VT

Rich-Contribution-84

It all depends on your goals and risk tolerance, but assuming you’ve got a decent grasp of both of those things - the best advice you can get is to stick to your plan over a 40 year or whatever horizon and avoid selling and buying based on market timing. It usually ends really poorly. Mirroring the concept of a TDF is usually a great idea. Being 80-10% equities (in highly diversified index funds like VT or VTI, etc) and 0-20% bonds/cash/treasuries usually makes sense in your 20s and 30s and maybe 40s and shifting to a lower equity position as you near retirement. That’s super broad / generic advice but it works really really well.

DaemonTargaryen2024

> Is anyone else thinking is withdrawing their entire portfolio until the Trump madness is done? It’d all very concerning, but no not even slightly > They dropped like 20-25%. Your portfolio should not be 100% stocks, much less heavily tech stocks, if you can’t experience a 20-25% drop without panic selling > As of today, Any single day is irrelevant. Any *year* is irrelevant for that matter. > I personally think the worst is yet to come That’s fear and emotion talking, not logic. As jack Bogle put it “time is your friend, impulse is your enemy > and who knows what the next wacky thing Trump will do and cause the stocks to crash again. Agreed, but so what? Your portfolio’s time horizon isn’t 1-4 years. > I'm thinking just to take the hit, and forego the profits I had a few months ago, and just sell all my US stocks and ETFs, as long as they are in profit (or close enough). Even though history has proven this to be a losing strategy time and time again? Not to mention the tax hit > Or am I crazy here? I mean you’re not crazy but yes you’re acting irrationally when it comes to sound investing principles. > I'll likely re-invest in the US tech stocks in the future when the market has calmed down or Trump is out of power You shouldn’t invest so much in US tech stocks at all. You sound like VT: total world stock index, is perfect for you

zork2001

Here is a list of popular ETFs, you can compare the risks vs reward and expense ratio compared to VOO. Personally in my retirement accounts I like VOO for it low expense Ratio over a long period of time. It has a good balance of growth and dividends. For my brokerage account I am a fan of FTEC, I believe in tech and the growth can be a lot faster with the intention of selling one day and moving my money into something else. Shame, FTEC went down to $140 a share and now it is back up to $171, that's a 22% increase in a month. |**ETF**|**Full Name**|**Focus**|**Risk**|**Dividend Yield**|**10-Year Return vs. VOO**|**Net Expense Ratio**| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| || || |**VOO**|Vanguard S&P 500 ETF|S&P 500 (large-cap)|Moderate|\~1.3%|Baseline|0.03%| || || |**SCHD**|Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF|Dividend value stocks|Lower|\~3.5–4%|Slightly lower|0.06%| || || |**QQQ**|Invesco QQQ Trust|Tech-heavy growth|Higher|\~0.5%|Higher|0.20%| || || |**FTEC**|Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF|Pure tech sector|High|\~0.5%|Higher|0.08%| || || |**VTI**|Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF|Total U.S. market|Moderate|\~1.4%|Very similar|0.03%| || || |**VT**|Vanguard Total World Stock ETF|Global (U.S. + Intl.)|Moderate|\~2.0%|Lower historically|0.07%|

zork2001

Here is a list of popular ETFs, you can compare the risks vs reward and expense ratio compared to VOO. Personally in my retirement accounts I like VOO for it low expense Ratio over a long period of time. It has a good balance of growth and dividends. For my brokerage account I am a fan of FTEC, I believe in tech and the growth can be a lot faster with the intention of selling one day and moving my money into something else. Shame FTEC went down to $140 a share and now it is back up to $171, that's a 22% increase in a month. |**ETF**|**Full Name**|**Focus**|**Risk**|**Dividend Yield**|**10-Year Return vs. VOO**|**Net Expense Ratio**| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| || || |**VOO**|Vanguard S&P 500 ETF|S&P 500 (large-cap)|Moderate|\~1.3%|Baseline|0.03%| || || |**SCHD**|Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF|Dividend value stocks|Lower|\~3.5–4%|Slightly lower|0.06%| || || |**QQQ**|Invesco QQQ Trust|Tech-heavy growth|Higher|\~0.5%|Higher|0.20%| || || |**FTEC**|Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF|Pure tech sector|High|\~0.5%|Higher|0.08%| || || |**VTI**|Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF|Total U.S. market|Moderate|\~1.4%|Very similar|0.03%| || || |**VT**|Vanguard Total World Stock ETF|Global (U.S. + Intl.)|Moderate|\~2.0%|Lower historically|0.07%|

