History Says Buying the Nasdaq-100 at the Dot-Com Peak Still (Eventually) Turned $10,000 Into About $72,000
An analysis of the Nasdaq-100 shows that even investors who bought at the 2000 dot-com peak eventually saw significant gains due to long-term holding and dividend reinvestment. The recovery took over 15 years, highlighting the risks and patience required for market index investing.
Why it matters
This provides historical context for market volatility and the long-term performance of tech-heavy indices.
On March 27, 2000, the Invesco QQQ Trust ( QQQ +0.63% ) closed at $117.75. That was the top. The Nasdaq-100 index the fund tracks peaked that day, and the fund didn't close above that price again for more than 16 years.
And yet the worst-timed purchase in the fund's 27-year history still worked out fine. A $10,000 investment at that closing peak, with dividends reinvested, is worth about $72,000 today (about 7.2 times the original stake).
That's the comforting half of the story, and I think it's the half that is remembered. The other half is what it cost to collect. With the fund again trading close to its highs as of this writing, that cost is worth understanding in full.
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