VIG

Obvious-Waltz-6105

Is holding both VTV and VIG in a single portfolio redundant, or do their underlying screening methodologies offer distinct enough risk-mitigation to justify holding both?

Deeznutzsgotcha

Well duh. He's just collecting his monthly VIG.

That-Requirement-233

600k easily compounds into a set it and forget it generational wealth machine that you can pass on to your children without selling any of the assets. I'd look at lower beta dividend stocks with decent long term growth potential. VIG and/or SCHD. Reinvest the dividends, snowball. 600k is a huge head start for this strategy and you're highly insulated from stock market downturns.

ialwaysdisagreewithu

Those are all stocks. $SOUN = Soundhound AI, a very volatile AI stock that's got a short float of about 30%. I'll stare at the chart until I see something I like (read: it's all bullshit, I'm just getting lucky hoping to buy at the bottom or top of the current curve.) I buy or short Soundhound, then sell after it moves 2-3%. Easy $200 bucks after taxes. Stick the taxes in a savings account and the rest into stocks I'm long in. VIG = Vanguard's dividend appreciation ETF VOO = Vanguard's S&P ETF VYMI = Vanguard's international dividend ETF VUG = Vanguard's growth ETF

WorriedConstruction3

I’m new to this…can you explain what you mean “day trading $SOUN” and “Stick it into VIG, VOO, VYMI, VUG”?

ialwaysdisagreewithu

Not if you just day trade with the same $10k everyday and stick earnings into long positions. I'm making $1000-1500 a week day-trading $SOUN, I just stick it into VIG, VOO, VYMI, VUG and forget.

PandaJunk

Mostly dividend ETFs like SCHD, DGRO, and VIG. But I watch the market pretty much daily, so am not super worried about going negative. At the same time, my emergency fund becomes an a income generator. I don't love the tax drag, but on balance, I've come out ahead, even with a job loss.

Vandilbg

Low risk long term. Put it in a Roth ira and drop 40% into VTIP and the other 60% split on VIG and VTI. Total market growth, dividend growth, and inflation protected treasuries.

patsay

This is how I’m doing it with a $1M portfolio. I put cash into an interest-bearing instrument (for me, SWVXX, but there are others). Now I’m buying in slowly to 4 diversified ETFs using cash secured puts to lower my cost basis and to add to my share count. SPY, VIG, GLD and QQQ. I’m making a video series and showing the live trades if you want to look on my profile to find them. The video series is inspired by one of my coaching clients who is consolidating all of her 401(k) accounts, equity from her house, and some insurance money as she transitions to retirement life.

Spookiest_Meow

I use the stock screener on [stockanalysis.com](http://stockanalysis.com) to export a list of all stocks into Excel, and then I use filters and column formatting rules to find stocks I want based on various metrics like P/E Ratio, Debt/Equity, Free Cash Flow, Return %s over various time periods, etc. When you identify stocks you might like, you look at the stock charts across various time periods - particularly all-time, 5 year, 1 year, etc. If you want to be more precise, you can look at 1 year, 6 month, 3 month, 1 month etc. charts with Moving Average indicator overlays and RSI to determine whether or not it's a good time to buy that specific stock. Another thing you can do is look at ETFs that select stocks by specific metrics, like VIG, and then look at their holdings. A lot of those are ones I'd naturally select based on my own research, for example ABBV, V, MA, KO, WM etc. * use a stock screener * export the data to a spreadsheet app * format columns for visibility and filter * identity good potential stocks via various financial metrics * look at their charts * look at moving average indicators and RSI, or whatever indicators you like * buy whatever meets your desired criteria and looks good

Spirited-Manner9674

VIG

Powerful-Orchid1270

Just curious on your thoughts on my portfolio. Always open to advice. So I have just over $16k in a private brokerage account and then about $36k in a 457 through my employer. The 457 is split 50/50 between a large cap fund and a target retirement date fund The $16k in my brokerage account is divided as follows: 22% FGRIX (fidelity growth and income fund) 20% SCHD 19% VTI 18% VIG 6% SCHG 6% VTWO 6% AMZN 3% SHOP I kind of prefer a “set it and forget it” approach and don’t necessarily want to worry about trying to buy and sell stocks at the right time. What do you guys think? Also, just for reference, I have about 20 years until I retire and put $350 in each of my accounts each month.

