How do you make money from index funds?
As with other mutual funds, when you buy shares in an index fund you're pooling your money with other investors. The pool of money is used to purchase a portfolio of assets that duplicates the performance of the target index. Dividends, interest and capital gains are paid out to investors regularly.
Dividends from an index fund are received in one of two ways. The first way is in cash. This is deposited into your brokerage account where you hold the fund. The second way is through dividend reinvestment.
| Number of Years | Growth of $5,000 Per Year at 9.9% Returns |
|---|---|
| 15 | $157,608 |
| 20 | $283,143 |
| 30 | $807,057 |
| 40 | $2,153,652 |
Yes, there are several dividend-paying index funds for investors who prioritize steady income over high growth.
Key Takeaways
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.
Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.
Index funds have no contribution limits, withdrawal restrictions or requirements to withdraw funds. The primary con of index funds when in comparison to 401(k) plans is the lack of any tax advantage.
| Discount Rate | Present Value | Future Value |
|---|---|---|
| 4% | $1,000 | $2,191.12 |
| 5% | $1,000 | $2,653.30 |
| 6% | $1,000 | $3,207.14 |
| 7% | $1,000 | $3,869.68 |
Dividend-paying Stocks
With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month. Although, most dividends are paid quarterly, semi-annually or annually.
| Rate of return | 10 years | 20 years |
|---|---|---|
| 4% | $72,000 | $178,700 |
| 6% | $79,000 | $220,700 |
| 8% | $86,900 | $274,600 |
| 10% | $95,600 | $343,700 |
What is the main disadvantage of index fund?
The benefits of index investing include low cost, requires little financial knowledge, convenience, and provides diversification. Disadvantages include the lack of downside protection, no choice in index composition, and it cannot beat the market (by definition).
If the fund is held in a traditional retirement account (IRA/401k) there are no taxes until money is withdrawn from the account and then it is all considered ordinary taxable income in the year it is withdrawn. If the fund is held in a Roth retirement account there are no taxes on the income or withdrawals.
Index funds—whether mutual funds or ETFs (exchange-traded funds)—are naturally tax-efficient for a couple of reasons: Because index funds simply replicate the holdings of an index, they don't trade in and out of securities as often as an active fund would.
If the average dividend yield of your portfolio is 4%, you'd need a substantial investment to generate $3,000 per month. To be precise, you'd need an investment of $900,000. This is calculated as follows: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.
Ideally, you should stay invested in equity index funds for the long run, i.e., at least 7 years. That is because investing in any equity instrument for the short-term is fraught with risks. And as we saw, the chances of getting positive returns improve when you give time to your investments.
When building a portfolio, you could consider investing in 20% of the stocks in the S&P 500 that have contributed 80% of the market's returns. Or you might create an 80-20 allocation: 80% of investments could be lower risk index funds while 20% might could be growth funds.
To generate $5,000 per month in dividends, you would need a portfolio value of approximately $1 million invested in stocks with an average dividend yield of 5%. For example, Johnson & Johnson stock currently yields 2.7% annually. $1 million invested would generate about $27,000 per year or $2,250 per month.
Bank Savings Accounts
As noted above, the average rate on savings accounts as of February 3rd 2021, is 0.05% APY. A million-dollar deposit with that APY would generate $500 of interest after one year ($1,000,000 X 0.0005 = $500). If left to compound monthly for 10 years, it would generate $5,011.27.
Is $1 million enough money for you to retire at 60? It depends on things like your spending needs, location, health, household, and other factors. For many people, $1 million is a sufficient nest egg. But running some numbers can provide clarity.
While index funds are free from the fund manager bias, they are still vulnerable to the risk of tracking error.
What happens if an index fund closes?
Key Takeaways
Liquidation of ETFs is strictly regulated. When an ETF closes, the remaining shareholders will receive a payout based on whatever they had invested in the ETF.
Most index funds pay dividends to their shareholders. Since the index fund tracks a specific index in the market (like the S&P 500), the index fund will also contain a proportionate amount of investments in stocks. For index funds that distribute dividends, many pay them out quarterly or annually.
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If you invest $10,000 and make an 8% annual return, you'll have $100,627 after 30 years. By also investing $500 per month over that timeframe, your ending balance would be $780,326. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds are both excellent investment options.
The table below shows the present value (PV) of $50,000 in 20 years for interest rates from 2% to 30%. As you will see, the future value of $50,000 over 20 years can range from $74,297.37 to $9,502,481.89.
