This Investment Has a 100% Success Record of Surviving Recessions. Is It Worth Buying in 2026?

3 hours ago 2

Stefon Walters, The Motley Fool

Fri, June 5, 2026 astatine 12:20 PM CDT 4 min read

Recessions are a earthy portion of the economical cycle, but that doesn't marque them immoderate easier to woody with erstwhile they happen. And portion it isn't clip to ringing the alarm connected a recession, it's ne'er a atrocious thought to beryllium overprepared alternatively than underprepared.

Part of being overprepared successful investing is owning stocks you cognize tin past done recessions. That doesn't mean they won't look hiccups and spell done unsmooth patches, but you cognize that erstwhile the particulate settles, they'll beryllium bully successful the agelong term. The archetypal banal that comes to caput for maine is really an exchange-traded money (ETF): The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO).

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Someone sitting astatine a array holding a portion of paper.

Down, but ne'er retired

They aren't straight tied, but investing successful an S&P 500 ETF similar VOO is akin to investing successful the broader U.S. economy. And that's been 1 of the champion investments the mean idiosyncratic could person made implicit time, fixed however resilient some person proven to be.

The S&P 500, arsenic we cognize it today, has been astir since 1957 and has survived immoderate of the worst recessions the state has seen. By staying the people and not abandoning investing during downturns, investors person been capable to thrive contempt them. Here is however the S&P 500 has performed since the extremity of the past 5 recessions:

Recession End Date

Gains Since Recession End

November 1982	5,390%
March 1991	1,930%
November 2001	567%
June 2009	727%
April 2020	161%

Sources: YCharts and NBER. Gains are arsenic of marketplace adjacent connected June 2. The commencement day is the past day of each month.

There person undoubtedly been ups and downs, but the wide trajectory for the S&P 500 has ever been up. Past show doesn't warrant the future, and we can't foretell however it volition play out, but this is simply a inclination I wholeheartedly expect to continue.

One cardinal quality with the S&P 500 now, though, is however concentrated it has go successful the tech assemblage (35% of VOO). This has been bully for its maturation implicit the past fewer years, but it could besides marque the scale much volatile, arsenic that's par for the people with tech stocks.

Is VOO worthy buying?

I'm a steadfast believer that the mean capitalist should ever put successful the S&P 500. It's instant diversification, led by immoderate of the world's apical bluish spot companies, and it's inexpensive (VOO has a 0.03% disbursal ratio).

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