Over the long term, the stock market has been an incredible wealth-building machine for patient investors. For example, if you had invested $1,000 in the S 500 in 2006 and reinvested your dividends along the way, you'd have a stake worth about $6,000 today, an annualized return of 10.6%.

That's a safe way to grow your money. But if you had invested in some individual stocks as well, you might have a lot more. That's the beauty of a diversified portfolio. If one stock plummets, you can only lose the amount you put into it. But an investment that takes off can double or triple your money or gain even more, making up for the investments that go sour.

Growth investors can reap huge rewards over long periods of time. If you had invested $1,000 in Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) stock in January 2006 when it went public, you'd have a stake worth about $71,000 today.

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Source Fool.com