This TrendHijacking Recommended Asset Class Quietly Outperforms the S&P 500

For decades, the S&P 500 has been the “safe bet” for investors. And to be fair, it’s earned the title. Over the past 10 years, it’s delivered an average annual return of 12.7%. That’s dependable growth. The kind of growth retirement planners build their entire playbooks around.

But the uncomfortable truth is while millions of investors celebrate single-digit annual gains, a smaller group has been compounding wealth at 2–3x that pace, often in under half the time.

And they’re not doing it through venture bets, risky startups, or crypto. They’re doing it through an overlooked asset class hiding in plain sight.

The Limits of the Old Playbook

The S&P 500 is still a workhorse. It’s diversified, liquid, and resilient. But it has limits every serious investor eventually notices:

• You’re a price taker, not a price maker: When the market sneezes, your portfolio catches a cold.
  
• No control: Your fate rests in the hands of 500 CEOs you’ll never meet.
  
• Correlation risk: Broad downturns pull every stock down, no matter how solid the underlying businesses are.

That’s why the wealthiest investors don’t stop at public equities. They branch into assets where they can own the performance, not just watch it.

The Overlooked Outperformer: Buying Established E-commerce Businesses

Over the same decade that the S&P delivered 12.7% annually, investors who acquired profitable ecommerce brands have documented annualized returns of 25–40%.

 Because this isn’t passive stock ownership. It’s direct ownership of digital businesses with:

• Predictable cash flow (often 15–25% net margins)
  
• Scalable growth levers (marketing, operations, product expansion)
  
• Exit potential at 3–4x EBITDA multiples

In other words, you’re not buying “exposure” to growth. You’re buying the growth itself.

A Tale of Two Investors

Take two investors, each starting with $500,000.

• Investor A puts it into an S&P 500 index fund. After 5 years, assuming 12.7% annual growth, they’re looking at ~$915,000.
  
• Investor B acquires a $500K ecommerce brand generating $150K annual profit. They improve margins, grow revenues, and exit at a 4x multiple in year 5. Total return: $1.65M (a 230% gain).

Both paths work. But one compounds wealth faster and with more control.

Why Buying E-commerce Businesses Keeps Winning

1. Secular Tailwinds You Can’t Ignore

• Global ecommerce sales hit $5.8T in 2023, heading to $8.1T by 2026 (Statista).
  
• Share of retail sales nearly doubled in less than a decade, from 7.4% in 2015 to 15%+ today.
  
• Consumer habits aren’t shifting back. They’re accelerating forward.
  

Owning ecommerce brands means directly capturing this trend instead of watching it from the sidelines.

2. Cash Flow From Day One

The S&P gives modest dividends (around 1.6%). Ecommerce businesses throw off 15–25% profit margins in real monthly cash. That’s immediate return, not theoretical growth.

3. Levers You Can Pull

Unlike index funds, acquiring existing e-commerce stores lets you influence outcomes:

• Optimize ads and funnels
  
• Expand into new geographies
  
• Negotiate better supplier terms
  
• Build customer retention with email and loyalty

Every lever you pull increases both cash flow and exit valuation.

4. Valuation Arbitrage

The S&P trades around 20x earnings. E-commerce businesses sell for 2.5–4x profit. That gap is pure opportunity, one institutional investors are already racing to capture.

Risk and Reality

Of course, e-commerce isn’t bulletproof. Platform dependency, supply chain shocks, or operational missteps can hit margins. But unlike public equities, these risks are visible and manageable:

• Proper due diligence filters out bad deals.
  
• Diversifying across categories spreads exposure.
  
• Post-acquisition playbooks de-risk operations.

It’s not about eliminating risk, it’s about controlling it.

The Institutional Signal

Still think this is “alternative”? Look at the capital flows.

Aggregators like Thrasio, Perch, and Heyday have raised billions to acquire e-commerce brands. Private equity firms and family offices are carving out entire teams for digital acquisitions. Even pension funds are exploring exposure.

When institutions start moving, it’s usually a sign that individuals should pay attention.

The Portfolio of the Future

The S&P 500 remains a powerful foundation. It’s the baseline. But for investors seeking:

• Higher returns
  
• Direct control
  
• Exposure to the most significant retail shift of our era

Ecommerce acquisitions are proving to be the asset class that quietly, but consistently  outperforms.

The only real question is will you keep letting public markets dictate your pace of growth,

or will you own the businesses driving the growth?

About Trend Hijacking

Trend Hijacking specializes in helping investors acquire, scale, and exit ecommerce brands using systematic frameworks that de-risk acquisitions and maximize returns. With $41.5M in documented investor success across 491 deals, their Smart Acquisition Framework has become the go-to process for investors seeking outsized returns in online brand acquisitions.