Should You Invest in an S&P 500 ETF When the Market Is This Close to All-Time Highs? The Answer Is Surprisingly Simple.

Should You Invest in an S&P 500 ETF When the Market Is This Close to All-Time Highs? The Answer Is Surprisingly Simple.

Stefon Walters, The Motley Fool

Wed, September 9, 2026 at 7:03 PM GMT+3 4 min read

• ^GSPC -0.58%
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There has been a lot of noise in the economy and stock market this year, but the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) -- the stock market's most important index -- is up 12.8% through Sept. 7 and trading near its all-time high. The S&P 500's performance has some investors feeling both grateful (who doesn't appreciate double-digit percentage gains?) and anxious, with a sense of "when will the run inevitably end?"

With the S&P 500 flirting with its all-time high, is now the time to fall back or continue investing in an S&P 500 ETF? It's almost certainly always the latter.

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The S&P 500 isn't new to all-time highs

What can sometimes surprise investors is just how often the S&P 500 has set all-time highs recently. In 2026 alone, it has set a new all-time high 27 times. That's one for every roughly 6.3 trading days leading up to Labor Day weekend. Here are the dates and what the S&P 500 closed at (note: S&P 500 ETFs trade in dollars, but the S&P 500 index is measured in points):

• Jan. 7:

• Jan. 12:

• Jan. 27:

• Feb. 25:

• April 15:

• April 16:

• April 17:

• April 22:

• April 24:

• April 27:

• April 30:

• May 1:

• May 5:

• May 6:

• May 8:

• May 11:

• May 13:

• May 14:

• May 26:

• May 27:

• May 28:

• May 29:

• June 1:

• June 2:

• Aug. 4:

• Aug. 7:

• Aug. 13:

Selling on Jan. 27 would've cost you 6.2% in gains by May 11; selling on April 15 would've cost you 11.1% by Aug. 13; and selling on Jan. 2 would've cost you 12.7% by Aug. 13.

These percentages will inevitably vary based on comparison dates, but the larger point is that an all-time high doesn't automatically mean a pullback is on the horizon. Selling because you think it's coming could mean leaving gains on the table.

Trust the long-term process

If timing the market -- such as selling because you anticipate a drop or buying because you anticipate a surge -- were easy, a lot more investors and Wall Street firms would make a lot more money (or at least lose less of it). It's often counterproductive to even try because it's more gambling than anything.

Whether it's hitting new all-time highs or experiencing a bear market, I'd trust consistently investing in an S&P 500 ETF, as it has historically tracked the growth of the U.S. economy. That doesn't make it foolproof, but it definitely makes it one of the safer long-term bets on the market.

The best thing investors can do is remain invested and trust that the S&P 500 will continue to grow over time, with inevitable swings along the way.

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Stefon Walters has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Should You Invest in an S&P 500 ETF When the Market Is This Close to All-Time Highs? The Answer Is Surprisingly Simple. was originally published by The Motley Fool