KemShafu

Great lesson to learn. Set it and forget it is great. You got a loss. If you find yourself messing around with your investments, then just set aside 1000 a year and play with that with your side stocks. Having said that, look at VGRO and VIG to compare with VTI

BeginningFriendly338

this is the textbook definition of diworsification lol. VTI literally holds every single US stock that is inside VOO, VOOG, SCHD, VYM, and VIG. ur not covering more bases, ur just buying the exact same large cap companies wrapped in different packaging,personally i combined wth the private tech like vcx for exposure so you can just buy VTI and chill

Special_Sir_1826

Hi, there aren’t really “charity ETFs.” FHLC is just healthcare exposure, not impact investing. For dividends + quality tilt, VIG or NOBL are solid. For ESG exposure, ESGV or DSI; ICLN for clean energy. Most people combine dividend ETFs with direct donations for actual impact.

EveryPassage

VOO and VTI are 90% the same. SCHD, VIG and VYM + VOOG sort of just mimics VOO when put together. 10% international equities is pretty low.

clivesrazylarge

VIG and Veg out

Uniquename34556

Stability is looking mighty nice for the next decade or so. I’m doing something similar and increasing investments in VIG. Smaller yields but more stability. Probably won’t make much of a difference in the long run but maybe it will in retrospect. Life’s a risk one way or the other.

CYCLE_NYC

VIG

bemeandnotyou

How much is his VIG?

ButterRollercoaster

Stupidly overcomplicating it. This is just DCA with extra steps and more decisions. With SPY, QQQ, VIG, and GLD, simplicity usually wins. Lump sum or DCA and move on. Stop fucking with options for no good reason.

johnk317

VIG and VYM are buys now.

DifferentSwing3149

First answer the following questions to yourself at least: 1. Do I need any of this 400k for a near term large purchase such as a house, car, major renovations, college expenses, etc. 2. How much $ do I need in cash like funds in case of emergency? Usually no more than 6 months of your monthly expenses. 3. Retirement plans, age/years to go. 4. What is set aside for retirement already? 5. Is my job stable? There are quite a few more you could ask but at least these will help determine how you invest that 400k. If you basically don't need any of the 400k and retirement is down the road say 10 or more years, invest it into index/growth etf's with some possibly in dividend based etf's such as SCHD, VIG, VYMI to help balance the rush you are willing to take.

KingHenry13th

Yea pick an amount of money that keeps you comfortable to live and have access to in the bank and invest the rest. VIG, VOO, VTI.  If you are afraid of losing money short term or timing the market it won't work. 

skilliard7

You can invest in ETFs for indexes that generally avoid speculative companies, like VNQ(Real estate), VYM(Dividend fund), VIG(Dividend growth fund).

DifferentSwing3149

Thanks for the advice. The overlap between SCHD and VIG does exist but it's not that bad. 12% by weight - https://www.etfrc.com/funds/overlap.php

durian_spoon

The 55/15/30 split is conservative but you're retired — conservative is fine. Moving CDs to intermediate bonds as they mature makes sense for yield pickup without adding real risk. JEPQ and GPIX are earning their keep in sideways markets. The only thing I'd watch is overlap between SCHD and VIG since they fish in similar dividend-growth waters.

Signal-Shoe-6670

Honestly this already looks pretty thoughtful. 55% equities / 45% defensive assets is a pretty common range for someone a few years into retirement, and having a 30% cash buffer gives you a lot of optionality during volatility. One way I tend to look at portfolios that helps simplify the overlap question is thinking in “sleeves” rather than individual funds. For example something like: • Core market sleeve – broad exposure (VOO, VTI, etc.) • Income / dividend sleeve – SCHD, VIG, JEPI style funds • Ballast sleeve – bonds, CDs, cash • Optional satellite sleeve – anything tactical or opportunistic When you zoom out that way, some overlap between funds matters a lot less, because the job and intent of the sleeve is clear. The sleeve structure also makes rebalancing easier since you’re adjusting exposure at the sleeve level instead of constantly swapping individual funds. From what you described, you already kind of have that structure forming naturally — especially with the growth vs dividend split and the large cash reserve. Your plan to gradually move CD maturities into bonds also sounds pretty reasonable.

