Every textbook tells you the same thing: Don't put too much money in sector-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Diversify broadly. Own the whole market. This advice made perfect sense -- in 1995.
But the economy is undergoing a fundamental transformation that makes the old playbook dangerously obsolete. The Vanguard Information nology ETF (VGT 1. 39%) isn't just another fund.
It's your ticket to owning the companies building the next economy -- one that is rapidly emerging from the shadows. Image source: Getty Images.
The numbers don't lie Look at the performance gap and try not to gasp. Over the past 10 years (2015 to 2025), this Vanguard fund has dered a staggering 20. 3% annualized return. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.
A respectable but comparatively pedestrian 11. 2-percentage-point difference might sound modest, but compound it over time, and you're talking life-changing wealth creation.
A $10,000 investment in the Vanguard Information nology ETF 10 years ago would be worth roughly $62,000 today, versus $30,000 in an S&P 500 fund.
VGT data by YCharts This isn't a temporary anomaly driven by euphoria. Nology spending is jected to reach $5. 74 trillion in 2025 -- a 9. 3% increase from 2024.
But here's what few investors understand: That figure barely scratches the surface. Nology isn't just growing as a sector. It's absorbing every other sector.
They're nology companies that happen to move money. Companies that happen to sell ducts. Auto manufacturers. Software companies wrapped in metal.
When everything is nology, owning "just " means owning everything. Is the foundation of modern society.
Why those sky-high valuations make perfect sense The "Magnificent Seven" stocks in this fund trade at valuations that make traditional investors uncomfortable. Apple is at 26 times forward earnings.
Microsoft stock is commanding a premium of 32 times forward earnings. Nvidia, for its part, trades at over 35 times jected earnings.
But here's what the bears miss: We're not pricing in yesterday's growth. We're pricing in tomorrow's revolution. Consider artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Five years ago, AGI was science fiction -- something for 2050 or beyond. We're arguably witnessing its primitive birth. ChatGPT can write code, analyze data, and reason through complex blems.
It's not true AGI yet, but it's close enough to transform industries. And this primitive version is only getting smarter.
Every month brings breakthroughs that would have seemed impossible a year earlier. When AGI fully arrives -- and it's now a question of when, not if -- the economic implications are staggering.
McKinsey estimates artificial intelligence (AI) could add $13 trillion to global economic output by 2030. That's the equivalent of adding another economy the size of the United States.
The companies building this future deserve premium valuations because they're not just growing revenues. They're creating entirely new of human possibility.
Beyond the giants Yes, the Vanguard Information nology ETF is top-heavy. Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia comprise 45% of the fund right now. Critics point to this concentration as a weakness.
They're missing the forest for the trees. These aren't just big companies -- they're the architects of our digital infrastructure. Microsoft's Azure powers the cloud. Nvidia's chips enable AI.
Apple's ecosystem defines how billions interact with nology daily. But this fund's real genius lies in what else it owns: over 300 companies building tomorrow's breakthroughs.
Palantir nologies is turning data into strategic advantage. Cadence Design Systems creates the software that designs next-generation chips. Advanced Micro Devices is challenging Intel's dominance.
Quantum computing pioneers. Cybersecurity innovators. Robotics manufacturers. The Vanguard Information nology Index Fund is the big tent of.
This isn't picking winners in the AI race or betting on which quantum computing start-up will succeed. It's owning the entire ecosystem. When one company stumbles, another surges.
When new nologies emerge, they're automatically added. The fund rebalances itself, ensuring you own tomorrow's giants, not just today's.
The smart overweight strategy Traditional wisdom says to stay broadly diversified across most, if not all, sectors.
But when one sector is rewriting the rules of every on Earth, traditional wisdom becomes tomorrow's regret.
The tried-and-true strategies must be redrawn for a world where software eats everything, AI makes decisions, and quantum computers solve the unsolvable.
The Vanguard Information nology ETF isn't just the best Vanguard ETF to buy right now. For investors who understand where the world is heading, it's not even close.
George Budwell has positions in Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir nologies, and Vanguard Information nology ETF.
The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Cadence Design Systems, Intel, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir nologies.
The Motley Fool recommends the ing options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft.
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