zork2001

Here is a list of popular ETFs, you can compare the risks vs reward and expense ratio compared to VOO. Personally in my retirement accounts I like VOO for it low expense Ratio over a long period of time. It has a good balance of growth and dividends. For my brokerage account I am a fan of FTEC, I believe in tech and the growth can be a lot faster with the intention of selling one day and moving my money into something else. Shame FTEC went down to $140 a share and now it is back up to $171, that's a 22% increase in a month. |**ETF**|**Full Name**|**Focus**|**Risk**|**Dividend Yield**|**10-Year Return vs. VOO**|**Net Expense Ratio**| |:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-|:-| || || |**VOO**|Vanguard S&P 500 ETF|S&P 500 (large-cap)|Moderate|\~1.3%|Baseline|0.03%| || || |**SCHD**|Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF|Dividend value stocks|Lower|\~3.5–4%|Slightly lower|0.06%| || || |**QQQ**|Invesco QQQ Trust|Tech-heavy growth|Higher|\~0.5%|Higher|0.20%| || || |**FTEC**|Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF|Pure tech sector|High|\~0.5%|Higher|0.08%| || || |**VTI**|Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF|Total U.S. market|Moderate|\~1.4%|Very similar|0.03%| || || |**VT**|Vanguard Total World Stock ETF|Global (U.S. + Intl.)|Moderate|\~2.0%|Lower historically|0.07%|

affablemartyr1

Just buy VT and call it a day

Esco9

I’m not saying it’s good value and I never said to invest right now, but one had in many peoples minds more room to grow and have these growth stocks ever really made sense when they just explode? Hell no. It comes out of nowhere. It’s all gambling no matter if you invest in VT or some silly valued stock like PLTR. Models aren’t the end all be all

VegetableJunkie

Yup, never been a better time to be invested in VT. Tariffs, no tariffs, it will win either way.

TerranOPZ

I don't think there will be a massive difference between VTI, VOO, and VT. I just like VT more because it's got international in it.

TerranOPZ

Bitcoin is not buy and forget. It's a speculative asset that can go to 0. VOO is much less likely to go to 0. Also, VT is better than VOO imo.

drew-gen-x

$VT and $PHYS. If you are young I would think the an entire world stock ETF and Gold ETF will outperform. I'd go 75% $VT and 25% $PHYS.

lashfield

I opened a Roth IRA today, so I'll make sure that's funded by the end of the year. I'll see what I can do about the VOO or VT's through Schwab. I'm a little nervous at the moment about the instability of the markets, though, what kind of advice do you have on short-term investing in VOO/VTI/VTs?

PutinBoomedMe

I gave up and cashed out almost all of my positions and just threw it in VT. Fortunately I moved from almost entirely US pre election to roughly 50/50 international post election. I'm somehow up 4% YTD and decided to go entirely VT to idiot proof it

helpwithsong2024

I'd suggest opening a Roth IRA to get started. Then dump money into VOO/VTI or VT regularly.

therealjerseytom

Can't agree. I don't think a transatlantic cruise takes much guts; most people are probably relaxed, enjoying their all-inclusive food and drinks, and having a good time. Crossing the Atlantic in a *rowboat* on the other hand, takes guts, or is just outright dumb. Rowboat across an intercoastal waterway though - no big deal. Take the right vessel for the journey ahead. Investing takes a lot more than money, to do a good job of it. Not all investing is super long term, decades out. People can have short-term goals or long-term goals or whatever in between. Taxable accounts or tax-advantaged. All in on VT might be a great vessel for someone investing towards retirement in 40 years, and it'd be equally a poor choice for someone investing for homeownership on a much shorter time horizon. Opposite could be said of SGOV as a vessel. So, to OP's question - could there be a more substantial market draw-down in the short horizon? Maybe! Maybe not. Does it really make a difference? For someone with a very long time horizon, you're probably going to ride through *multiple* recessions and be just fine with a total-return approach and not worrying too much about short-term noise. Someone with a shorter time horizon may not be in a position to afford risk and volatility, and would be better served with more stable and defensive assets. So. Same concept. Pick the vessel appropriate for your journey, and your journey will be different from someone else's.

gmenez97

Have you looked into the Boglehead approach? Total market ETFs. VT or VTI and VXUS.