QuickInvestIQ

Your allocation actually looks pretty reasonable for someone in retirement. 55% equities gives you growth to help offset inflation, while the bonds and cash provide stability and liquidity. The only thing I might question is the overlap in funds. VOO, SCHG, SCHD, and VIG all hold many of the same large companies, so you could simplify without changing the overall exposure much. Also, with 30% cash you already have a strong buffer, so gradually shifting some into bonds (like you mentioned) could help generate a bit more income while keeping risk moderate. Overall though, it looks like a balanced and thoughtful approach.

sirzoop

sure, go invest in something like VIG or VIGI instead of VOO

CanYouPleaseChill

An easy way is to look at the components of the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG).

Pink-Pony-6398

I’m Panicking, bought right before the dip! Down 15% I am 21 and only started investing in November with a total of \~10k. I have 70% in relatively stable ETFs (VTI, VT, VXUS, SPXT, VIG, Nasdaq?), but that remaining 30%… wow. I’ve been invested in GOOG and Taiwan and they’ve done well for me. But a couple weeks ago I decided to buy some riskier ETFs because they had like 3-5 year major growth and didn’t seem too volatile (like a random startup). These ETFs include South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Copper, Silver, and Gold. My portfolio was doing amazing. ALL of which are crashing hard. I literally bought days before the big dip when there was a tiny dip, figuring that when I check back in 20 years it’ll have some normal bumps but ultimately go up. But then Trump bombed Iran and everything fell apart. I have 50% of my net worth invested. I don’t know if these markets will come back well enough to make the purchase worth it. I know I should hold. I learned my lesson when I first invested and listened to my Crypto ex-boyfriend (who is very rich and told me not to worry, high risk high reward. And like an idiot I believed him), losing $800. But it’s still making me so anxious, people are saying this war could last for years, and I can’t help these emotions even though my logic is telling me to hold. Ugh. It just sucks.

HunterMichael92

The reason for this is their major productions are coming out in near-term, i.e. Hunger Games & Michael, expected to gross over $3bn combined in Box Office Pay 1. You do not value movie studios and libraries on a Quarter-on-Quarter basis. Investors are pricing in the success in the near-term and an added VIG for a potential transaction. This industry is not invested on earnings being equal or better every3 months. The debt levels will be brought down within 6 months after the next two releases mature.

WorldArtist

$125 a week distributed to a few ETF’s (VTI, VXUS, VIG, FXIAX) and you’ll be doing a hell of a lot better than you’re doing now with no effort or stress. Leave it in place and in 30 years you’ll be better than 70% of ppl and retired. Find a company that matches your contributions.

No_Feeling920

I'm Czech but the OP is right. The stock market here is just several overpriced stocks plus some secondary listings of foreign stocks (VIG, Erste Group). It's dire. [https://www.pse.cz/en/market-data/shares/prime-market](https://www.pse.cz/en/market-data/shares/prime-market)

sirzoop

same i have a lot of SCHD, VIG and VIGI as well

BobtheChemist

Investing part of the cash will generate more future wealth, and you can always keep part in cash (SGOV, etc) for emergencies. If you put part into growth, like IVV, QQQ, SPY, IYM, etc, some into dividends like VIG, VYM, SCHD, or such, and then keep adding to it as you can. But you will earn 2000+ a year with any luck, and still have some cash for emergencies. But it will not ay the entire rent any time soon.

WordsHappenedHere

I have owned VIG for like 20 years. Almost since its inception date. But I’m old bro. Turned 44 this year 💪

Double-Intention4308

* 44 years old * Currently employed ($140,000/yr) * 401(k) that is mostly in a target date fund, with about 40% sitting in a value fund, international fund, and mid-cap fund. All new contributions go to the target date fund. * Roth IRA that is kind of a mess because I've held it forever, but can be modeled as something like 80% VTI + 20% VXUS. * Only debt is my mortgage, which is 3.75% * Fully funded emergency fund (two years) I'm trying to be better with my money. Due to a rocky upbringing, I have a lot of purely psychological roadblocks when it comes to investing. I'd like to start putting more money into my taxable brokerage account, and I'm looking for advice on what I could do in terms of an "intermediate" risk profile that sits somewhere between HYSA/SGOV combination that I've been defaulting to lately and the portfolio I have in my retirement accounts. I've considered a mix of defensive sector ETFs (XLU/XLV/XLP) and heavily "filtered" ETFs like SCHD and VIG. I've also considered bonds, but after 2022 I feel like I don't understand the underlying mechanisms well enough to buy into that. Treasuries might also be an option. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

garulousmonkey

If you’re poor and just starting in the market stay clear of individual stocks.  An individual stock may tank, and take all your money with it.  Buy ETF’s instead.  Less risky, and you can buy fractional shares so share price doesn’t matter. Some of the better ETF’s are on vanguard and fidelity.  VOO is often recommended, VIG is one that I like.

