What if you invested in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2023?
TLT · Bond · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2023
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $1,916(+91.6%)
The S&P 500 returned $1,916 on the same $1,000. S&P 500 outperformed by $996.
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Compare 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) to another stock
See how 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) stacks up since 2023, head to head.
What if 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) keeps this up?
Project forward with custom growth rates. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
20+ Year Treasury (TLT) vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2023 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) starting January 2023
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $93.48 | $1,000 | - |
| 2024 | $87.24 | $933 | -6.7% |
| 2025 | $82.46 | $882 | -5.5% |
| 2026 | $85.51 | $915 | +3.7% |
What this return means
Buying 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) in 2023 cost you money. That stake is worth $921 as of 2026-06-01, a -7.9% move that left you with less than you started with after 3.6 years.
That averages out to -2.3% a year, meaning the position shrank in compound terms across the 3.6-year window. A plain S&P 500 fund would have grown that $1,000 to about $1,916 instead, beating 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) by around $996. The index compounded at about 19.9% a year, a reminder that a single stock can lag a basket of them.
The year-by-year record shows how bumpy the ride was. The best single year was 2025 at -5.5%, and the worst was 2024 at -6.7%. 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 January 2023 through June 2026 means 42 buys and $4,200 contributed over about 3.5 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$4,218
+0.4% on $4,200 in
Same $4,200, all in at the start
$3,868
-7.9% on $4,200 in
Spreading the buys out beat going all in at the start by $351. That happens when the price spent time below where it began, so averaging in caught the cheaper months. Averaging in also meant an average buy price of $85.70 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.