S&P 500 Monthly Return Monthly Analysis: S&P 500 Returns (2024)

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S&P 500 Monthly Return Monthly Analysis: S&P 500 Returns? ›

Basic Info. S&P 500 Monthly Return is at 3.10%, compared to 5.17% last month and 3.51% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 0.56%. The S&P 500 Monthly Return is the investment return received each month, excluding dividends, when holding the S&P 500 index.

S&P 500 Monthly Total Return is at 3.22%, compared to 5.34% last month and 3.67% last year.

S&P 500 12 Month Total Return is at 29.88%, compared to 30.45% last month and -7.73% last year.

Bottom Line. Since 1957, the S&P 500's average annual rate of return has been approximately 10.5% (through March 2023) and around 6.6% after adjusting for inflation.

The index has returned a historic annualized average return of around 10.26% since its 1957 inception through the end of 2023. While that average number may sound attractive, timing is everything: Get in at a high or out at a relative low, and you will not enjoy such returns.

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

The S&P 500 is an index, so it does not pay dividends; however, there are mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the index, which you can invest in. If the companies in these funds pay dividends, you'll receive yours based on how many shares of the funds you hold.

The S&P 500 returned 345% over the last two decades, compounding at 7.7% annually. But with dividends reinvested, the S&P 500 delivered a total return of 546% over the same period, compounding at 9.8% annually. Investors can get direct, inexpensive exposure to the index with a fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

The annualized return of the last 10 years has been 12.85% (updated at Mar 31, 2024).

What is the safest investment with the highest return? ›

U.S. stock returns: 2023 optimism carries forward

This heightened optimism is on par with the positive outlook in December 2021, when investors anticipated a 6% stock market return for 2022. Investor expectations for stock returns over the long run (defined as the next 10 years) rose slightly to 7.2%.

In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500, then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.

Our recommendation for the best overall S&P 500 index fund is the Fidelity 500 Index Fund. With a 0.015% expense ratio, it's the cheapest on our list. And it doesn't have a minimum initial investment requirement, sales loads or trading fees. Over the last 10 years, FXAIX has returned an annualized 12.02%.

But it's important to note that the S&P 500 index itself does not pay dividends—the companies in the index do. An investor has to buy shares of the companies themselves or of index funds in order to receive dividends. “The S&P itself does not pay a dividend,” explains Titan investment manager Christopher Seifel.

Average Market Return for the Last 30 Years

Looking at the S&P 500 for the years 1993 to mid-2023, the average stock market return for the last 30 years is 9.90% (7.22% when adjusted for inflation).

Basic Info. S&P 500 10 Year Return is at 180.6%, compared to 174.1% last month and 161.9% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 114.4%.