EvolvingDior

VIG when it gets like this.

sirzoop

buy etfs and hold them forever my favorites are VOO, VXUS, VUG, VIG

BobtheChemist

maybe a mix of VOO, QQQ, VIG, perhaps an international fund, REIT fund, or other bits. I picked a mix of about 5 funds and it got me to retirement early. Your results may vary.

5000-Shark-Teeth

I do a mix of VT, VIG, VTV, VBR...shit is solid.

treysor

You should look into $VIG and only gamble your quarterly dividends into risky options from now on.

Sea-Economics-9582

https://preview.redd.it/6s1v8ut0uz9g1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=968d183a336b7554cac8c45e8b2b09a7f6835775 Using decent etfs. VIG, SCHD, VYM, VOO, and BRK.B. Just been popping in some to each find every week and reinvesting dividends. Got tired of getting burned when I couldn’t be watching my portfolio at work or other stuff, so changed my strategy for a long term set it and forget it. To the left is when I was trying to be cool and catch trades and play cheap options, to the right is when I quit messing around and just forgot about it.

IndyBananaJones2

It makes sense for income flexibility for some people though.  I mean, invest in stuff like SCHD, VPU, VIG and get decent growth with a 3.x% return. $1m portfolio gets you $30k in money that then can be used to buy the dip or fund the lifestyle 

justadimestorepoet

It doesn't particularly matter. As long as it has a low fee and roughly matches the market, those are the only truly important rules. I have around a 20% allocation in VOO as the backbone of my portfolio, and I have around 5% in VIG so I can have some realized returns in the form of dividends. It works, and I didn't really want to overthink what is supposed to be a "set it and forget it" investment.

SnoopDoug523

VIG

Digital-Doc-777

Need more stock exposure as interest rates are dropping. Look at some VTI, VIG, VYM and GPIX to establish a dividend stream of income, and allow for some growth on at least half the overall portfolio. You have the money, need to get it working more tax efficiently.

Hoefty224421

Even a clock is right twice a day. Let's see how well everyone does during a market correction or a recession The VOO , VIG, etc may not have flashy high double digits but I'll sleep at night. Also comes down to age, income and risk tolerance. I've worked hard to build my retirement Prefer the reits, blue chips and ETF's that pay.

Potential-Break-4939

I also have a much simpler go to strategy as well. 25% VONG, 25% VIG, 25% XMMO, and 25% IDMO. These give exposure to growth, dividend growth, mid/small cap, and International ETFs.

sirzoop

Both. Grab some VTI VUG and VIG they are my favorites

pawbf

Look at VIG. Expense ratio is 0.05%.

happyaccident_041315

for real. my rule of thumb with these is to buy a few thousand of shares and then if it goes up 200% i automatically sell 1/3rd of the original purchase. i roll that back into VTI or VIG. After that I don't really care what happens to the stock, and if I am lucky it go up more at some point in the future. Did this with a few on this list but couldn't stomach buying a quantum computing company.

Variation261

I like VIG at 215 or below.

