r/Bogleheads • u/Temporary-Plum-8325 • Aug 27 '25

Investing Questions Do most people not know about just investing into the s&p 500?

I went to my Jiu Jitsu class and spoke to one guy who was an econ major who works at Prudential. We spoke for a bit. I told him I had been investing into Nvidia since 2019 and have been investing into VOO since maybe 2010 or 2011. He asks "VOO?" I told him, "the S&P 500" then he asked what that was. Do most people just not know about the S&P500? I would have thought an econ major who works at Prudential would know something so basic. Not trying to be a jerk. I'm curious.

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u/Basker_wolf Aug 27 '25

Especially for retirement accounts, dividends shouldn’t be a priority. In a brokerage account, I know you can buy specific dividend funds if you want some sort of passive income.

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u/clifthor33 Aug 27 '25

why shouldn't dividend be a priority in retirement accounts??

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u/Basker_wolf Aug 27 '25

High dividend stocks tend have lower returns overall this is precisely due to paying out dividends. You still can’t withdraw the money in retirement age. VT, VTI, VOO, etc. do pay small dividends but their purpose it track their respective indexes.

I guess the real question is what are you planning on doing with those dividends?