As of mid-June 2026, the S&P 500 Index has risen approximately 8% year-to-date, continuing its strong performance over the past several years. The index gained nearly 18% for the full year of 2025, and posted increases of more than 25% in both 2023 and 2024. After several years of substantial gains, investors may be wondering whether it is still worthwhile to invest in some top exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at this point.
The answer is yes. However, a dollar-cost averaging strategy is always recommended, which involves consistently investing a fixed amount in ETFs each month over a long period of time. This approach helps smooth out the cost basis and is a time-tested method of building wealth.
Investors also need to recognize that bull markets can persist for long periods. While the average bull market lasts about 2.7 years, many bull markets in recent years have lasted longer. The longest bull market ran from 1987 to 2000, with a cumulative gain of 582%; the second-longest bull market lasted from 2009 to 2020, delivering a return of 400%.
The bull markets over the past 40 years have been primarily driven by technological innovation and productivity improvements. The bull market from 1987 to 2000 was led by personal computers and later the internet, while 2009 coincided with the emergence of software as a service (SaaS). Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are leading the market higher.
The S&P 500 Index is the most widely tracked benchmark index for U.S. equities. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is a high-quality choice for low-cost investment in this index, with an expense ratio of just 0.03%. This ETF provides investors with an instant portfolio of 500 of the largest U.S. stocks by market capitalization and has a strong track record, with an average annual return (including dividends) of 15.4% over the past decade.
Actively managed funds have struggled to outperform the S&P 500 for many years, but one index ETF has consistently done so—the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index. Over the past 15 to 20 years, market gains have largely been driven by growth and technology stocks, and the Nasdaq 100 Index happens to contain a large number of such stocks. This fund has delivered an average annual total return of 21.8% over the past decade, and investing in this ETF will give investors significant exposure to top AI stocks.
The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) primarily tracks the growth-stock segment of the S&P 500 Index, with technology stocks accounting for nearly 70% of its portfolio. Because growth stocks have significantly outperformed value stocks over the past decade or more, this ETF has performed exceptionally well, with a total return of 413% over the past ten years and an annualized return of 17.8%.
Value stocks have been largely out of favor for most of the past decade, so it is not surprising that the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) has not delivered returns as high as those of the aforementioned growth-oriented funds. However, this ETF tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and has performed solidly, with an average annual return (including dividend reinvestment) of 12.5%, outperforming its value ETF category. The fund has started 2026 strongly, with a recent price gain of 16.3%, while also offering a robust dividend yield of 3.3%, as the index it tracks requires constituent companies to have strong balance sheets and cash flows to sustain dividend growth.
Overall, despite U.S. stocks having risen for multiple consecutive years, historical evidence suggests that bull market cycles can persist for extended periods. For investors looking to participate in the market, buying broad-based or growth-oriented ETFs in batches through a dollar-cost averaging approach remains a relatively prudent strategy. However, different ETFs have distinctly different return and risk characteristics due to their varying focal points, and investors should make choices based on their own risk tolerance and investment objectives.