dvdmovie1

I don't think this is bad. I'd suggest perhaps DGRO or VIG instead of SCHD and I don't think you need BND at 30. Maybe could be slightly tweaked in terms of risk, but if you're a low-to-medium risk appetite, this seems to fairly well fit that. "DBS/D05" Not sure what this is - the Silver etf or the Singapore bank? If the Silver ETF, I'll note that a lot of commodity ETFs result in a K-1 form. "if the AI bubble bursts" I've read so much discussion lately with great certainty about the AI bubble and imminent bursting. I'd be more concerned if I read less about an imminent bubble bust and more about people giving up on waiting for a correction and talking about going full on into all the things that have already run up. I've trimmed some AI exposure in recent months not because of calling an imminent top, but because when things have doubled and tripled in a matter of 6 months, taking some off the table and dialing risk down a bit is prudent (and 2022/early 2025 weren't that long ago.) There have been some out of favor names lately that I've done well with while everyone has crowded into AI. So I think a lot of the easy money in AI has been made, but for all I know the theme could continue to go on for a while with corrections. Nothing about the earnings so far this season would suggest spending is cooling imminently. If you're worried about an imminent AI bubble pop, you can pivot more towards exposure to out of favor value, but then it becomes are you okay with underperforming if AI continues like this for another year? The above portfolio that you posted I think is good (and maybe a tweak or two but nothing significant) for something that's largely set and forget. If you want to make active chioces with all or part of your portfolio (allocate towards out of favor value during growth periods like this in an attempt to outperform comparatively - will still lose if there is a downturn, but likely less; if the market continues like it has you will likely underperform) you can do that but it introduces having to time shifts and potentially underperform if wrong. You could look at alternatives like long-short funds or managed futures rather than the 5% in BND, but those tend to be more expensive given the cost of shorting (and not that many funds in the category are actually good.) I don't own it but something like the Adaptive US Factor ETF (https://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/ausf) has the ability to pivot between factors - minimum volatility, value and momentum - (either allocates to two factors with a 50% / 50% weighting, or all three factors with a weighting of 40% / 40% / 20% depending on the trailing returns of each factor.) The ETF won't pivot instantly by any means and past performance isn't a guarantee of future results, but over the last 5 years that's wound up doing pretty well comparatively during the bad times (2022, early 2025) while still managing to participate pretty decently during the good times. There's all sorts of options, but it becomes how much time do you want to devote vs creating something that's largely set and forget. The indexes would be impacted if the AI bubble burst, but not as much as a portfolio that's entirely aggressive growth AI names/portfolios that look entirely like a tech/growth fund.

Digital-Doc-777

Combination of funds that pay dividends. Look at VYM, VIG, SCHD, and JEPI.

5000-Shark-Teeth

Are you me? I do almost the same thing. Most of my money in ETFs (VTI, VXUS, VTV, VIG, VGIT) but I swing trade on the side with gold lol but I use GLDM.

GruntledV8Fanboy

A lot of my portfolio is in VOO, VIG, VIGI, and similar mutual funds/ETFs. For the least risk, most ETFs or Mutual Funds that track with the S&P 500 are considered the “safest” bet in the stock market. This isn’t financial advice but if you’re looking to buy and hold, having a “nest egg” in diversified ETFs/Mutual Funds in your portfolio isn’t a bad idea.

MrMoogie

I think Value stocks, international stocks and a diversified basket of bonds like BND or BINC will work as well as anything. You could also hold quality/dividend appreciating names like QUAL, VIG and JQUA. I’m moving towards this allocation. If we dip much further I’ll start buying more of all these things. Gold, tech, BTC, S&P500 all feel like they are all in a bubble.

Hoefty224421

Only vehicle they make decent is the F150. Like all the once big 3. One here and there and the rest all crap. Heard that the lightening is plagued w issues. Absolutely ridiculous for a 120k truck. It's a role of the dice but it's dead money I'd use the sale and buy better choices . Split it up between a few or grab a VOO or VIG, some QQQ

Laureles2

My portfolio is several million at this point, with most in Vanguard ETFs like VGT, VOO (SP500), VYM, VIG, and VFH. The individual stocks are generally purchased when they pull back for some extra juice. For example both GOOD and AAPL had a big pullback and I bought. I also bought UNH when it was around 275-280 (down almost 55%!!) for a while. Will see how they work out.

CatDaddyDeluxe

I would consider something like VIG if you are wanting diversification away from mega cap tech. VIG is the vanguard dividend growers index fund. Low fees, diversified with 337 companies. Only includes companies that have grown dividends every year for at least 10 years, many have grown for 25+ years. These types of funds, while technically focusing on dividend growth, tend to be more “defensive” as a side effect. They tend to have mature business models and loyal customer bases, healthy balance sheets and low debt as a result of their commitment to raising dividends every year regardless of the market environment. Historically this has led to slightly lower returns, but also lower drawdowns when the market crashes. For example, from 2006-now VIG had an annual return of 10.04%, compared to 10.91% for SPY. However, the max drawdown for VIG over that period was 45%, compared to 55% for SPY. It achieved these returns without being concentrated in tech or mega caps like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100. I would use the S&P/Nasdaq as a core position and VIG as a satellite if I wanted to hedge against concentration. Totally different holdings than either of those two. https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vig

