Best Long-Term Investments for the Next 10 Years
The best long-term investments aren't exciting — they're boring, consistent, and mathematically proven. Here's exactly where to put your money for the next decade.
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📚 Part of our Complete Investing Guide
Most investors spend their time chasing the next hot stock, the next crypto surge, the next "can't miss" opportunity. Most of them underperform a simple index fund over 10 years.
The best long-term investments are boring. They compound quietly. They don't make headlines. And over 10 years, they build serious wealth for the people disciplined enough to hold them.
Here's where the evidence points.
1. Total Market Index Funds
The single most reliable long-term investment for most people is a low-cost total market index fund. It gives you ownership of the entire US economy — thousands of companies — at a cost of 0.03% per year or less.
The historical case is overwhelming: over any 10-year period in US market history, a total market index fund has outperformed the majority of actively managed funds. Not because index funds are magical — because they eliminate the drag of high fees and poor stock-picking that destroys active fund returns.
The three-fund portfolio — US total market, international, and bonds — is the foundation most serious long-term investors build on. See our full breakdown: How to Build a Three-Fund Portfolio.
Best options: VTI (Vanguard Total Market), FSKAX (Fidelity Total Market), SWTSX (Schwab Total Market). All have expense ratios under 0.05%.
Expected 10-year return: 7–10% annually, historically. Not guaranteed — but the most reliable broad-market bet available.
2. S&P 500 Index Funds
If you want slightly more concentration in large-cap US companies — which have historically driven the most consistent returns — S&P 500 index funds are the classic choice.
Warren Buffett has famously said that when he dies, he wants 90% of his wife's inheritance in an S&P 500 index fund. That's not a throwaway comment — it's the conclusion of someone who has watched markets for 70 years.
| Fund | Ticker | Expense Ratio | 10-Year Avg Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | VOO | 0.03% | ~12.8% |
| iShares Core S&P 500 | IVV | 0.03% | ~12.8% |
| Fidelity 500 Index | FXAIX | 0.015% | ~12.8% |
3. Real Estate via REITs
📖 Recommended read
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by John C. Bogle
Direct real estate ownership builds wealth but requires capital, management, and concentration risk. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) give you real estate exposure through the stock market — no landlord headaches, no down payment, full liquidity.
REITs are legally required to distribute 90% of taxable income as dividends, making them a reliable income source. Over the past 25 years, REITs have returned around 9% annually — competitive with the S&P 500 with lower correlation, which helps diversification.
For a full breakdown of how to add real estate to your portfolio without buying property, see: How to Invest in REITs for Real Estate Exposure.
Best options: VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF), SCHH (Schwab US REIT ETF). Best held in tax-advantaged accounts since REIT dividends are taxed as ordinary income.
4. International Index Funds
US stocks have dominated the past decade. But 10-year cycles shift. International developed markets (Europe, Japan, Australia) and emerging markets (India, Brazil, Southeast Asia) are currently trading at significant valuation discounts to US equities.
A 20–30% international allocation is the standard recommendation from Vanguard, Fidelity, and most evidence-based advisors. Not because international will definitely outperform — but because concentration in any single country adds risk that global diversification removes.
Best options: VXUS (Vanguard Total International), IXUS (iShares Core MSCI Total International).
5. I-Bonds and TIPS (Inflation Protection)
For the portion of your portfolio that needs to be safe from inflation — emergency reserves, near-term goals — I-Bonds and TIPS provide returns tied to the Consumer Price Index.
I-Bonds purchased through TreasuryDirect currently offer competitive rates and are backed by the US government. The limitation: $10,000 per person per year purchase cap, and a 1-year minimum hold.
TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) have no purchase limit and trade like bonds — accessible through any brokerage via ETFs like TIPS or SCHP.
6. Maxing Tax-Advantaged Accounts First
This isn't an investment category — it's where you hold your investments. But it matters as much as what you invest in.
A 7% annual return inside a Roth IRA grows tax-free forever. The same return in a taxable brokerage account loses 15–23% to capital gains taxes every time you sell. Over 10 years, this difference compounds into tens of thousands of dollars.
| Account | 2026 Limit | Tax Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k) | $23,500 | Pre-tax contributions, tax-deferred growth |
| Roth IRA | $7,000 | Tax-free growth forever |
| HSA | $4,300 | Triple tax advantage |
What to Avoid Over the Next 10 Years
As important as what to own is what not to own:
- Individual stocks without edge — picking stocks is a negative-sum game against professionals. Index funds win by not playing.
- High-fee actively managed funds — a 1% expense ratio costs you roughly 20% of your ending balance over 30 years vs. a 0.03% index fund.
- Crypto as a core holding — speculative allocation of 1–5% is defensible. Betting your retirement on it is not.
- Market timing — no one consistently calls tops and bottoms. The cost of being wrong and missing the best 10 days in a decade is catastrophic to returns.
The Honest 10-Year Outlook
No one can tell you which asset will perform best over the next 10 years. Anyone who claims otherwise is selling something.
What the evidence does support: diversified ownership of productive assets (businesses via index funds, real estate via REITs, inflation protection via TIPS), held in tax-advantaged accounts, with low fees, rebalanced annually, beats the vast majority of active strategies over any 10-year period.
That's not exciting. It's just true.
📚 Recommended Reading
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
by John C. Bogle
The founder of Vanguard's definitive case for low-cost index investing over the long term. Short, dense, and worth re-reading every few years.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
by Burton G. Malkiel
The most comprehensive evidence-based case for why long-term index investing beats active management. Updated regularly.
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Get a free audiobook →Want the full picture? This article is part of our Complete Investing Guide — covering everything from index funds and asset allocation to retirement accounts and long-term wealth building.
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