This year has been rough on ASX tech shares, with inflation and rising rates taking their toll on many of the market's favourites.
While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dumped 11% year to date, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) has tumbled 36%.
The broader S&P/ASX 200 All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), meanwhile, has fallen 35% in 2022.
If there was ever a time to remind market watchers of the winners that can be found in the sector, this would be it.
Here's how an ASX investor could have turned $1,000 into nearly $50,000 in just 10 years by investing in ASX tech shares.
3 ASX tech shares that turned $1,000 into $50,000
If an investor split $1,000 between these three ASX tech shares 10 years ago, investing $333 in each, here's how their buy would have turned out.
| ASX tech company | Gains over the last decade | Recent value of $333 invested | Dividends paid per share |
| HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) | 3,242% | $11,129 | 45.1 cents |
| Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) | 4,534% | $15,431 | $2.48 |
| Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) | 6,533% | $22,089 | – |
All in all, an initial $1,000 investment in these ASX tech shares would have returned a total of $49,868 as of yesterday's close. That's certainly nothing to scoff at.
The biggest gain in that time was posted by the only stock not to pay a dividend.
Nearmap shares were trading at just 3 cents this time 10 years ago. They closed Wednesday's session at a whopping $1.99.
Meanwhile, shares in Altium were swapping hands for 79 cents this time last decade. They're now worth $36.61 apiece.
The company has also offered a shareholder who bought $333 worth of its stock in October 2012 a total of $1,044 worth of dividends over the life of their investment. Though, it didn't pay out its first fully franked offering until this year.
Finally, the HUB24 share price lifted from 76 cents this time last decade to trade at $25.40 as of Wednesday's close.
Someone who bought $333 worth of the ASX tech favourite's shares back then would have received around $197.50 in dividends since then, the majority of which were fully franked.
And, of course, if they had chosen to reinvest those dividends, they would have been even better off due to the compounding effect.
The key takeaway
While times are tough in 2022, particularly for tech shares, there will likely always be winners hidden on the ASX. The trick is to know where to look.