NYEDMD

Would suggest setting up a separate account for the $30K. Say your payment is due Oct 01 2027. Start by investing 50% to 75% (exact percentage depends on your risk tolerance) in an etf like VYM or VIG. Set a trailing stop loss at 15% to 25% (again, depending on your risk tolerance). Spring of 27’, knock down the equity position to 50% or so. Around Labor Day, convert to cash. Best case scenario, you can pocket as much as $5K to $8K. Good luck.

bauhaus83i

VIG is a decent dividend fund if you follow your own advice

I-STATE-FACTS

do you mean dividend growth ETFs (VIG, SCHD, SDY) or growth ETFs that also pay out dividends (QQQM, VUG)

Matt2_ASC

I guess you could have been downvoted for your aggressive "KO sucks" line. But you are correct. VIG has outperformed KO over the past year, 5 yr and 10 yr benchmarks. KO has a P/E over average, exposure to boycotts, tariffed inputs, and other risks that an index fund just doesn't have at the same level.

Reddit4Play

If you don't know a thing about investing and want to invest in stocks then step 1 is to open a brokerage account (ideally a retirement account with some kind of tax advantages, like an IRA or Roth IRA if you live in the US). I'm not familiar with other countries, but stick with whatever passes for the big trusted brokers wherever you live like Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, or Merill. The last thing you want is for some Chinese fintech startup to abscond with your retirement money. Stocks and funds composed of multiple stocks all go by "tickers," or abbreviations. It's generally agreed that you won't go wrong putting your money in large diversified stock funds like VOO (largest 500 US companies) or VT (entire world stock index). Most of their value over time will come from a rising market value if you choose to sell your shares back to the market. If you'd prefer something more like a second salary (income) instead then you may prefer something like SCHD (which focuses on companies with larger payouts) or VIG (which focuses on companies which grow their payouts more over time). Many people say you should also diversify into assets besides stocks, so putting some of your investing money (maybe 10% or less if you're under 30 and up to 50% if you're in your 50s or later) in a bond fund like BNDW is worth considering. Overall this will invest your money in a wide variety of assets so that you can receive an average profit based on their performance over time. Don't use money you think you might need in the next 5 years to invest in stocks. Prices will fluctuate unpredictably and selling when prices are low because you suddenly need the money is how you lose a lot of money forever. You may hear about "diversification," which is protecting your investments from bad luck by owning lots of different things. Each of these funds has hundreds of unique assets in it so owning just one or two of the funds is plenty of diversification. It's very difficult to get a better return than the market average you'll get from one of these funds, but it is possible if you work hard and have a knack for investing in individual companies. If you think you might enjoy learning about it and want to try beating the average you can start with books like One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street by Peter Lynch. He was one of the best investors of the last hundred years and his approach is very common sense. Start with just a few companies you think might excel with just 1 or 2% of your money in each. You'll make a lot of mistakes at first and it's better to lose 1 or 2% than 10 or 20%. You'll also get a lot of benefit from a more numbers-based approach, which you can start learning about in a book like The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham or Aswath Damodaran's corporate finance and asset valuation courses on YouTube. After you've invested 10-30 companies over the course of 5 or 10 years and finished several of those books and courses you'll know for sure if you're cut out for individual stock investing or should stick to the large diversified funds.

anonkraken

My options allocation is about 30%. The rest rides in safe boring shit like VOO, VIG and SCHD. Never enter a single options position with more than 7.5% of NAV.

Realistic_trader9489

If you want to earn some regular income through ETFs, you can look at dividend ETFs or bond ETFs. Dividend ETFs invest in companies that pay out dividends regularly, while bond ETFs invest in bonds that give interest payments. Some popular choices are Vanguard’s Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) or iShares’ U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG). Just make sure to check their fees, how they’ve performed in the past, and whether they match your risk level and financial goals before investing.

Digital-Doc-777

If that is the goal, then try this: Stability: VTI Balance and diversity: VIG, SCHD, crypto, gold/silver Conservative growth: SCHG

ace_OO7_

The most I ever had was about 500 every day the market was open but I hated my life because I worked too much. I put it in SCHD, VOO,VIG, and a few dividend stocks but have since sold the SCHD. In hindsight, I probably should have just done VOO, VIG, or QQQ. Dividend funds tend to underperform the S&P 500.

