VTI

drew-gen-x

That's why I am buying $VXUS, $EWJ, and $VPL over $VTI. I want Kioxia, ASML, SK Hynix, Samsung, and TSM over NVIDIA, AMD, and the US $SOXX stocks. This is another variation of the HALO trade buying the actual fabs manufacturing the damn chips. IP only gets you so far and then you are at the mercy of paying the price for fab manufacturing capacity just like everyone else.

Lorddon1234

If 10K is a lot of money to you, you are better off investing in VTI. Going through massive drawdown (which can happen for a single stock) is not for the faint of heart. Case in point was Meta a few years ago

powenowicks

You're right to point out that that kind of feels like "luck", because it's not actually investing at all: it's speculation. The subtle difference is that investing involves knowing the risk parameters of what you're putting your money into, and speculating is disregarding that and gambling with the hopes of seeing extreme returns. As a young person you've unfortunately been inundated with pictures and videos of people YOLOing entire student loan checks on options and getting very lucky. Those people then post about it on social media and give you the false impression that you're missing out on your chance to get rich. What you don't see as much of is all of the people that did the same thing, lost it all, and have had to either take private loans or give up on the idea of getting sn education entirely. The vast majority if retail traders who speculate consistently lose, and then they either post about it on reddit for a consolation prize while they think about how to hide their losses from their partners. Speculation in the market and going to the casino are fundamentally the same thing, but speculation feels more "high brow" and business-like and the very few people that get lucky will tell you that they got rich by making smart "investments". This is false. This is a lie. At 18 you have an advantage that most investors dream of having: you have time. If you're 60 and you invest $100 it may only have 5, 10 or 15 years to grow before you need to withdraw it to help pay for living expenses. If the market crashes in that short time horizon you may actually end up with less than you put in, and you then don't have the time to wait it out until it recovers. At 18 that same $100 will have decades to appreciate in value. You can weather downturns. You can work, and you can buy more stock while others are having to panic sell. This is known as the "time value" of money. Don't starve yourself or skip out on enjoying the finer things in life when you're young, but do relentlessly set aside a portion of whatever you make and put it into a low-cost index fund (as others have been saying), like VTI through Vanguard. By the time you're 30 you'll be damn glad you did so, and while you're shopping for houses your friends will wonder if you're secretly a trust fund baby.

SerMumble

Start with a high yield savings account or open a brokerage with vanguard, fidelity, schwab or similar reputable company for your country and invest in a money market like SWVXX on Schwab, treasury bonds like SGOV, or similar. This will help you stay ahead of inflation with 3-4% interest/dividends until you learn more about what to invest in. Popular assets typically are etfs that track indexes like the S&P500 SPYM, Nasdaq 100 QNDX, total world index VTI, and similar. Some brokerages support automation like Schwab and their S&P500 SWPPX mutual funds can invest automatically on a weekly schedule so you have more time to focus on income and life.

___Art_Vandelay___

VTI and chill.

RiskBeforeReturn

Yes, I'd consider a simple 70/30 VTI/VXUS allocation a reasonable starting point. The exact percentages matter less than choosing a structure you understand, contributing consistently, and sticking with it through different market conditions. You can always refine it later as your goals and experience evolve.

DynaGuy-071

So say a 70/30 VTI and VXUS to begin with and follow it consistently?

smalltalk2k

If your timeline is 15+ years, the strategy doesn't change: Stay the Course: Keep buying broad, market-cap-weighted index funds (like VTI or VOO, or VT). A crash just means you buy the best companies in the world at a discount. Dial Down Risk if You Can't Sleep: If the volatility genuinely terrifies you, don't try to pick AI-free stocks. Just shift a percentage of your portfolio into fixed income (like short-term Treasuries) or an equal-weight index fund (like RSP) to dilute the mega-cap concentration. Time, not timing, is the ultimate hedge

Jealous_Bookkeeper20

If you end up in India, they tax worldwide income for residents. The Indian government doesn't recognize the Roth wrapper, so you'll owe annual taxes on the dividends and capital gains inside the account once you become a resident. Singapore is the opposite since they don't tax capital gains or foreign-sourced income, making the Roth safe there. Since India is the 80% outcome, holding simple index funds like VTI is much easier to report than complex REITs or dividend funds if you have to file Indian tax returns on them.

Jealous_Bookkeeper20

If you leave the US in 7 years, your destination country's tax treaty determines if the Roth IRA remains tax sheltered. Most countries don't recognize the Roth wrapper. You'll likely face annual taxes on dividends and capital gains back home, or you'll have to liquidate the account. If you end up liquidating it or paying local taxes, high-yield assets like VNQ and SCHD stack tax friction. VNQ's yield is taxed as ordinary income and it's highly inefficient outside a US tax shelter. A clean VTI and VXUS split's easier to manage and it's more treaty friendly. You've also got high look-through overlap. VOO, VIG, and SCHD share many of the same US large-cap holdings, which just layers the same domestic beta. Where do you plan to move after your US residency ends?