TastyEstablishment38

Invest. If you look at history this is hardly the first major crisis to occur. If you're scared about the US, do VT for a simple global market cap weighted index (it's VTI and VXUS combined). You've got 40 years. You'll be fine.

PsychedelicConvict

Total world market etf with low fees. VT OR VTI. Set and forget. Gotta hope the world will be in a better place in 20 years. I hope ur having fun too at this age

VladStopStalking

Define a strategy and stick to it. It can be very simple (100% VT and chill) or very complex (dynamic allocation of different assets depending on your life expectancy, current net worth relative to yearly expenses, whether you have children or buy a house, Buffet indicator, whatever), but it must be entirely automatable. The strategy should be resilient to any unforeseeable geopolitical change. If you find yourself deviating from the strategy you decided because "oh shit Trump is gonna bankrupt the US", then you are doing it wrong. Either your strategy was overly risky, or you are overreacting.

Low-Introduction-565

The best thing you can do it to increase your diversification. VOO is large caps 1 country, which isn't diversified, even if it is the US. Buy VT or VXUS - this will deliver you more reliable benefit than permanently trying to time the market. Don't forget that in price chasing, you are up against massive wall st (and london, and paris and shanghai) firms with endless resources and armies of PhDs. It's not a game you can win.

BenjaminHamnett

Just buy $VT or $exus I bought a lot of Japan last. I think they’ll be pivotal for whatever is happening next. Usually I just buy whatever has scary headlines that people are being hysterical about. I’m up like 100% over the last year or so from various Mediterranean ETFs. But I’m long Australia, India and Mexico also. Probably some others? I think chili or Peru. I also bought a lot of Poland after the mess in Ukraine escalated. I would still recommend Japan, right now. Or $exus and wait for scary headlines discounts on some shit no one will care about in a month

GameOfThrownaws

If you literally just want to learn absolutely nothing about investing, set up an auto-buy, close the website, and then come back in 40 years to find that you're rich, then there's really no competition for VT. It's risky enough that you get nice returns, but diversified enough that you will really never have to worry about how your money is doing, because unless the world literally just ends, you're going to come out way ahead by the 2060s. And if it does end, then it really n ever mattered what stocks you bought anyway.

InitialPsychology731

Matters for things like VT and even Apple

India_ofcw8BG

With the way things are going, I would suggest as a lay person to look at VT for international diversification as well. Just my 2 cents. I'm not a financial advisor so don't take my advice as financial advice.

ikeepeatingandeating

It’s a simplification, but it’s “compounding” within the fund. Companies make money, shares prices go up, VOO goes up. It also spits out dividends in the form of cash, most trading platforms have an option  to automatically reinvest these.  When people say “total return” of a fund, they’re talking about the increase in share price from what you purchased it at, plus the dividend $ produced by the fund. You can use this total return % as your yearly compounding rate. Finally, you could do a lot worse than VOO. Consider VT for built in international exposure, given the US is having a bit of a moment.

AwkwardClassroom

If she is uninterested, I would go with VT or a TDF. I was in a similar situation and my partner chose to go with VT.

Willy_B_Hardigan

VT and chill is a peaceful existance

Digitalnomad9675

why not toss half your money into a stock with solid fundamentals right now? Meta, Google, UNH is crazy low rn, large oil stocks, berk - or go full boomer with VT

ZeroWallStreet

I see your preference. So you can do 80% VOO and 20% QQQ in that case. If you want to consider international, then take a look at VT.

