ugh the S&P 500 is up 12% on average, it does not necessarily mean that it is a good investment at any given time. In 2000, when the Internet bubble burst, the S&P 500 also retreated 40%, and during the financial crisis in 2008, it retreated 38%. Losses are equally staggering if you buy at a high point and do not hold it for a long period of time. What is the best time to purchase? It is still difficult to determine. Analysts, even experienced ones, are sometimes wrong about the movement of the S&P 500. I understand that trying to predict short-term movements is difficult for most investors. A quotation states, "Stepping into the market with precision is more difficult than catching a flying knife in the air." However, if we extend the time frame, the fault tolerance rate of investment will become higher. According to the chart below, the S&P 500 had seven negative 5-year average returns and two negative 10-year average returns over the last 50 years; while over 15 years there were no negative returns. The S&P 500 has a 15-year average return of 4.24%, with a median return of 10%, even during the worst years of returns. An automatic investment plan is a good option if investors can't predict S&P 500's short-term moves. It will bring benefits in the long run. For example,In Method 1, if we decide to invest USD 10,000 in January, and the price of SPY is 476.3, we can purchase 20.9 shares of SPY.In Method 2, if we invest USD 1,000 every month into the S&P 500 index in 2022, we will be able to buy 24 shares of SPY. Jan Feb Mar April May June Jul Aug Sept Oct Automatic Investment 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 SPY price 476.3 450.68 435.04 453.31 412.07 415.17 376.56 409.15 392.89 361.08 number of shares 2.099517111 2.218869264 2.298639206 2.205995897 2.42677215 2.408651878 2.65561929 2.444091409 2.545241671 2.76946937 Source from TIGER TRADE Invest in the S&P 500 with anETF Like index funds, passively managed ETFs seek to replicate the performance of a market index, such as the S&P 500. In order to duplicate the holdings of the benchmark index, fund managers purchase a basket of securities. Investors can buy the ETFs and own these shares. Below is a chart showing passively managed ETFs that track the S&P 500 index.$SPY(SPY)$ $IVV(IVV)$ $VOO(VOO)$ $SPLG(SPLG)$ $ProShares Short S&P500(SH)$ $Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X(SPXL)$ $SSO(SSO)$ Source from ETF.com When picking an S&P 500 ETF, you should consider the following key factors: AUM.Consider the size of the assets under management, generally the higher the better. Liquidity. Funds with higher average trading volumes are more liquid, and ones with lower trading volumes are less. Expense ratio.As with S&P 500 index funds, S&P 500 ETFs all have similar performance. It is better to select a fund that has a low expense ratiolg...