EveryPassage

VIG, certainly not immune but much less into hot tech companies.

srfdriver99

Annuities are a bad idea - it's why there's such a massive industry invested on trying to sell them to people. It's a ripoff. Keep a certain amount in bonds or CDs (fixed-income, but you don't need a SMA). Put the rest in stocks. You need to do the math to figure out how much you need in fixed-income and how much can go in stocks. Keep in mind that having a portion of the stock pile invested in dividend-focused funds such as VIG or SCHD may be a good alternative to generate more income in your retirement without having to sell off shares. If your husband has a pension, and you're going to be drawing on Social Security, the amount you will need to be pulling every month to pay the bills will be lower. You need to write out a budget before you need to be worried about SMAs and other such nonsense. Figure out what the gap is between the pension+social security on the one side and your expenditures on the other. That really _should_ be a reachable number. 600k should generate at least 24k/yr of income ($2k/mo) and the gap really shouldn't be that large. Do not pay for a financial advisor that charges percentage-based fees like 1% a year. Find someone who is a fiduciary that charges based on the actual work they do that will help you structure your retirement and deal with RMDs and so forth.

ShamWowGuy

Depends on a lot of factors. I just bought a decent position in UPS on a mean reversion + high div bet. I have VIG, VYMI, DGRO and will be adding PFE and other individual beat down high div stocks soon

srfdriver99

Well, for large cap value, VTV exists. So take a gander at this chart: https://totalrealreturns.com/s/VFINX,VYM,VIG,SCHD,VTV Dividend appreciation and the extra criteria SCHD has seem like better strategies than raw value, though there are periods on this chart where VTV is winning. > I tried doing a covered call strategy on my own a few years ago with various degrees of success. I think you need to have pretty good market timing in order for it to be successful- and a pretty good read on macro currents. I don’t believe that an ETF which does a covered call strategy automatically is a winning strategy. Strong agree. I'd be interested in seeing a couple of actively managed covered call ETFs rather than these gimmicky indexed ones. I suspect one that focuses on dividend-paying value companies and intentionally selects dates that avoid earnings spikes could outperform buy and hold (on those stocks, not necessarily the market as a whole).

srfdriver99

Dividend investment would be _far_ better if it wasn't for the tax treatment causing a lot of companies to do share buybacks instead. Unfortunately, buybacks aren't nearly as reliable as dividends (not that dividends are _inherently_ reliable, but a number of companies make it a goal to not cut the dividend or maintain a particular minimum dividend payout) so it's very difficult to do sensible buyback-oriented investing. There are some ETFs that attempt to do this like PKB and DIVB, and [as you can see PKB has not done well.](https://totalrealreturns.com/s/VFINX,VYM,VIG,SCHD,PKB,DIVB) As long as this persists, dividend investing is always going to have returns which are meaningfully divergent from that of the broader market, for good or ill. In a year where tech is taking a bloodbath, the dividend approach will outperform. In a tech boom year, the dividend approach will underperform. (Most of the big tech companies do buybacks rather than dividends, or pay out small dividends compared to how much they do with buybacks.)

srfdriver99

Yep, SPYI is terrible, but you should look at something like VYM, VIG, or SCHD for a "traditional" dividend ETF, not the covered-call ETFs. These are just normal ETFs that invest in dividend-paying stocks using some criteria or another. https://totalrealreturns.com/s/VFINX,VYM,VIG,SCHD But as you can see, the max drawdowns are very similar. VYM did a poor job of recovering after the pandemic dip, but the dividend funds outperformed in 2022-2023 before the S&P 500 recovered in 2024. I would argue that these are reasonable selections, unlike the covered call ETFs (jury's still out on the approach taken by XDTE and XDTY).

Jimbo5204

You could go with VIG, that way if the market dips you can reinvest dividends at a discount. These companies are typically less volatile as well. Just keep taxes in mind if youre in a taxable account.

