Vanguard Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Vanguard 500 Index Fund

VALLEY FORGE, PA (August 31, 2026) – Today marks the 50^th anniversary of First Index Investment Trust, the fund that would become Vanguard 500 Index Fund. Its creation helped usher in a new era of investing by providing investors with broad market exposure through a simple, accessible approach. The fund launched on August 31, 1976, and sought to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index, providing investors with a low-cost way to own a broad cross-section of the U.S. stock market.

Over the past five decades, indexing has grown from a largely experimental concept into one of the most broadly accepted approaches in investing. Today, index funds and ETFs are used by millions of investors around the world and serve as core building blocks for retirement plans, advisory portfolios, education savings accounts, and other long-term investment strategies.

When Vanguard Founder John C. Bogle launched the fund, the indexing concept was met with considerable skepticism. At the time, low-cost investment strategies covering the broad stock market were not readily available to most investors, and many believed that successful investing depended on beating the market.

Mr. Bogle challenged that assumption, arguing that investors could achieve long-term success through broad diversification, low costs, and maintaining the discipline to stay invested through the inevitable ups and downs of the market. By owning the broad market at low cost, investors could keep more of their returns and harness the power of long-term compounding. Yet the concept was slow to gain traction. The fund raised just $11.3 million at its launch, far short of its $150 million target, underscoring how different the investing landscape was at the time.

“Fifty years ago, indexing challenged a deeply held assumption—that investors had to beat the market using high-cost active funds to achieve better investment outcomes,” said Greg Davis, President and Chief Investment Officer of Vanguard. “By making broad market exposure simple, accessible, and low cost, indexing helped millions of individuals participate in the long-term growth of businesses and financial markets in ways that were previously out of reach.”

A $10,000 investment in Vanguard 500 Index Fund at its launch in 1976 would have grown to more than $2.4 million by July 31, 2026.¹ Through bull markets, bear markets, recessions, and recoveries, investors who stayed invested benefited from low costs and the compounding of returns over time.

The impact of indexing extends well beyond the funds themselves. As more investors embraced indexing, competition across the investment industry helped drive down costs, benefiting investors regardless of how they invest.

Indexing has helped investors retain more of their returns and remain focused on achieving their long-term financial goals. Vanguard estimates that since 2000, index investing has helped investors collectively save approximately $570 billion² in investment fees.

“Few innovations have done more to expand access and help investors build wealth over time,” said Mr. Davis. “The fundamental promise of indexing remains unchanged: broad diversification, low costs, and the power of staying invested for the long term. Long-term investment success is about helping investors stay focused on the things they can control.”

Over the years following the launch of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, Vanguard continued to expand the reach of indexing beyond U.S. large-cap stocks, introducing index funds covering bonds, international equities, emerging markets, mid- and small-cap stocks, and growth and value stocks. Together, these funds enabled investors to build a wide range of broadly diversified portfolios benefiting from the low-cost, highly diversified, tax-efficient benefits that indexing offers.

The growth of indexing has also expanded investors’ portfolio construction options. Today, many investors use index funds not only to gain broad market exposure, but also to build portfolios that reflect their preferences across asset classes, market capitalizations, sectors, and regions. In this way, index funds have become versatile building blocks for a wide range of portfolio construction strategies.

As 401(k) plans became a primary vehicle for retirement savings in the United States, index funds emerged as a foundational building block for millions of retirement portfolios. Over time, the growth of workplace retirement plans, the rise of exchange-traded funds, and the increasing complexity of global markets expanded the ways investors use index strategies.

While the tools and vehicles available to investors have evolved significantly over the past 50 years, the principles that inspired the first index mutual fund remain as relevant today as they were in 1976.

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, an original stock certificate from the launch of First Index Investment Trust in 1976 will be on display later this fall at the Museum of American Finance at its new location on Boston’s waterfront.

To learn more about the history of indexing, please visit: 50 years. 50 facts. Indexing since 1976. To learn more about how indexing works and key benefits, please visit: About indexing.