What if you invested in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2002?
TLT · Bond · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2002
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $10,262(+926.2%)
The S&P 500 returned $10,262 on the same $1,000. S&P 500 outperformed by $7,898.
Try a different start date
Pick any month and year to see what 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) would be worth.
Compare 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) to another stock
See how 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) stacks up since 2002, head to head.
What if 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) keeps this up?
Project forward at 20+ Year Treasury (TLT)'s 3.6% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
20+ Year Treasury (TLT) vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2002 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) starting January 2002
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | $36.41 | $1,000 | - |
| 2003 | $39.72 | $1,091 | +9.1% |
| 2004 | $41.35 | $1,136 | +4.1% |
| 2005 | $45.70 | $1,255 | +10.5% |
| 2006 | $47.28 | $1,298 | +3.5% |
| 2007 | $47.78 | $1,312 | +1.1% |
| 2008 | $54.35 | $1,493 | +13.7% |
| 2009 | $61.99 | $1,702 | +14.1% |
| 2010 | $57.26 | $1,572 | -7.6% |
| 2011 | $58.91 | $1,618 | +2.9% |
| 2012 | $81.18 | $2,229 | +37.8% |
| 2013 | $80.76 | $2,218 | -0.5% |
| 2014 | $76.81 | $2,109 | -4.9% |
| 2015 | $101.01 | $2,774 | +31.5% |
| 2016 | $95.37 | $2,619 | -5.6% |
| 2017 | $92.14 | $2,530 | -3.4% |
| 2018 | $96.53 | $2,651 | +4.8% |
| 2019 | $98.55 | $2,706 | +2.1% |
| 2020 | $120.65 | $3,313 | +22.4% |
| 2021 | $127.56 | $3,503 | +5.7% |
| 2022 | $121.34 | $3,332 | -4.9% |
| 2023 | $93.48 | $2,567 | -23% |
| 2024 | $87.24 | $2,396 | -6.7% |
| 2025 | $82.46 | $2,265 | -5.5% |
| 2026 | $85.51 | $2,348 | +3.7% |
What this return means
$1,000 invested in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2002 is worth $2,364 today. That is a +136.4% gain, a little over 2.4x your money, measured to 2026-06-01.
That is only about 3.6% a year once you compound it across 24.6 years. By comparison the S&P 500 returned about $10,262 on the same stake, edging out 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) by close to $7,898. The index compounded at about 9.9% a year, a reminder that a single stock can lag a basket of them.
Getting here meant sitting through real volatility. The best single year was 2012 at +37.8%, and the worst was 2023 at -23.0%. At its lowest point the position was down about 35% from an earlier high. These figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, trading fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.
This is historical math, not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
What if you invested $100 a month instead?
Most people do not drop a lump sum in on day one. They add a fixed amount every month. Putting $100 into 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) at the close of every month from July 2002 through June 2026 means 288 buys and $28,800 contributed over about 24 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$35,720
+24.0% on $28,800 in
Same $28,800, all in at the start
$68,089
+136.4% on $28,800 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $32,368. That is the usual result when a stock trends up: each monthly buy pays a higher price than the last, so the average cost climbs. Averaging in also meant an average buy price of $69.40 per share across the whole stretch, so the monthly buyer never had to time a single low. Neither number counts dividends, taxes, or trading costs.
Illustrative fixed $100/month example, not a recommendation. Figures are computed from TLT split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
20+ Year Treasury (TLT) at different times
See how the start year changes the outcome
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Numbers worth sharing
Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.
For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.