Skepticalpositivity9

I wouldn’t just do growth or dividends, but you could include both in a diversified portfolio. As dividends go, there’s not a reliable link between dividend yield and total future return so unless you’re explicitly looking for an income stream, I wouldn’t buy a high dividend fund just because it has a high dividend. For simplicity, you could have a core holding (VOO or VTI for total US or VT for total world) plus a growth fund, value fund, small/mid cap fund, and an international fund if not using VT. There’s no perfect way to do it and there’s plenty of other funds to choose between so do some looking.

Just_Value4938

I dunno… VT is the best one stop shop for sure… but dang you leave a lot in the table compared to even VOO in the last 10 years. Before everyone loses their minds and thumbs down… I know that past results are a guarantee of blah blah blah. VT barely keeps up with inflation anymore

dissentmemo

Focus on VT

BlueWaffle135

I know it seems like a lot now, but in the grand scheme of things, $9k is nothing. By the time you’re 25, you will forget this ever happened. I would suggest not investing unless you’re investing into VOO, VT, VTI, or VXUS. Please don’t even think of doing options again. Focus on other aspects of your life like your education. Not doing well in school or taking an extra year in college will cost you a lot more than 9k in the long run, so will divorce, housing repairs/issues, get emergencies, medical emergencies, etc. I can promise you, that you will loose a lot more than this throughout your life. You will be fine, take it easy on yourself king. You’re 19 years old and have your whole life ahead of you. Just focus on your education and getting the best grades you can. Don’t let anyone tell you grades don’t matter, because they do. Get internships and do your best.

BenjaminHamnett

No one knows bitcoins fate, but if you know the fate of fiat, then you just need to hold equities as much as is reasonable. If you don’t believe in US stocks, buy global. $VT always outperforms after adjusting for volatility, diversity is the free lunch

Airewalt

Has he said that recently enough to account for the ease of holding VT or totalUS?

secondbushome

VT is the one with the most coverage. Probably the only real total world ETF as others like SPGM will cut out certain markets

bmrhampton

Total world index- VT.

Technical_Formal72

$1,500 a month —> $1,000 per year in savings?? Was that a typo? No reason not to just keep investing the same as you would with your 401k. You don’t need commodities like gold/silver. Stick with an agnostic broad market fund like VT or VTI/VXUS as long as you build an emergency fund and pay off high interest debt first

rpv123

Yeah, I want to buy and hold for 25 years (retirement.) Most of my retirement portfolio is already in target date funds and VT, so other than my dumbass play account I started during Covid (which, honestly, is doing pretty well due to buying 4k of Walmart back in 2020), it won’t even be a large percent of my overall portfolio. Might buy another share for my IRA today if the transfer clears in time or it keeps dipping.

rpv123

I’ve never owned Berk B and am honestly considering starting a $2k position with an old 401K that finally moved to a Rollover IRA last week if it goes deep into the red. Was waiting for a pullback to buy anything, and after this weekend, it seems like a good buy if it goes red. It’s that or VT for me, I think.

advantage_player

If you fucked up so bad Daddy had to take the reins, buy VT and GTFO of here

brewgeoff

> I’m starting with the top 50 in the S&P so I can get most of the exposure I want but also remove a couple companies I don’t like and increase the weights of a few I believe in. What you’re basically doing is a heavily simplified version of what active managers do. I would not call this “Direct Indexing.” Typically direct indexing implies a few hundred stocks, weighted according to the index without bias. It sometimes includes tax loss harvesting what may create some tracking error but is usually worth the deviation. You mentioned that you don’t have a ton of money to invest. If that is true then a direct indexing approach is likely unhelpful for your situation. You would likely be better served just buying a broad market fund like ITOT, VT, DFAW, SPY, etc.

Objective_Ad3539

yea i hear you on this. i know anyone there would backstab me for a couple extra cents. i have to remind myself of that sometimes. i'm working really hard on the side to start my own business but until then i'm saving up my money (honestly not sure why i'm in WSB lol. 100% of my account is in VT lol)

Plus_Seesaw2023

Tesla’s \~$1 trillion valuation reflects faith in its next‑generation vehicles and autonomy platform. ... only the successful launch of mass‑market EVs and monetization of FSD/robotaxi services over the next 12–18 months can fully justify today’s lofty multiple. Why would TSLA crash when it's constantly being bought through SPY, QQQ, VTI, and VT by pension funds, hedge funds, and retail investors? It's structurally supported by passive flows ; every new dollar into these ETFs means more Tesla buying, no matter what.

