When investor Adrian Blazic first put his money into the share market, it was a leap of faith.

“No one knows what’s going to happen,” he says. “It’s not about predicting the future, it’s about sticking to a strategy.”

That strategy — staying invested through the ups and downs — has delivered for him.

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“I’d be expecting to average 9.5 to 10 per cent per annum,” Blazic says.

His story echoes the findings of Vanguard’s 2025 Index Chart, released on Friday, which lays bare the extraordinary gap in returns between long-term investing and parking money in cash.

According to Vanguard, a $10,000 investment in Australian shares made on July 1, 1995 would have grown to $143,786 by June 30 this year.

The same amount invested in US shares would now be worth $214,332, more than $180,000 ahead of the cash equivalent and about $72,000 more than Australian shares.

By contrast, a $10,000 deposit left in a savings account over the same 30-year period would have grown to just $33,677.

The average annual returns since mid-1995 were:

• US shares: 10.8 per cent
• Australian shares: 9.3 per cent
• International shares (ex-Australia): 8.3 per cent
• Australian listed property: 8 per cent
• Australian bonds: 5.5 per cent
• Cash: 4.1 per cent

All figures assume income was reinvested and exclude investment acquisition costs, fees and taxes.

“Share market investors on average achieved at least triple the dollar returns of individuals who chose to keep their cash tied up in savings accounts over the last 30 years,” says Daniel Shrimksi, managing director of Vanguard Australia.

The three-decade period tracked by the Index Chart includes some of the most severe market events in modern history, including the dot com crash in 2000, the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Global Financial Crisis in 2008–09, the COVID-19 plunge in 2020, and more recent volatility driven by high US tariffs on some countries.

Each event triggered steep declines. September 11 sent global stocks tumbling. The GFC wiped trillions from markets. COVID sparked a 34 per cent crash. Yet every time, markets recovered.

“The index chart demonstrates how investment markets have kept rising strongly over time despite several significant share market corrections, economic downturns, changes in governments and world leaders, wars, natural disasters, and the impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Shrimksi.

He argues investing should be approached like a long-distance race.

“Just like superannuation, investors should be focused on achieving longer-term outcomes rather than on shorter-term wins and losses,” he said. “The most successful investors have a disciplined approach and understand that volatility is typically transient. The best investment results are generally achieved through compound growth over time, not by trying to time when to buy and sell, that’s a futile exercise.”

Scott Phillips from The Motley Fool says volatility can rattle even experienced investors.

“It can look really volatile, and sometimes it is,” he says.

Vanguard’s data shows why chasing last year’s winners can be risky. Asset class rankings often change dramatically from one year to the next.

“The best and worst performing asset classes in any one financial year rarely mirrors the returns of the previous financial year for a whole range of reasons,” Shrimksi says.

“That’s why it’s so important to have a diversified mix of investments across asset classes and regions. While shares have delivered the strongest returns over the longer term, there have been years when more defensive assets such as bonds, and even cash, have achieved the best returns.”

For Blazic, the takeaway from decades of data and lived experience is simple:

“With investing, it’s certainly a long-term game.”

The advice from the experts is just as straightforward: save consistently, invest regularly, build wealth slowly over time and avoid get rich quick schemes.