The Best Performing Index Funds of the Last Decade (2026 Update)
VOO, QQQ, VTI, SCHD and VGT compared over ten years: what $10,000 became, what each fund actually holds, and which one fits which investor.
If you only ever learn one thing about investing, learn this: most professional fund managers fail to beat a boring index fund over a decade. That is not an opinion. It's the finding of the S&P SPIVA scorecard, year after year.
So the real question isn't whether to own an index fund. It's which one.
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| Date | VOO | QQQ | VTI | SCHD | VGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2016 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Apr 2016 | $10,274 | $9,910 | $10,275 | $10,363 | $9,676 |
| Jul 2016 | $10,357 | $9,453 | $9,956 | $10,013 | $10,197 |
| Oct 2016 | $10,015 | $10,181 | $10,214 | $9,852 | $10,056 |
| Jan 2017 | $10,147 | $10,354 | $10,080 | $10,208 | $10,419 |
| Apr 2017 | $10,283 | $11,150 | $11,040 | $9,987 | $11,570 |
| Jul 2017 | $10,553 | $11,212 | $11,470 | $11,150 | $11,821 |
| Oct 2017 | $11,512 | $12,368 | $11,545 | $10,948 | $13,370 |
| Jan 2018 | $12,008 | $13,237 | $12,040 | $11,278 | $14,300 |
| Apr 2018 | $11,931 | $12,899 | $11,691 | $11,069 | $13,932 |
| Jul 2018 | $12,352 | $13,534 | $11,805 | $10,894 | $14,145 |
| Oct 2018 | $11,739 | $13,027 | $10,980 | $10,666 | $14,925 |
| Jan 2019 | $12,265 | $13,223 | $11,470 | $10,948 | $15,010 |
| Apr 2019 | $12,552 | $14,896 | $12,375 | $11,042 | $15,647 |
| Jul 2019 | $13,573 | $16,138 | $12,557 | $11,695 | $18,483 |
| Oct 2019 | $14,694 | $17,238 | $13,926 | $12,744 | $19,421 |
| Jan 2020 | $15,693 | $18,263 | $14,368 | $13,208 | $20,907 |
| Apr 2020 | $16,785 | $19,558 | $14,801 | $12,824 | $22,913 |
| Jul 2020 | $16,231 | $22,540 | $15,780 | $14,284 | $26,563 |
| Oct 2020 | $17,194 | $24,190 | $16,130 | $14,116 | $29,414 |
| Jan 2021 | $18,122 | $27,237 | $17,462 | $14,613 | $32,197 |
| Apr 2021 | $19,673 | $29,489 | $18,450 | $15,259 | $33,438 |
| Jul 2021 | $21,086 | $30,430 | $19,092 | $15,810 | $35,697 |
| Oct 2021 | $22,179 | $32,459 | $19,780 | $17,774 | $39,298 |
| Jan 2022 | $22,396 | $32,361 | $20,854 | $18,137 | $38,588 |
| Apr 2022 | $21,575 | $29,782 | $19,893 | $17,075 | $34,990 |
| Jul 2022 | $19,932 | $26,358 | $18,505 | $17,794 | $30,635 |
| Oct 2022 | $18,785 | $23,634 | $17,324 | $17,276 | $29,431 |
| Jan 2023 | $18,659 | $23,468 | $16,985 | $17,223 | $28,528 |
| Apr 2023 | $19,821 | $25,207 | $17,405 | $17,061 | $30,041 |
| Jul 2023 | $21,400 | $30,354 | $19,591 | $17,626 | $36,220 |
| Oct 2023 | $21,656 | $31,600 | $20,168 | $16,745 | $39,055 |
| Jan 2024 | $23,085 | $35,636 | $21,419 | $17,303 | $41,309 |
| Apr 2024 | $25,568 | $36,668 | $22,549 | $17,868 | $42,741 |
| Jul 2024 | $25,598 | $37,766 | $22,358 | $17,115 | $44,956 |
| Oct 2024 | $27,395 | $42,760 | $25,347 | $18,043 | $48,032 |
| Jan 2025 | $28,030 | $43,408 | $25,877 | $18,621 | $51,025 |
| Apr 2025 | $29,652 | $46,171 | $26,095 | $18,480 | $50,190 |
| Jul 2025 | $29,278 | $44,700 | $26,498 | $17,983 | $51,320 |
| Oct 2025 | $29,436 | $46,827 | $26,037 | $18,204 | $55,518 |
| Jan 2026 | $29,875 | $47,074 | $26,889 | $18,568 | $57,715 |
| Apr 2026 | $30,224 | $47,044 | $28,437 | $18,144 | $59,538 |
| Jun 2026 | $30,835 | $50,068 | $27,952 | $19,099 | $60,659 |
The five funds that matter
VOO: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The default. 500 of the largest US companies, a 0.03% expense ratio, and the benchmark every other fund is measured against. If you're not sure, this is the answer.
QQQ: Invesco QQQ. The Nasdaq-100: heavier in technology, lighter in banks and oil. It has outperformed the S&P 500 over the last decade, with noticeably bigger drawdowns in bad years (2022: roughly –33% vs the S&P's –19%).
VTI: Vanguard Total Stock Market. Owns essentially every listed US company, small caps included. Performance tracks VOO closely because the giants dominate both, but you're buying the whole haystack.
SCHD: Schwab US Dividend Equity. The income pick. Screens for quality companies with at least ten consecutive years of dividends. It will usually lag the growth-heavy funds in bull markets and hold up better in ugly ones.
VGT: Vanguard Information Technology. A pure technology sector bet. The best ten-year performer on this list, and the most volatile. This is a conviction holding, not a core one.
What actually separates them
Three things, in order of importance:
- Concentration. VGT is ~100% tech, QQQ is roughly half tech, VOO/VTI are ~30% tech, SCHD deliberately underweights it. Your tech exposure is the single biggest driver of how these funds behave.
- Expense ratio. All five are cheap (0.03%–0.20%). Over 30 years, even the difference between 0.03% and 0.20% compounds to real money, but it's a rounding error next to the concentration decision.
- Dividends. SCHD yields roughly 3–4×, whatever the growth funds pay. In a taxable account, that's a tax bill; in a retirement account, it's compounding fuel.
The honest takeaway
A reasonable default that has served millions of investors: VOO or VTI as the core, QQQ or VGT as a satellite if you want more growth and can stomach the drawdowns, SCHD if you're closer to needing the income than growing it.
Not investment advice. Price returns exclude dividends and taxes. Past performance does not guarantee future results.