AromaAdvisor

I tell my wife to buy VT in all of her accounts that she manages when I’m giving her “investment advice.” Partially because I actually don’t know wtf I’m doing and partially because I don’t want to be responsible for missing out when one area outperforms another. My own accounts I don’t bother investing in Europe or Asia because I don’t trust them at all, but I am well aware I may miss out on something.

ChairmanMeow1986

Yeah man, this is not a diversified and is a trading port hedged by the S&P. Not bad, but allocation is humiliating. Build out a portfolio, take overweight positions to swing in single stocks of etf's you hold. Expand those etfs. Allocation wise you'd be served to take 20% (at most) SPY, 20% US diversified (I like VONG for growth), 20-30% total world VT is a popular position, 10% cash like positions (Bonds,JEPQ, Div's in general). You have 20% to trade (decently hedged) and the ability to allocate some overweight positions to singular stocks. Start slow, CC are a good starting point.

blorg

Dividends are not free money and there is no reason to believe that a dividend ETF will outperform the overall market over 20 years. What it will do is spit out a higher level of dividends, which you then have to pay tax on before reinvestment, which causes a drag. So the question is, why not invest instead in the whole market, which would be VTI and if you are with Vanguard, I believe you can now auto-invest into that with your existing broker. Or for that matter, VT, which is global equities. International has done a lot worse than US the last 10-15 years but that doesn't mean it will be worse for the next decade, if anything it indicates that international is cheaper right now.

thetreece

The S&P500 has returned like 11.3% average over the past 50 years. It's also a much more diversified investment than a singular house. What if somebody opens a homeless shelter 2 blocks down the street and tanks your home value? Or the company that employed 2,000 people and maintained jobs and property value decides to close their warehouse and move to Mexico. A singular house can possibly lose major value that never recovers in the timeline you're interested in. The S&P500 diversifies this risk across 500 companies. Or even buying VT, diversified it across the entire global market. Also, far less hassle than dealing with rentals, repairs, screening renters, dealing with people that decide to quit paying rent, etc. Literally just auto deposit each pay check and forget it.

blorg

SCHX is the top 750 companies. As it's market weighted it's very close to the S&P500 and I would consider it effectively interchangeable but it's not quite the same thing. Schwab doesn't have a S&P500 ETF. But if he's with Vanguard anyway he could just do VOO (or better, VTI which is the whole market, or better yet, VT which is world equities).

ImpostureTechAdmin

VT is generally recommended. It's still heavily exposed to the US market, but you risk tons of growth by excluding the US

Lazy-Industry2136

You want easy and diversified VOO or SPY (they are basically the same) are hard to beat. They only invest in US companies though, so for complete global diversification in a single investment consider VT. Good luck with sobriety - you are still young and have a lot of time to accumulate savings!

IAmNotNathaniel

And the service gets worse and worse - every one I've been to in the last year has no one inside if you go in, have to use the big laggy super old shitty kiosk things. I see people wait at the register, but it takes a long time for someone to come out. The stores are dirtier than ever and the staff when you finally see them don't seem to know how to deal with the public, and the service is universally slower YMMV, I'm in the northeast, in the MA/VT/NY tri state area, I've noticed declines in all the stores I've gone to over the last 20 years

Trashcan_Johnson

Then buy VT and chill.

helpwithsong2024

If you don't wanna think, buy VT. It invests in 98% of the global investable marketable. The perfect equity ETF.

fundraiseranon

Honest question - for those of you who are boring retirement investors or are mostly retirement investors with maybe a small “play” account - are you putting money into the market right now? After exiting my entire “play” account full of long plays I’d bought in 2021 back in late January, I funded nearly my entire 2024 Roth IRA contribution with an expected check from a job + all the money I was holding from that play account during the early April bottom between that account and and felt really great about that decision/timing. I’ve been making my regular contribution past 2 weeks but I still have another $5k I’m holding onto in a HYSA. I could go ahead and fund the rest of my 2025 Roth in one fell swoop into VT at around $103, but I’m on the fence about what’s going to come next with the tariffs. I could also put some back into my “play” account where I could buy, say, Google which seems fairly cheap right now. Mostly just curious what you all would do if you were holding onto $5k that should eventually be invested into a Roth but you’re not in a rush.

