1 Unstoppable Vanguard ETF That Could Turn $400 a Month Into $1 Million

Can you afford to save and invest $400 a month in the stock market? If so, then you could be well on your way to growing your portfolio to at least $1 million in the future.

And the good news is that you don’t have to dabble in risky investments or worry about picking individual stocks. With an exchange-traded fund (ETF), you can get the best of both worlds: the safety that comes with diversification and the high returns that can come from investing in the best growth stocks.

Vanguard offers many top ETFs for investors to choose from, and a great ETF for investors to put money into each month is the Vanguard Growth ETFs (NYSE: VUG)Here’s why it’s a great buy, especially if you want to build a large balance over the years.

The fund targets the best growth stocks

If you want to achieve significant long-term returns, growth stocks will likely play a crucial role in your investment strategy. They can generate better returns than dividend stocks, which are more focused on providing investors with recurring income than pursuing aggressive growth strategies. The Vanguard Growth ETF specifically tracks large-cap growth stocks.

The portfolio includes 188 stocks, although the top three stocks are: Apple, MicrosoftAnd Nvidia — are a significant portion, accounting for 36% of the ETF’s total holdings. But outside of those three, no other stock makes up 5% of the ETF’s overall weight. With nearly 60% of its total holdings, the fund is heavily reliant on technology stocks and their performance. That means there could be bad years due to the volatility that comes with investing in technology, but over the long term, stocks should help the fund generate excellent returns.

How a $400 per month investment could generate $1 million

Just because you don’t have a lump sum to invest now doesn’t mean you can’t eventually reach $1 million. If you invest $400 a month, you’ll have invested $4,800 over a full year. If you do that for 20 years, you’ll have saved $96,000. And if you can extend that streak to 30 years, then you’ll have invested $144,000.

That can be a lot of money to set aside in an ETF. But thanks to the effects of compounding, your total investment can be worth much more than that.

Consider that the Vanguard Growth ETF has grown 880% over the past 20 years, including its dividends. That’s an average compound annual growth rate of about 12.1%.

To be conservative, however, let’s assume that your average annual return is slightly slower, about 11%. If you invest $400 a month and earn that kind of average return over the long term, your portfolio will grow to more than $630,000 after 25 years. And if you can keep investing for 30 years, your portfolio will be worth more than $1.1 million.

Disciplined investing is the key to growing your portfolio

Even without taking any risky trades and assuming an extremely high rate of return, you can grow your portfolio to $1 million. The key is to be able to save and invest each month, and to be able to keep that money invested over the long term. It’s not easy to maintain, but there’s certainly a good reason to do it: It could help you grow your portfolio to over $1 million.

The Vanguard Growth ETF is just one ETF you can consider, but there are many other solid funds you can choose to invest in as well.

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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Vanguard Index Funds – Vanguard Growth ETF. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.