Measure
Total return
Price change plus distributions, assumed reinvested.
Definition
Price change plus distributions, assumed reinvested.
How to read it
It is the only basis on which funds with different payout policies can be compared.
Measured on real funds
16Cumulative total return over each fund's own full history, dividends included.
| Fund | Cumulative | Period |
|---|---|---|
| VGT | 2,267% | 2004-02 to 2026-09, 15.0%/yr |
| QQQ | 1,526% | 1999-04 to 2026-09, 10.7%/yr |
| XLK | 1,445% | 1999-01 to 2026-09, 10.4%/yr |
| SMH | 1,321% | 2000-07 to 2026-09, 10.6%/yr |
| VUG | 1,250% | 2004-02 to 2026-09, 12.2%/yr |
| VTI | 942% | 2001-07 to 2026-09, 9.7%/yr |
| VOO | 796% | 2010-10 to 2026-09, 14.7%/yr |
| VTV | 725% | 2004-02 to 2026-09, 9.8%/yr |
| VIG | 633% | 2006-06 to 2026-09, 10.3%/yr |
| SCHD | 553% | 2011-11 to 2026-09, 13.4%/yr |
| VT | 378% | 2008-07 to 2026-09, 8.9%/yr |
| VWO | 356% | 2005-04 to 2026-09, 7.3%/yr |
| VXUS | 181% | 2011-02 to 2026-09, 6.8%/yr |
| VEA | 174% | 2007-08 to 2026-09, 5.4%/yr |
| AGG | 97% | 2003-10 to 2026-09, 3.0%/yr |
| BND | 76% | 2007-05 to 2026-09, 2.9%/yr |
Histories differ in length, so a longer one shows a larger cumulative figure for no other reason. The annualised number beside it is the comparable one. Computed from Yahoo Finance monthly total return, recomputed with every update of the site. How these figures are produced.
What it does not tell you
Reinvestment is an assumption. It presumes distributions went back in at the closing price with no tax paid and no friction, which is not the experience of an investor holding in a taxable account.
Applied in 101 articles
101- How Long Will Your Money Last? The 4% Rule Tested on 25 Years of Real Fund Returns
- Duration and Convexity: What Bond-ETF Investors Get Wrong About Rate Sensitivity
- Securities Lending: The Quiet Revenue Stream Inside Your Index Fund — Benefit or Risk?
- The Hidden Cost of Turnover: How Rebalancing and Reconstitution Erode Factor-ETF Returns
- Is Value 'Cheap'? Reading the Value Spread Instead of Guessing the Factor's Comeback
- VYMI vs IDV: International Dividend ETFs — Yield, Country Risk, and the Currency Drag
- HEDJ vs Unhedged International: Should You Hedge Currency in Your Foreign ETFs?
- AVDV vs AVUV: 0.13% Overlap — Two Small-Cap Value Funds That Share Almost Nothing
- ITA vs XAR: Defense and Aerospace ETFs When Geopolitical Risk Is Rising
- VO vs IJH: The Overlooked Mid-Cap Allocation — Does It Add Anything to VOO?
- QYLD vs JEPI vs DIVO: Three Covered-Call Mechanics and the Return-of-Capital Question
- BNDX vs BND: Does Adding International Bonds Do Anything for a US Portfolio?
- How to Rebalance Into a Drawdown Without Guessing the Bottom
- TLT vs IEF vs SHY: Building a Treasury Duration Ladder for Different Rate Scenarios
- XLV vs VHT: Two Ways to Own Healthcare — Concentration, Fees, and Defensive Behavior
- RSP vs VOO: Does Equal-Weighting the S&P 500 Actually Beat Cap-Weighting?