SakuraKoyo

VT, you want to be diversified

Imaginary_Art_2412

I’ve been somewhat expecting other countries to bypass the US, so on days the US market is pumping I’ve been rebalancing some (not all) of my US and tech heavy investments into VT for more international exposure. I know that’s still ~60% made up of US stocks but just in case Asian or European countries grow faster out of this, I want to have some upside there

mobiusu

yeah this is what i do lol, i buy VT though but having this many cash also stresses me out so might as well stay invested.

PutinBoomedMe

I fucking quit about 6 weeks ago. Sold all of my individual positions not with substantial gains and just bought VT. I'm up 11% since that time

SpaceCatVII

My VT nearly green again so expect market to dump -30% Monday

InevitablePhrase2800

I’m 20 and i invest in reputable blue chip stocks i like (15%) and 85% index fund VT. Can you praise me please? Maybe pat my head?

18_NakedCowboys

It's an Index Fund. My explanation isn't worth your time tbh. You can Google that information and learn more than from me. But go to fidelity and open a trading account and invest in VT with leftover savings. Make sure you are investing in employer sponsored 401ks and tax advantage IRAs as well before doing this though. I'm not the most disciplined with this tbh but at least do a mix.

Fantastic_Escape_101

What’s VT?

18_NakedCowboys

I apologize, invest regularly into VT and go on with your life. You shouldn't be doing what you're doing with the knowledge that you have. Source: am one of those people who shouldn't be doing that either

FilthyWishDragon

VT for stocks,high risk high expected return BNDX for bonds, low risk low expected return vMFXX for cash,no risk very low expected return Mix and match as desired

reddorickt

As long as the class isn't like 100 students it is likely that buying something very boring like VTI will net you top half of the class. People picking individual stocks don't beat the general market on average. So VTI, VT, SPY, these are all relatively similar but technically different. You are unlikely to get #1, but you are very likely to get top half. If you go TQQQ or SQQQ you have a much better chance of getting either #1 or last in the class because of how volatile they are. If there's no benefit to being #1 there is no benefit to picking one of those stocks.

Tannhauser1982

An S&P 500 index fund is good; you may want to consider a globally diversified fund like VT. At the moment, that fund is about 63% US stocks and 37% international stocks. Fidelity and Schwab offer the most complete packages, unless you're looking for something specific from IBKR. In my view, Fidelity is the best brokerage to start with right now because of their automation tools (you can transfer money and buy investments on an automatic schedule). I wrote a [gentle intro to investing here](https://rjwthree.substack.com/p/stock-and-bond-investing-a-gentle). Hopefully you find it helpful if you check it out.

Denpants

I got a cd paying 4.35%. Could be good for ppl that aren't going to buy for a year. Covid happened in 2020, market spikes in 2021, and crashes in 2022, reversing in late 23. Ill wait until the tariffs have been in effect for at least a year before dca into value funds. Split FDVV, VT, JBBB, SDY and SPY for me. Should net a modest gain of 6 or 7 percent a year

Embarrassed-Amoeba62

Look pal… from what you’re writing you should keep your distance from putting money in any of the talks here. If you really want to just be in the market, take at most 30% of your cash reserve and put it in a fond like VT and forget about it for at least 5-10 years and later be happy it grew. Anything else means burning the money with a 90% chance.

