Pandemic chaos, yet the market keeps climbing.
2021: +28.71% – Three consecutive monster years!
2022: -18.11% – The ultimate test. Inflation surges, tech stocks tumble. Many investors panic. Could you stay calm?
2023: +26.29% – Recovery mode activated.
2024: +25.02% – Momentum continues.
2025: +18.22% (partial) – Your portfolio hits all-time highs.
The lesson? Staying invested through volatility builds real wealth.
Where Did the $258,957 in Gains Come From? 💰
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Price appreciation: $230,181 – Your shares went from $190.95 → $630.48 each. That’s nearly 4x growth!
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Dividends: $28,776 – 40 quarterly payments over 10 years, giving you $2,877 per year in passive income.
If you reinvested dividends, your returns would have been even higher, thanks to the power of compounding.
Total portfolio value today: $358,957. Annualized return: 13.64% per year. Your money didn’t just double—it multiplied 3.6x.
Why This Worked So Well ✅
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Ultra-low fees (0.03%) – Keep more of your gains.
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Instant diversification – 504 companies reduce single-stock risk.
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Tech boom – Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla drove huge growth.
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Low interest rates – Stocks were more attractive than savings accounts.
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Patience pays off – You survived crashes and rode the rebounds.
The key principle? Time in the market beats timing the market. Volatility is the price of long-term wealth, and emotional discipline separates winners from losers.
The Bottom Line 💡
$100,000 invested in VOO in 2015 → $358,957 in 2025. Two scary crashes couldn’t stop the compounding machine. Could you have stayed calm during 2018 and 2022? That’s where the real money was made.
If this inspired you, take action today. You don’t need to wait 10 years to start building wealth. Start small, stay consistent, and watch the magic happen.
🔥 Ready to invest in VOO and grow your wealth? Start now with Moomoo here: https://j.moomoo.com/0xFRE4 🔥