- DGRO vs SCHD: Two Dividend-Growth Approaches — Breadth vs Concentration
- CALF vs AVUV: Small-Cap Free Cash Flow vs Small-Cap Value — Two Quality Screens
- VGT vs XLK: Two Large Technology ETFs — Where the 0.10% Fee Gap Goes
- VNQ vs SCHH: Two REIT Index ETFs — Holdings, Yield, and Realized Risk
- VYM vs SCHD: High Yield vs Dividend Quality — Two Different Bets on Income
- The Three-Fund Portfolio in 2026: What VTI, VXUS, and BND Actually Delivered
- SCHG vs VUG: Large-Cap Growth Twins — Where the Index Construction Diverges
- JEPI vs JEPQ: Equity-Premium Income on the S&P 500 vs the Nasdaq-100
- SPY vs VOO vs IVV: The Three S&P 500 ETFs — Fees, Structure, and Tracking Difference
- SCHD vs JEPI: Dividend Growth vs Covered-Call Income — Which Belongs in a Long-Term Core?
- VOO vs VTI: S&P 500 vs Total US Market — What the Difference Actually Costs Over Decades
- The Mulden Hybrid Portfolio Framework: Quarterly Review (Q2 2026)
- How Factor Loadings Drift: Watching MTUM, QUAL, and SIZE Over Five Years
- DIVZ vs SCHD vs NOBL: Three 'Quality Dividend' Approaches Compared
- BOTZ vs. ROBO vs. AIQ: Three AI & Robotics ETFs Compared
- 12 Months of Live AI-Quant ETFs vs the S&P 500 — Honest Data Review
- FCTR vs LRGF: Where AI Actually Changes the Multi-Factor Loading
- QRFT Explained: AI-Driven Multi-Factor — Holdings, Fees, and Live Track Record
- Why Tracking Error Matters More Than Expense Ratio in 2026
- What +/-15 vs +/-25 Rebalancing Bands Actually Do — A 15-Year 60/40 Backtest
- AIEQ Review: 7 Years of Live AI-Managed ETF — What Actually Worked
- NOBL vs. DGRW: Dividend Aristocrats vs. AI-Filtered Quality Dividend Growth
- VUG vs. TTAI: Large-Cap Growth vs. AI-Based Tactical Theme Rotation
- VNQ vs. PPTY: REITs Index vs. AI-Powered Real Estate Value Analysis
- VXUS vs. IQIN: International Stocks vs. AI-Driven Global Multi-Factor Asset Allocation
- AVUV vs. SYLD: Deep Value Small-Cap vs. AI-Driven Shareholder Yield Selection
- JEPI vs. AIPI: High-Yield Income vs. AI-Powered Options Overlay Strategy
- SCHD vs. DIVZ: Traditional Dividend Growth vs. AI-Enhanced Yield Strategy
- VOO vs. AMOM: Can AI Momentum Outperform the S&P 500? (2026 Analysis)
- SCHD vs VIG: A Quantitative Analysis of Dividend Quality Factors
- VOO vs. MTUM vs. QUAL: Which Smart Beta ETF Wins Based on Historical Backtests?
- VOO vs. MTUM vs. QUAL: Which Smart Beta ETF Wins Numerically? (Backtest Analysis)
- How Jim Simons Built the Medallion Fund: Lessons for the Modern AI Investor
- Renaissance Technologies vs. Berkshire Hathaway: Two Different Paths to Infinite Wealth
- SGOV vs Gold ETFs: Two Defenses That Hedge Different Risks
- Gold vs Bonds in 2026: Two Different Hedges, Two Different Risks
- XLE vs VDE: Which Energy ETF Benefits Most from Oil Shocks?