Low-Introduction-565

Right but you were specifically asking about options and shorts, which are more like trading rather than strategic activities. But similar logic applies to say index buyers which a lot of people where will be, and which does close the loop: there is a pretty large class of index buyers who nonetheless underperform the index they are in, and the reason is, when it's studied, is that they try and do what you are talking about: moving in and out, trying to time before a drop, get back in on the way up, maybe moving into gold or bonds when things get a bit choppy, "adjusting their strategy". The problem is, it's more or less impossible to get right, and almost every time, they would have been better just to hold the course. This does only apply tho if you are in a broad index like VT or similar. If not, and maybe you're in individual shares, in which case you are in totally different territory.

mustermutti

Target date funds are a good default choice to give reasonable returns for reasonable risk. Switching to 100% stocks (such as VTI or better VT) can make sense too, but I would consider that slightly more advanced. Only do it if you're fully aware of and willing and able to accept the additional risk. Otherwise, chances are you'll trade out of it during the next market crash because something else performed better. Chasing performance pretty much guarantees poor results.

helpwithsong2024

Open an account an just start. You're young so time is your friend. Open a Roth IRA and start contributing. Buy the fund VT. It invests in every market and almost every company. You can't go wrong with that. Each dollar you out in now has the potential to turn into 100 through growth alone by the time you retire. Think about that!

Snoo70033

A perfect example why you should buy VT and forget all about this bullshit.

No-Horror7431

Put 95% in VT or bitcoin for 10+ years use 5% for gambling you’re set

xiongchiamiov

A lot of this happens automatically. If I own one share of A and one share of B, if their prices are equal then it's 50/50. Price of A doubles, now it's 67/33, without me needing to do a thing to adjust my portfolio. That's the power of market cap weighting and why it's so tax-efficient. There's probably more to it for VT since it's dealing with multiple exchanges and currencies, but yeah, this is the entire point of an index fund.

orcvader

In that hypothetical- yes. VT tracks an index and that index (FTSE Global) and that index’s job is to record the market cap weight of companies around the world. In your hypothetical, it would likely take a while, because the global market cap weights can’t shift so dramatically so quick. I mean, if they did something crazy and unheard of has happened.

Immediate_Ad3066

Just checked the composition...VT, Foreign holdings = 37.0%

drew-gen-x

25% $VT, 25% $SPY, 25% $PHYS/$GLD, $25% $TLT/$SGOV. You should never ask for advise here; but start playing around with those numbers above. I increased my gold ($PHYS) % in 2021 and I was way too early. Today it matters not that I was way too early buying gold. I am also too early buying $TLT in 2025. I believe in 2027 it also won't matter that I was too early buying US Treasuries. I DCA small amounts into $VT because I believe in the total world market valuations over US market valuations and own the $SPY b/c I know I will be wrong at market timing : )

helpwithsong2024

1. Their cash plus sucks. Just put the cash into their normal settlement account. It's designed to sweep into their money market fund nightly (VMFXX). That's paying 4.12% now, which is some of the highest rates. 2. When you say 'best' fund, do you mean a long term investment? Or a shorter term investment for your house? If longer, can't go wrong with VOO/VTI/VT. Pick one and stick with it. If shorter, again, I'd recommend their money market auto-sweep. You don't even have to think about it!

CoBr2

If your only support for your thesis is past performance, it's a shitty thesis. This doesn't negate analysis done based on actual facts, like GME having a dying brand/business model in a world where most games don't require physical hardware. Arguing for VT is arguing that you think the economy will do well over time, which you can support with an analysis of the economy. Saying it will do well today because it did well yesterday is stupid. Saying it will do well over the next 10 years because it did well over the last 10 years without any external analysis is also stupid. If you want to argue the U.S. economy will do well over the next 10 years because we have a strong framework of laws that help businesses flourish and that this framework is stronger than any individual administration, that's an actual thesis.

officejobssuck1

I don’t understand the concept of having your money sit unless you need within a year or less. My timeline is 5-10 years. Maybe a little longer. I continue to max out VTI and VT in my brokerage as well as max out my target date fund Roth IRA. These ups and downs are a part of the market. Zoom out. You’ll be glad you bought now instead of ATH