Grahvex

Low Cost index funds that track the SP500 use VOO for that. If not use VTI tracks entire US Market. Either one is great for long term as you will always be holding the winners.

toyz4me

If it’s my first $19k going into the market, I wouldn’t be trying to pick a single stock to try an hit it big I would get into o r or two of the ETFs that gives broader access to/ exposure to the markets. Such as: VOO IVV SPY VTI ITOT FXAIX

derprondo

I can pay off my home with cash, but I choose not to because that cash is making a lot more than the 3.5% interest by being in VTI.

Nonamenoname2025

Too much risk of her ending up with a smooth-talking salesman who puts her in high commission poor performing products or an outright criminal that steals her money. If a person doesn't want to learn about something as simple as VTI they aren't going to know when they are being scammed by a so called professional advisor.

scm66

VTI until I die.

beauty_land_drums

All we know is what the market is doing now and what it has done in past. If market is trending down now - maybe wait till it seems to have found a solid base support - and then lump the sum into the fund. But that is timing the market. If your fund is SnP index like VOO or even broader like VTI - then you’re probably safe lumping it in now (as the market has had some recent pullbacks) and thus getting the “time in the market”

IceHand41

When you say 85/15/5 is that VTI/VXUS/BND? I'm guessing that's an approximation since real life tends to be a little messier, and you mentioned some single stock pics. And what about shifting your "weight" from 60-40 to 90-10. Ratio of equities to ..what?

Valvador

Like how big? Like 10%, 20%, 50%? My largest concentration of stock I ever had was my own Employers RSUs. They kept going up and up and up, which made it seem stupid to sell, but it was basically 100% of my net worth at the time. It was having that value crashing down and the emotions of "what the fuck was I thinking?" that forced me to form a plan to diversify out of it over a set period of time to avoid the FOMO of the potential rebound, while also getting me closer to my goal of being diversified. It took 3 - 4 years to properly diversify and while I did not sell anywhere near peak, I did sell on average way higher than the "bottom" it dropped to that forced me to learn my mistake. The reality in hindsight is that I was basically financially illiterate. My family moved here from a collapsed USSR country, and where rapid "democratization" gave everyone stock options of the formerly public companies they were a part of and people that eventually became oligarchs tricked everyone into selling their "stock options" for cheap. To some extent, I still feel like stocks are a psychological game at a mass scale. It only keeps growing if the population keeps growing and everyone is piling in with 401ks, but it's still better than holding money in cash of Bonds. Take a deep breath, make a plan that will make you comfortable with the money you have invested regardless of whether it goes up or down. Here is the mental model I have now: * My company stock goes down, and if majority of my Net Worth is with my company I feel like I failed and I'm stressed because I think we have the power to do better regardless of the reason of the stock drop. * VT, VTI, VXUS goes down significantly, the entire world's market's are fucked up and there is nothing I can do about it and as long as I have the cash I need on hand I can wait it out. Owning a single stock feels suddenly makes it personal, emotional. Owning a basket feels like buying into a system. Buying into a system allows you to absolve yourself of emotional consequences (unless you truly invest the money that you still need soon).

pk_12345

It doesn’t have to be. If individual stocks are such a battle, VTI and chill. 

IndexFundPhil

yeah VTI is basically the whole US market in one ticker, so owning it means you already have LMT and NOC at their market cap weight. no extra work required. glad it was helpful!

AtomicNick47

Missing the forest for the trees. As long as the asset continues to grow while continuing to pay out the fact that in under performs the s&p is irrelevant. The goal of a solid dividend pick is to provide steady income. Wealth is only valuable if you can USE it. That’s why being house broke and “paper” millionaires is a thing. I have a system that creates me a tax free income without requiring me to sell my assets. To me - that’s success. The other thing that most people forget is that yes while the dividend asset may not appreciate in value as quickly as it is enabling you to buy more asset producing assets rather than stay locked in a single share value. It is inherently a superior model in my opinion. I make riskier than plays than shit like VTI I used leveraged ETFs, with aggressive yields that range between 10% and 30% annually. Yes I know technically some of the payments are distributions. It’s irrelevant because the NAV continues to rise. A majority of my holdings for the longest time were in LBS. in the February of this year I started to diversify and rebalanced into other leveraged etfs such as HHIS, HHIC, LLYH, NVDH which has sky rocketed my monthly income. So far I’m up on all of them and as I said producing a much stronger regular payment. Everyone is entitled to invest how they want but to me adding an extra 12 Gs to my annually income. On my current investment schedule I will be be earning 16K a month in passive income that I don’t have to pay tax on and is a lot more valuable than just staring at 1M in a bank account that I can do anything with or I have to borrow against to make cashflow happen.