- Energy Equities and Geopolitical Conflict: When the Relationship Actually Holds
- The Honest Math of Daily-Reset Leverage: What QLD, SSO, and TQQQ Actually Cost in a 4% Rate Regime
- Buy the Dip or Stay Invested? What the Historical Math Actually Says
- The Arithmetic of a -30% Drawdown: Recovery Math, Allocation, and What the Data Actually Says
- Asset Allocation in Practice: How 10% Weight Shifts Reshape Long-Term Outcomes
- Buying at the 2007 Peak: A 10-Year Simulation of Lump-Sum vs. Lump-Sum-Plus-DCA
- The Rule of 72 in Practice: What Realized ETF Returns Say About Doubling Time
- The Rationale Behind a Five-ETF Long-Term Core: VOO, QQQM, SCHD, VXUS, AVUV
- The Final-Decade Asymmetry: How Long-Horizon ETF Compounding Actually Distributes
- Compounding Realistically: What 30 Years of Index Investing Actually Looks Like
- The First $10,000: A Framework for Long-Horizon ETF Allocation
- What Rising Interest Rates Mean for Leveraged ETF Borrowing Costs
- Leveraged ETFs vs Index ETFs: What Daily Reset Actually Costs a Long-Term Holder
- The Honest Math of Leveraged ETFs - Path Dependency, Volatility Decay, and the Behavioral Gap
- Leveraged ETF Satellites in a Long-Term Core: The Drawdown Math Most Plans Skip
- The Honest Math of Leveraged ETFs: What Long-Horizon Investors Need to Understand Before Holding 2x or 3x
- QLD vs SSO: What 2x Leveraged ETFs Actually Cost a Long-Term Holder
- TQQQ vs QQQM: What Live Returns Reveal About 3x Leverage Over a Full Cycle
- VOO vs QQQM vs TQQQ: What 5-Year Volatility and Drawdown Tell Us About Leverage in a Long-Term Core
- Infrastructure in a 30-Year Core: What the Data on XLU and PAVE Actually Shows
- Common Mistakes in Infrastructure Investing and How to Avoid Them
- The Impact of 2026 Energy Policies on Your Long-Term Portfolio
- Data Center REITs vs. Infrastructure ETFs: Which One for Consistent Cash Flow?
- Utilities in a Rate-Cut Cycle: What the AI Power Demand Story Does — and Doesn't — Justify
- The 90/10 Allocation Framework: Pairing Broad Equity, AI Infrastructure, and a Cash Sleeve
- BOTZ vs IRBO: Finding the Most Cost-Effective Entry into Automation
- VPU vs XLU: A Fee, Liquidity, and Concentration Comparison for Long-Horizon Utility Exposure
- VOO, XLU, IFRA: What 5-Year Data Says About Three Approaches to the AI Power Build-Out
- Sizing an AI-Infrastructure Sleeve: VOO, QQQM, XLU, IFRA, and SGOV Through a Long-Horizon Lens
- The Yield-vs-Growth Question in 2026: Reading SCHD Against VOO, QQQM, AVUV, and ROE
- Planning the Handoff: A Framework for Tax-Efficient Wealth Transfer
- The Boredom Plateau: Why Year 10 Tests More Portfolios Than the First Crash
- SCHD vs VOO: What the Data Actually Says About Dividend Yield and Total Return
- SGOV and Gold in a 4.5% World: Rethinking the Defensive Sleeve for 2026
- VOO, QQQM and SCHD: One Behaves Like 52 Holdings, the Other Two Like 32 Each
- XLE in a Long-Term Core: The Rebalancing Math Behind Cyclical Sector Sleeves
- XLE vs VDE: A Five-Year Audit of the Two Largest US Energy ETFs
- SCHD, AVUV, and VXUS During the Iran–U.S. War Shock Dividend Stability, Small-Cap Risk, and Global Exposure — A Data-Driven ETF Analysis
- SGOV, VOO, and QQQM Under Geopolitical Stress: What Oil, Yields, and Volatility Reveal
- If War Triggers a Market Correction, Do Long-Term ETF Investors Actually Lose Money? (10+ Year Analysis)
- Iran–U.S. Conflict and Oil Markets: Why the Strait of Hormuz Matters for Global Investors
- Gold vs Silver in 2026: Which Is the Better Long-Term Investment? (GLD vs SLV ETF Comparison)
- Silver Through SLV: Volatility, Drawdown, and Role in a Long-Term Portfolio
- FLIN at Five Years: What India ETF Returns Actually Looked Like in USD
- Discipline Over Prediction: The Behavioral Foundations of Long-Horizon Investing
- Volatility vs. Permanent Loss: What Risk Actually Means for Long-Term ETF Investors
- SCHD and the Power of Dividend Discipline
- SGOV's Role in a Long-Term Portfolio: Yield, Realized Risk, and the Cash Floor
Every figure computed with this measure on this site follows the conventions set out in the methodology. All measures →