Ok…so you’re like me and everyone else….you want to make more money. The big question is “HOW”? The answer is going to depend on so many factors but there’s good news. It’s time, even for an older guy like me, to embrace the resources available to all of us for help. I have always preached due diligence when investing and that will never change. But AI tools and ChatGPT has made that research so much easier. You can literally ask it anything and get the answer you need…..but that’s not my favorite part of it. I like it’s intuitive format that asks great follow up questions. Here is an example:
I was curious (since we know a few people with newborns or soon to be parents) what a $1000 investment would be at birth in 60 years time with no further contribution. I asked specifically about SPYG because it is one I like that follows the S&P 500. The response:
Here’s a rough estimate if you invest $1,000 now in the SPYG (SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF) and hold it for 60 years, along with caveats.
🔍 Key background
- SPYG’s inception was September 2000. State Street Global Advisors+2ETF Database+2
- According to one source, SPYG has had a compound annual return (CAGR) of about 7.85% since inception (over ~25 years). Lazy Portfolio ETF
- Another source states its average annual return since inception is about 7.18%. StockAnalysis
- Important: Past performance does not guarantee future returns.
📈 Estimate for 60 years
Using the formula: Future Value=1000×(1+r)60\text{Future Value} = 1000 \times (1 + r)^{60}Future Value=1000×(1+r)60
Let’s plug in a few plausible rates:
- At 7% annual return:
1000×1.0760≈$30,4801000 \times 1.07^{60} \approx \$30{,}4801000×1.0760≈$30,480 - At 8% annual return (optimistic):
1000×1.0860≈$100,6261000 \times 1.08^{60} \approx \$100{,}6261000×1.0860≈$100,626 - At 5% annual return (more conservative):
1000×1.0560≈$18,6791000 \times 1.05^{60} \approx \$18{,}6791000×1.0560≈$18,679
✅ My “best guess”
Given SPYG’s historical ~7–8% range, a mid‐estimate of ~7.5% gives: 1000×1.07560≈$41,0001000 \times 1.075^{60} \approx \$41{,}0001000×1.07560≈$41,000
So you might reasonably expect something in the tens of thousands of dollars (assuming reinvestment of dividends, no taxes/fees, etc.).
⚠️ Important caveats
- This assumes you reinvest all dividends and don’t withdraw.
- It assumes the ETF continues to perform at similar long‐term rates; markets change.
- Inflation will reduce real (purchasing power) value.
- Taxes, fees, and fund‐structure changes may reduce net results.
- A 60-year horizon is long; many unforeseen risks exist (market crashes, structural changes, etc.).
That is quite a bit of decent information. But I loved that the follow up asked: If you like, I can run a table showing what $1,000 becomes at various rates over 60 years (e.g., 4%, 6%, 10%) so you can see a full range. Would you like that?
I won’t post it’s lengthy response because you get the idea now. But continue to ask questions like “what would it’s value be if I contributed an additional $25 a month for those 60 years?”. Utilize these tools as part of your due diligence when investing! And as always, invest early when possible but it’s never a bad time to invest.
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