When you can track the growth of many people, there is no need to choose a company to invest.
Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF allows you to benefit from the performance of the entire market.
The fund is cheaply owned, easy to buy and sell, and benefits from the impressive S&P 500's performance.
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There are many good places to invest your money now, but tariffs and economic uncertainty make it difficult for people to buy stocks in certain sectors more confident.
I tend to be cautious about where my money is placed, but an investment that almost always looks like a good investment is Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (Nysemkt: Flying). This is my only choice, and if I only choose one stock (or in this case, an exchange-traded fund), it would be my only choice.
One of the best things about the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is that the money you invest will be spread across 500 of the largest U.S. companies that make up the company S&P 500. Since exchange-traded funds track the S&P 500, you don't have to worry about picking stocks in various sectors - once you own the fund, you can enjoy the diversified level as quickly as possible.
With the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, there is no need to know which field is thriving or which company invents the next big thing. Ultimately, this is a bet on the long-term growth of the broad market.
While the ordinary financial disclaimer “past performance is not a guarantee of future outcomes,” the fund applies to all other stocks you may have, the S&P 500 does have a long history of earnings.
Since 1957, the index has an average annual rate of return of 10.1% (not taking into account inflation). The Pioneer ETF does not return that exact number every year - years and above. But if there is enough time, the S&P 500 always rebounds from the trough and makes huge gains.
All funds charge fees are usually a fee ratio, with the average fee for an index equity ETF being 0.14%. This is already low, but Vanguard's fund is the leader in its ultra-low annual fee of just 0.03%.
This means that for your $10,000 in the fund, you only pay $3 per year. This is especially important because your portfolio will grow over time. With the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, you will retain more of the gains you get from the market due to the fund's industry low price ratio.
While Vanguard's ETF is a fund that tracks the S&P 500, buying and selling is no harder than any other stock. This means that if you need to quickly sell certain stocks in the fund, exit your position or buy new shares, you can do it in any stock way through your preferred brokerage firm.
And since the fund is one of the most popular options - it is the largest Vanguard ETF - it is highly liquid when you are ready to sell.
The S&P 500 is composed of some of the largest, most stable and profitable companies, which means you will invest in quality businesses.
Of course, that doesn't mean the fund is unaffected by volatility - it has been traveling wildly in response to tariffs over the past few months - but it does mean that your funds are invested in funds tracking the growth of many industry-leading companies.
It is worth mentioning that, given the current uncertainty in the market and economy, stable and profitable companies may perform poorly even in this environment. That's why it's important for investors to remember that if you buy a Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, you should plan to keep it like any other stock for years in order to get the full reward.
Before buying stocks with a Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, consider the following:
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Chris Neiger has a position in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. Motley Fool has a place and recommends the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
If I could only buy and hold one stock, it would be that it was originally published by Motley Fool