How many S&P 500 ETFs should I buy? (2024)

How many S&P 500 ETFs should I buy?

You only need one S&P 500 ETF

Experts agree that for most personal investors, a portfolio comprising 5 to 10 ETFs is perfect in terms of diversification. But the number of ETFs is not what you should be looking at. Rather, you should consider the number of different sources of risk you are getting with those ETFs.

How many ETFs are enough? The answer depends on several factors when deciding how many ETFs you should own. Generally speaking, fewer than 10 ETFs are likely enough to diversify your portfolio, but this will vary depending on your financial goals, ranging from retirement savings to income generation.

Setting a rule of five per cent helps investors avoid owning too many ETFs and essentially sets the limit at 20 ETFs (100/5) if a portfolio consists solely of ETFs. Deciding on the weighting of a position for a stock is very different than deciding on a weighting for an ETF.

The investor's goals, risk tolerance, and investing strategy, among other variables, all influence the response to this question. The majority of individual investors should, however, seek to hold 5 to 10 ETFs that are diverse in terms of asset classes, regions, and other factors.

There is no fixed number of ETFs that can be classified as “too many” as it ultimately depends on an investor's individual goals, risk tolerance, and investment strategy. However, it is generally recommended to avoid overdiversification, as it can lead to lower returns and higher fees.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in February 2014 would be worth $5,971.20, or a gain of 497.12%, as of February 5, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 178.17% and gold's return of 55.50% over the same time frame.

If you buy substantially identical security within 30 days before or after a sale at a loss, you are subject to the wash sale rule. This prevents you from claiming the loss at this time.

You only need one S&P 500 ETF

You could be tempted to buy all three ETFs, but just one will do the trick. You won't get any additional diversification benefits (meaning the mix of various assets) because all three funds track the same 500 companies.

A leveraged ETF uses derivative contracts to magnify the daily gains of an index or benchmark. These funds can offer high returns, but they also come with high risk and expenses. Funds that offer 3x leverage are particularly risky because they require higher leverage to achieve their returns.

What is a good ETF ratio?

High fees can turn any investment into a poor one. A good rule of thumb is to not invest in any fund with an expense ratio higher than 1% since many ETFs have expense ratios that are much lower. Also, ETFs tend to be passively managed, which keeps the management fee low.

ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments. ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses.

You expose your portfolio to much higher risk with sector ETFs, so you should use them sparingly, but investing 5% to 10% of your total portfolio assets may be appropriate.

One way to think about it is every three months taking whatever excess income you can afford to invest – money that you will never need to touch again – and buy ETFs! Buy ETFs when the market is up. Buy ETFs when the market is down.

The one time it's okay to choose a single investment

You wouldn't ever want to load up your portfolio with a single stock. But if you're buying S&P 500 ETFs, this is the one scenario where you might get away with only owning a single investment. That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market.

It's also worth noting that an S&P 500 index fund is fairly diversified. Its investments are spread out among 11 major industries, and no sector has more than 30% of the money invested. Here's a look at the different business sectors that make up the index.

The disadvantages are complexity and trading costs. With so many ETFs in the portfolio, it's important to be able to keep track of what you own at all times. You could easily lose sight of your total allocation to stocks if you hold 13 different stock ETFs instead of one or even five.

This investment strategy seeks total return through exposure to a diversified portfolio of primarily equity, and to a lesser extent, fixed income asset classes with a target allocation of 70% equities and 30% fixed income. Target allocations can vary +/-5%.

VOO has a conensus rating of Moderate Buy which is based on 390 buy ratings, 105 hold ratings and 10 sell ratings.

How much would $10000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1980 be worth today?

Think about this: If you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 1980 and left the money untouched until 2022, you'd have accumulated nearly $1.1 million by the end of last year, according to the Hartford Funds. The S&P 500 has an annualized total return of more than 12% over the last decade.

If you invested in the company 10 years ago, that decision could have paid off. According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment in Coca-Cola in 2009 would be worth more than $2,800 as of Feb. 15, 2019.

Specifically, a fund is prohibited from: acquiring more than 3% of a registered investment company's shares (the “3% Limit”); investing more than 5% of its assets in a single registered investment company (the “5% Limit”); or. investing more than 10% of its assets in registered investment companies (the “10% Limit”).

So when is the ideal time? "Middle of the day is generally best, and if there are international (European) securities in the ETF, trading in the morning will ensure you get prices closest to fair value," Nadig explains.

Holding an ETF for longer than a year may get you a more favorable capital gains tax rate when you sell your investment.