bam2350

I'm going to provide extra context, which I think this conversation needs. I opened my brokerage account in 2015 with the goal to get better gains than my checking account which had accumulated too much cash. Lesson/question/change #1: Why didn't I figure out HYSA??? At the time, my father was my coach. He was fully retired, 75 years old, and living on dividends, social security, and pension. His guidance, which made sense to me, was towards dividend paying reliable stocks of companies that we're going to fail. For example MMM or ATT. He told tales of stocks he "couldn't afford to sell due to gains/tax" and the neat companies he had invested in (BGS) that had done so well. It seemed he clearly had it figured out. In time, Dad has passed, I have taken control of his old accounts to provide for my mother. There is clear evidence of emotional investing, and choices he made clearly haven't all panned out. For example, the BGS shares he gifted me are now nearly worthless. Lesson/question/change #2: Dad wasn't a genius and didn't always get it right. Lesson#3: Emotional decision making is frequently not the best. However, my mother remains well provided for, even as her costs skyrocket in assisted living. Dad was a proponent of picking individual stocks. Through time I have largely moved away from this. I continue to hold individual stocks, which has generally been OK, but hasn't "beat the market". However, since my objective was to do better than my checking account, I'm doing very well. Lesson/change #4: Instead of focusing on picking individual stocks, using broad index funds is easier and quite successful. Lesson #5: Understand and remember your objectives. At this point, VOO, VTI, and DIA account for about 30% of my brokerage portfolio. A few big winner individual stocks and a few more funds (including SGOV) round out my top 10 holdings. Going forward, I will almost certainly continue to focus on adding to my VOO, VTI, and SGOV positions. I have benefited from and enjoyed my dividends. However, some of my worst moves have been "dividend chasing". At one point, rather than benefitting from the modest monthly dividend from VOO or the declining % yield from CAT I chased dividends in a bond fund RA. I'm about 25% down on that, and while it continues to pay well above 5%, fees will eat into that. I'd have been ahead to purchase VOO, CAT, or KO. Buffet has benefitted from dividend stocks, but doesn't pay a dividend... Lesson/change #6: Don't chase the high dividends, benefit from strong stocks that pay a modest yield. Time in the market....

No-Lifeguard-8767

For me it was ATCH, Beyond Meat, and now SRXH. In total I gained $17,000 in about a week but then lost $23,000 over a couple month period. Gave up and going forward will only do VOO and VTI.

Agreeable_Bear6812

I think you're too black and white about this. Sure, put most of your portfolio in indexes and don't chase trends, but hell yes you should absolutely play with a portion. For example, I bought $1000 of Palantir at around $36 per share; when it got to $180 per share I sold all but one share of it and rolled the profits into VTI. If you're not reckless you can use individual stocks to fuel your portfolio growth. Sometimes I lose...I once bought $1000 of a pot stock when that was a thing around 2011-2013. That investment is worth about $26 now. Point is that it's okay to place risky bets as long as you don't risk more than you can afford to lose.

LectureForsaken6782

Oh right, i know divies aren't free...but thanks for the note on VTI...I didn't know that's how it worked

IndexFundPhil

LMT and NOC are solid companies but just a heads up — dividends aren't free money, the share price drops by the dividend amount on ex-div date. both of these are already in VTI at market cap weight, so a total market fund gives you the same exposure without the single-stock risk. worth considering if you're aiming for long-term

Malprin

VOO / VTI and chill. Maybe mix in a little world or international ETFs if you want. Time is your biggest asset right now.

ra__account

> my Dividend portfolio is up over 120% in 4.5 years Sure, what's in it? VTI and VOO are at 66.55% and 70.80% during that time period, so you're either very lucky or a mad genius. Or full of it, given that every specific stock you mentioned has underperformed index funds the past 4.5 years. VERY badly in the case of P&G and AWR. https://schrts.co/FQEzcAUi (as a note, this includes DRIPing the dividends at a 0% tax rate)

JimiForPresident

If “we” is your portfolio, then sure, it’s possible. But SPY and VTI are down less than 1% from June 2nd all time highs.

JRshoe1997

Index funds. VOO and VTI when you’re just starting. Good on you for starting so early!

