Overview
- Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is highlighted as a simple, diversified core holding with a 0.03% expense ratio and long-term market exposure.
- SPDR’s S&P 500 ETF (SPY) charges 0.0945% and is structured as a unit investment trust that cannot immediately reinvest dividends, yet its roughly nine times higher daily dollar volume typically delivers tighter spreads for frequent traders.
- Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) broadens coverage to large, mid and small caps with roughly 3,500 holdings at the same 0.03% fee, offering slightly different risk/return characteristics than an S&P 500-only fund.
- Invesco’s equal-weight S&P 500 ETF (RSP) reduces single-stock and tech concentration and offers a modestly higher yield, though its 0.20% fee and recent returns differ from cap-weighted peers.
- Coverage stresses the S&P 500’s current mega-cap tech tilt and notes that growth or sector funds such as VGT or SCHG have led long-term returns but come with heavier concentration and deeper drawdowns.