Growing your portfolio to $1 million or more by retirement can be an excellent target to aim for. While there's no magic number that will guarantee you will have enough money to sustain the type of lifestyle you want to enjoy in your retirement years, the key is to focus on growing your portfolio in a way that won't put your hard-earned savings at risk. You might fall short of $1 million, but you might also end up with much more.
Below, I'll show you how it may be possible to get to $1 million at different age brackets. While you won't need as much money if you have a lot of investing years left, you may also not need to have six-figure savings unless you're approaching your 50s.
As long as you are planning to invest for 10+ years, growth stocks are the way to go
Growth stocks can make for the best investments to hold on to for the long haul. While dividend stocks and value stocks can make for less risky options, the big gains that will grow your portfolio to significant levels will likely come from investing in high-powered growth businesses.
They aren't ideal, however, for investors who may need to pull out money in the short term as they can sometimes fluctuate significantly. Investors only need to look back to 2022 as an example of that when tech and growth stocks as a whole struggled due to rising interest rates. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) declined by 33% that year. However, over the past five years, the growth-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) has still achieved gains of 156%.
That's why the key for most long-term investors should always be on growth stocks. They can deliver the best returns, even if there is an off-year along the way. As long as you aren't in a rush to sell your stocks, they can make for the most optimal investments.
The Invesco QQQ Trust can make for an ideal ETF to hold as its portfolio includes the top 100 non-financial stocks on the Nasdaq, giving you exposure to the best growth stocks available on the markets. It also comes with a reasonably low expense ratio of 0.20%. Historically, over the past 20 years, when including dividends, the fund has generated an average annual return of 13.9%.
How much would you need to invest to get to $1 million?
Let's assume that if you invest in the Invesco fund, you'll average an annual return of 13%, which is slightly lower than its 20-year average. Based on that estimate, here's how much you would need to invest today, depending on your age and the expectation that you'll retire at 65, for your portfolio to get to $1 million.
| Age | Years to Retirement | Investment Today |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 35 | $13,876 |
| 35 | 30 | $25,565 |
| 40 | 25 | $47,102 |
| 45 | 20 | $86,782 |
| 50 | 15 | $159,891 |
| 55 | 10 | $294,588 |
Calculations by author.
The actual returns you will achieve will likely vary, but by investing the above amounts based on your age, you can put yourself in a good position to hit the $1 million mark in your portfolio by the time you retire. However, it would be ideal to invest even more if you are able to, as that can help expedite your portfolio's growth while also offering you a buffer in case the actual annual returns fall short of 13%.
The Invesco fund is a great option for all growth investors
Regardless of whether you're saving for the long term or not, putting money into an ETF like the Invesco QQQ fund can be a great way to diversify your holdings and keep you invested in the market while keeping your overall risk down. Even if you don't know which stocks to invest in, the fund's broad portfolio will give you exposure to many excellent growth stocks and increase the odds that you achieve strong gains in the future.
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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
