VOO is pitched as a long-term holding for investors preparing for an eventual end to the bull market that began in 2022, rather than trying to guess the next downturn.
Invesco data shows a $100,000 portfolio from 1995 to 2025 would be cut roughly in half if an investor missed the market’s 10 best days, underscoring the cost of mistiming entries and exits.
The ETF tracks all 500 companies in the S&P 500 across major sectors, giving investors broad exposure when the market rises instead of relying on stock picking.
Since its 2010 launch, VOO has delivered a 14.9% average annual return and charges a 0.03% expense ratio—about $3 a year on a $10,000 investment.
The broader case rests on market history: Fidelity counts 26 bull and 26 bear markets since 1872, while the S&P 500 has returned about 10% annually since 1957.