Waited Two Months After the Tariff Crash to Buy VOO? It Cost You $1,500 on Every $10,000
Waiting for tariff headlines to calm down before buying VOO felt like the safe move, but the market had already made its decision and moved on without you.
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A $10,000 stake in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO), bought at the end of April 2025, was worth $14,260 at the Oct. 8, 2026 close. The same amount put into VOO at the end of June 2025 is worth $12,758.
That $1,502 gap came from one decision. The late buyer waited until the tariff news felt calm to buy VOO.
The selloff began when President Trump announced the Liberation Day tariffs on Apr 2, 2025. The S&P 500 posted its lowest close at 4,982.77 on Apr 8, and VOO fell 19% from its February peak on a total-return basis.
A day later, the administration announced a ninety-day pause and the index rose 10%, its largest single-session gain since 2008. Because the crash and most of the rebound happened inside one month, the low prices went away before the headlines settled down.
A Quiet April Statement Hid the Whole Trade
VOO lost only 1% across April 2025, so a monthly statement made it look like nothing happened. Inside the month, the fund fell to its selloff low and then won back nearly all of it after the pause, and if you only checked month-end balances, you never saw a buying window open and close.
Tariff coverage stepped up after the market had already turned. Anyone waiting for the news to quiet down was following a signal that fell back the prices.
VOO gained 12% across May and June 2025 combined, and the S&P 500 set a record close of 6,173.07 on Jun 27, 2025. The investor who waited for safety bought at an all-time high, well above the April low.
The wait for confirmation cost the late buyer part of the rebound. Even one month cost money: the end-of-May buyer holds $13,417, $843 behind the end-of-April buyer.
A Year of Gains Has Not Closed the Gap
The end-of-June 2025 buyer holds a 28% total return, against 43% for the end-of-April buyer. Both own the same fund, but every later gain compounds on a smaller base for the late buyer, so the shortfall stays.
This result holds even for buyers who missed the exact low. The end-of-March 2025 buyer bought before the worst days and still holds $14,145, nearly the best outcome.
If the pause had not come on Apr 9, though, the March and April buyers would be the ones holding losses. The outcome paid back staying invested, and nobody had to forecast the pause to collect it.
Market Timing Does the Most Damage in a Core Fund
VOO charges 0.03% a year and required no judgment about which companies would survive the tariff round. It is designed to be held through exactly this kind of event, so second-guessing it defeats its purpose.
A payroll-deducted investor bought in March, April, May, and June without deciding anything and captured most of the recovery by default, and investors holding cash benefit from a written rule for deploying it in stages during a drawdown, set before the drawdown starts.
VOO suits long-term investors who want a core U.S. large-cap holding and can leave it alone through scares. Its price has risen about 322% over ten years, a result that only went to people who held through episodes like April 2025. It fits poorly if you need steady income, want a factor tilt, or prefer active management. It simply owns the index weighted by company size.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV) charges the same 0.03% and tracks the same index. That makes it an equal substitute for VOO.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) charges about 0.09%. That cost suits active traders better than buy-and-hold investors.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Omor Ibne Ehsan is a writer at 24/7 Wall St. He is a self-taught investor with a focus on growth, cyclical, and dividend equities that have strong fundamentals, value, and long-term potential. He also has an interest in high-risk, high-reward investments such as penny stocks.
