Key Takeaways
- Index funds consistently outperform actively managed funds.
- Index funds are also lower-cost and more tax-efficient.
- Indeed, indexing can be a viable strategy to achieve desired retirement account performance.
Many dream of retiring early, but achieving it doesn’t require high-priced financial advisors or complex investment strategies.
Indeed, low-cost index funds have emerged as a powerful tool in pursuing financial independence, offering a straightforward path that combines simplicity, diversification, and a proven track record of superior performance.
Understanding Index Funds
Index funds are investments that mirror specific market indexes, such as the S&P 500 or the total stock market. Think of them as buying a slice of the entire market rather than trying to pick individual winning stocks. So, when you invest in an S&P 500 index mutual or exchange-traded fund, you’re gaining exposure to America’s 500 largest companies, from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Coca-Cola Co. (KO).
The index approach began in the 1970s when John Bogle launched the first index fund (the Vanguard 500 Index Fund). Critics initially called it “un-American” and “a sure path to mediocrity.” Starting with just $11 million in assets, the fund struggled initially. However, investors soon caught on, and index funds grew dramatically. As of early 2025, the Vanguard 500 Fund boasts a staggering $1.4 trillion in assets under management.
The Power of Efficient Markets
As you can see above, few actively managed funds have beat index funds over the last few decades.
Some say the success of index funds rests on a fundamental principle known as the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), which argues that stock prices reflect all publicly available information about companies, making it extremely difficult for any individual investor to consistently identify mispriced stocks and beat the market.
Market efficiency arises from the immense scale of modern financial markets, where millions of participants simultaneously analyze data and trade stocks. When new information emerges, their collective trading quickly drives prices to reflect that information in a process known as “price discovery.”
To regularly beat the market, an active manager would need to analyze information much faster and make better judgments than this vast network of competitors, a task that becomes mathematically improbable over long periods and which could explain the persistent underperformance of active funds.
The Power of Low Costs
The cost advantage of index funds creates an additional tailwind that can really push returns upward.
A $10,000 investment earning an annualized 7% average return over 30 years would grow to $73,191 with a low-cost index fund charging 0.14% annually, but only to $57,435 with a higher-cost fund charging 1.0% annually. The difference of $15,756 represents a 27.4% cut in your returns only from the 0.86% difference in annual fees—something seemingly small that adds up dramatically over time.
The Power of Dollar Cost Averaging
Dollar-cost averaging is where you invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of market conditions. This approach offers three key advantages:
- It helps avoid the psychological pitfall of trying to time the market.
- It allows for greater compounding over time.
- It automatically buys more shares when prices are low and fewer when prices rise.
“Systematically buying investments incrementally over time is a proven method to a successful long-term outcome because it helps investors ignore the noise of financial news and the folly of attempting to time the market,” says David Tenerelli, a certified financial planner at Values Added Financial. “It takes discipline to continue to buy investments during a market downturn, but a shift in mindset can help—rather than fearing financial loss, an investor can reframe as buying stocks ‘on sale.'”
The Bottom Line
The combination of market-matching returns, minimal fees, and the power of compounding make index funds historically one of the most reliable paths to building wealth. However, success requires consistent, disciplined contributions and a long enough time horizon.