Is 3 ETFs enough? (2024)

Is 3 ETFs enough?

Fewer than 10 ETFs is likely enough to diversify your portfolio. ETFs are wonderful instruments offering diversification at a minimal cost. Indeed, ETFs are investment vehicles containing many investments and are therefore already diversified.

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.

You only need one S&P 500 ETF

For others, it's all minutia. All three of the ETFs listed here have lower-than-average expense ratios and offer an easy way to buy a slice of the U.S. stock market. You could be tempted to buy all three ETFs, but just one will do the trick.

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. If you want to be highly conservative, don't use these at all.

If you set up asset allocation appropriate for your age, a three-fund portfolio will most likely perform well. I say "most likely" because nothing is guaranteed with investing, but this strategy is one of the safer options. There are situations where another approach could be a better choice.

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.

For most personal investors, an optimal number of ETFs to hold would be 5 to 10 across asset classes, geographies, and other characteristics.

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.

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.

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.

What is the 4% rule for ETF?

It's relatively simple: You add up all of your investments, and withdraw 4% of that total during your first year of retirement. In subsequent years, you adjust the dollar amount you withdraw to account for inflation.

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.

A well-constructed dividend portfolio could potentially yield anywhere from 2% to 8% per year. This means, to earn $3,000 monthly from dividend stocks, the required initial investment could range from $450,000 to $1.8 million, depending on the yield. Furthermore, potential capital gains can add to your total returns.

A number of popular authors and columnists have suggested three-fund lazy portfolios. These usually consist of three equal parts of bonds (total bond market or TIPS), total US market and total international market.

Cons of a Three-Fund Portfolio

Index funds, by nature, are designed to match the market not beat it. So if your goal is to achieve above-average returns, a three-fund approach may not suit your needs in terms of performance. Rebalancing. A three-fund portfolio is not set-it-and-forget-it.

Amount: Aim to save at least 15% of pre-tax income each year toward retirement. Account: Take advantage of 401(k)s, 403(b)s, HSAs, and IRAs for tax-deferred or tax-free growth potential. Asset mix: Investors with a longer investment horizon should have a significant, broadly diversified exposure to stocks.

There is no reason to buy multiple ETFs targeting the same segment (don't need to buy two different S&P 500 ETFs). However, many people do use multiple ETFs to create the desired factor diversification. For example, someone might have a portfolio with: VTI or FXROX - US Total Stock Market.

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.

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

That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.

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.

Is the S&P 500 enough diversification?

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.

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

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 $10,000 with founder Elon Musk 10 years ago, your stake would be worth $2.1 million now. That works out to a more than 70% average annual return. The same $10,000 put into the S&P 500 during that time grew just 274% to $37,376. That's just 14% compounded annually.