CapitalGains

Sure, real returns are what matter for purchasing power. But I guess all of this necessitates a comparison or alternative investment. If the alternative to investing is holding cash, then cash is similarly impacted by the erosion in purchasing power due to inflation. Most investment comparisons (e.g., investing in equities vs. cash or investment-grade fixed income) thus effectively difference out the effects of inflation for comparative analysis. Retirees are a different story. Many should have much lighter allocations to equities to begin within given their horizon and sequence of return risk. This is why most people advise higher allocations to fixed income investments in retirement. And by that point, they often don't have further infusions of capital so the lump sum vs DCA debate isn't as applicable. With a diversified investment like global equities (e.g., VT) your expected return is a combination of global economic growth and an equity risk premium. Enough diversification can mitigate country-level idiosyncratic risk, like in the Japan/China/UK examples. But of course global systematic risk still remains. It is possible we see a slowdown in global economic growth, which could then manifest in the earnings of the companies that make up the global index. This would then be a scenario where expected returns are not great, and may even be zero or negative in real terms. At any rate, I agree that people need to have an understanding of what they are buying into when they invest, where it be global indices or individual businesses, and the risks they are exposed to with these investments. I think this understanding is often lacking. Also agree that historical returns are no guarantee of the future.

India_ofcw8BG

I went from holding mutual funds like FZROX to holding SPY, VT and VOO. I sell and buy whenever I feel like now. It's not investing, I know. I'm keeping a close eye on presidential ramblings because that is what seems to be moving the market. I'm at -2% for the year while S&P 500 is -5%. I don't know if this stress is worth it. haha

daviddjg0033

Bond funds exist. 60% VT 40% BND is down a few percentage points this year. I saw large outflows from US equities, US bonds, and the dollar corrected 7% or more. I think some of that money will not return to the US. That does not mean the 40 year stock bull market is over.

Altruistic-Mammoth

Not getting back in yet, and if I did, it'd be VT or VXUS. I've realized I prefer some semblance of sanity and sense in where I park my money, and there seems to be none of that at the moment. And I don't trust the current administration one bit and I'm not in any of the cool kids' Signal chat groups. Holding my SPY puts through 9/30, QQQ through 8/15.

Doggo_Is_Life_

VT and chill.

MajesticEngineerMan

Well shit I sold a bunch of VT covered calls to get some premium and the market just keeps going up…

mobiusu

just buy VT then world is gonna recover with or without US the way i see it

malignantz

Sell your gold. Buy $VBIL. Then, exchange 1/12 monthly for $VT. Hold that until retirement.

Apeist

Buy VT and keep buying it until you die

HDauthentic

Oh no, the 0.5% of my VT shares that are TSLA are going down, what ever will I do  Anyways

curiouscirrus

If you want to diversify away from the US a bit and not have to think about stock asset allocation in the future, just VT and chill

VegetableJunkie

VT would be better.

PutinBoomedMe

Yeah this is pretty simple. Sell at an ATH and buy some VT and let it go

IceColdPorkSoda

Stop gambling with options. Just VT and chill

mobiusu

buy VT just because your country doesnt' grow doesn't mean other countries won't

Singularity-42

VT and chill

Talon660

Correct. Betting against VOO and thinking VT or VTI are going to dominate is going against everything we've ever known over the past 80 years or so. No one knows for sure but I don't see signs that there are fundamental shifts ahead. Either US factories once again dominate or we stay pretty much the same; there will likely be shifts in job markets this term but we will still hold most of the money bags.

NeedleworkerRight270

Before the tariff war I was 100% VOO. America is simply the best place for growth and I truly believed that. Unfortunately we have idiots that want to fuck with free trade and politicians who's job is to perform checks and balances are failing at it. I'd stick with VT now. It's weighted by market cap too so if/when America's global market share contracts it will be reflected in VT composition so you don't have to worry about anything.

_slofish

Visit r/bogleheads and start a 3 fund portfolio. That is US index, international index, and bonds. Funds like VT will cover US and foreign stocks so you can just buy the one ETF plus bonds. Keep it simple with most of your money and buy something you’re confident will go up, even if returns are slow. Be stupid with only a small percentage of your money, and if you make money doing something stupid then WITHDRAW your gains and put it into your boglehead portfolio