Plastic_Permission81

make bears -115 not because they are more favored, but just to add some VIG

lsbhavani

Your portfolio planning must take into account your current age and longevity of your life ahead. Your thought of investing in dividend growth stocks is a good one. Vanguard has an ETF that fits your bill well (VIG). Pair it with six months of living expenses (money market funds) and two years worth of living expenses in an “unknown - unknown” contingency fund in a Vanguard tax-free municipal bond fund (intermediate). Then you can be on auto pilot for the foreseeable future. Good luck 👍

Emotional_Mud9557

VIG

RedLegionGaming

I’ve redone my portfolio a bit since then, swapped IJR for AVUV, VIG and VYM -> DIVB/DGRO. Also included some SPMO and SCHG for growth. I like that they’re growth oriented and somewhat more diverse than QQQ/VGT.

VGT-01

Bro said HOOD and RDDT are conservative 😭😭😭 and the three other stocks are literally top 10 S&P holdings by weight VIG is ultra conservative VOO is broad and moderate VGT would be quasi-aggressive with tech exposures, QQQ is moderately less risk when it comes to the index. OP doesn’t have to lever up at this time he can just ride it all out in index funds if his time horizon is greater than 5 years for the majority of the drawdown.

Caterpillar69420

In my 401k retirement account, I have almost 50% in VGT equivalent (VITAX) then some VYM/VIG equivalent since i dont know which is better so I have both equally. They should smooth out down turns About 15% in money market fund so i can "buy the dips". I don't have VOO. I think tech will carry the market. But they drop fast too, just look at April 2025. Make sure you can handle the "loss". VGT was down almost 25% in april.

Dmane187

How would you rate this portfolio with emphasis on long-term growth and income? FSPGX-33.33% VOO-33.33% VIG-33.33% What could be added, adjusted or removed to strengthen this portfolio? New to investing, hungry to learn.

Caterpillar69420

VGT VIG VYM. Not equal weight.

ra__account

I would absolutely go VOO rather than VIG in your shoes. You're going risky by putting in individual stocks, which can be fine at your age if you have risk appetite, but then dragging down performance but putting in a lower return ETF.

zjjman1

I’m willing to take a risk but I want to make wise choices as well. Should I sell my VIG?

ra__account

VIG historically underperforms VOO. https://schrts.co/csVFcTxk I can only link to a 5 year chart but it goes back further. I would also recommend going 100% VOO but if you are willing to take a risk, you could do worse, though I wouldn't touch OKLO in your circumstance. Way too speculative and hard to predict that market, even though it's memeing now.

Emotional_Mud9557

40% in VUG, 40% in VIG, and 20% in BTC. Start adding 10% of your pay every week that way.

GalacticThievery

Keep it simple - VTI, QQQM, VIG

homestead_sensible

VTSAX is aboot 30% of portfolio followed by VIG which probably makes up 15%. i have some VYM i purchased before i understood basis. (all approximations) i also have ET, KO and a few petrol stocks. I generally avoid REITs just because I worknin housing, so understand risks and profits, cycles & volatilities involved. I feel I'm deep enough in real estate since 100% of my income is from property management. not a rebuttal. I'm all ears. just expanding on topic.

Emotional_Mud9557

Definitely moving into dividend stocks. I've seen a real increase in VIG and SCHD.

Dirk_The_Cowardly

VIG....VOO's annoying bud

First-Finger4664

Those 3 funds are more or less the same thing (VTI is weighted by market cap, so it is largely composed of the stocks in VOO/SPY), so just pick one of them. After several years of historic returns, the US market is severely overvalued and poised for a decade of poor returns (i.e. a big crash followed by a return to more normal growth). You would do well to put some money in something like VEA or VIGI (international large cap growth/blend) or VWO (emerging markets) so that your portfolio better weathers a downturn. Investing in lower-performing but lower-volatility equities, and regularly rebalancing between them during downturns, actually leads to *better* long-term performance - you can do some simple backtesting online using different mixes of VOO, VYM, and VIG to convince yourself this is true.

DifferentSwing3149

Just retired, got JEPQ, JEPI, GPIX, GPIQ, SCHD, VIG, VOO, SGOV to collect some monthly passive income. Still have some growth funds but adjusted right before retirement to about 50/50 now

Hot-Hurry3199

VIG

bleezerfreezer

Agree 100%. For OP - some of the dividend funds I suggest for your Roth: VYM, VIG, SCHD, DGRW, DGRO, VNQ, QQQ. My favorite is SCHD. Great yield + growth balance, strong total returns. Its made me a ton of money.