2plus2_equals_5

Total market index funds. VTI/VXUS or VT

jvaritek33c

She should stick to non-sector specific index funds until she knows enough to make that call herself for her own risk profile. VOO WAS my tech-exposure recommendation as opposed to the true conservative answer which would be VTI until she knows enough to specialize In short, I agree with you, but due to her young age I feel it's better to keep it maximally diversified while she uses the time to learn about her specific investment style Maybe she's a value investor, maybe a growth investor, maybe she ends up selling theta to option freaks But for now she's a 15 year old with homework and friend group drama and everything that comes with being a teen and QQQ can swing a lot for a new investor and comes with its own drama of "is it a bubble?"

ofesfipf889534

Open a Roth IRA and buy VTI

vertigo88

You don’t. Just buy VT/VTI/VOO/QQQ or some mixture and flavour and chill.

shitbergfuckstick

VTI and get high...

user4443337

What about using funds like Dimensional and Avantis that have shown to beat the indexes with flexible trading and implementation? I don’t own DFUS, but it has beaten VTI over time. DFAX has beaten VXUS, they’re very similar but they try to have a slight edge. Don’t own those funds though - it’s not a free lunch and it is some risk. But they do estimate a tiny amount of gains for the patient, flexible trading as opposed to being forced into the index rules. https://stockanalysis.com/etf/compare/dfus-vs-vti-vs-dfax-vs-vxus/ Of course this is a short time period and they can underperform, but with all their research they totally could edge out the market over time.

FewCinnamon

I spent days trying to learn. Eventually I realized I probably can't beat or time the market, so I just ended up investing into VTI + VXUS

viperex

You know damn well OP isn't talking about VTI. Just because the overall market is going sideways doesn't mean some sectors aren't in a pullback

_BearHawk

You're arguing against a strawman. I'm not saying yolo your entire portfolio into penny stocks. I'm saying when you're 25 and your net worth is $30k, allocating a small percentage to higher-risk/higher-reward plays makes sense precisely because of the asymmetry. The expected value calculation changes when you have 40 years of compounding ahead of you. Yes, most individual picks underperform. But the downside is capped (you lose the $5k, which you can re-earn in a couple months of saving) while the upside is lifechanging. That's not reckless, that's just math. Nobody is saying don't also have index funds as your core. But telling a 25 year old to put every dollar into VTI and nothing else is optimizing for median outcome at the expense of any shot at an exceptional one.

PomegranatePlenty110

I have, I’m not huge into the market, and kind of set it forget it. I was thinking 70% VTI, 20% VXUS and 10% BND.

jabs09

Low cost index ETF like VTI/VOO it’s better that way

MegaWeinerFarts

VTI

ra__account

People invest for income, people invest for medium term purchases like a house in 10 years, people invest for retirement. And other things. Knowing what you're trying to do is important to give accurate advice. If you're investing for retirement, you should not be selling. You buy VTI/VOO or equivalent and you sit on it until retirement. You want to move as much of it as you can into a tax shelter. Are you legally documenting any of what income you do have? That's a requirement to have either an IRA or self employment 401(k).

whitenoize086

Usually telling them to go VOO or VTI doesn't work out cause what if the crash comes. I start by getting them to open a brokerage and go full SGOV. Then remind them of the VTI gains comparatively over time.

Delicious_Bicycle527

I’m thinking the SPY has many hidden costs that don’t get advertised. For instance being forced to buy at a high because every index piles in at the exact same time when something is added to the SPY. …. Basic supply and demand shock is a major expense to VTI and others.

LanceX2

yes. VTI is up 10% by July. "substandard"

milkplantation

Nothing will survive a true crash. Outside of short term treasuries, everything will get crushed. A market correction is inevitable, but we also can't predict the cause or type of market decline, so it's difficult to forecast which ETFs will fair better. As an example, VOO's valuation is very rich, while VXUS has a lower valuation. Logic would suggest that VXUS is priced for more growth over the long term, but few could have predicted the current issues in the Middle East. Global and emerging markets are more sensitive to fluctuations in oil prices than the U.S., and accordingly, when Hormuz was shut down, VXUS was hit harder in the drawdown. So, as the saying goes, "diversification is the only free lunch in investing." With that said, you could buy the whole market with 80-90% of your portfolio in something like VT total world ETF. Or, you could mix VTI and VXUS to a ratio that suits you. It's also worth noting, though not an ETF, Berkshire Hathaway is a diverse holding company and stock with the most downside protection. They have 400 billion dollars on the sidelines in the event that a crash does occur. They also have a floor in how far the stock can actually fall as they buy back their own shares with that 400 billion if the price decreases enough. They also hold a lot of recession proof businesses like railways and energy companies. The stock tends to underperform the market during a bull run, of which we're currently in, so you will have to accept less portfolio growth in the near term in exchange for that downside protection. One last note, keep your cash in a high-interest savings account (HISA) or buy short term treasuries (T-Bills). Both HISA's and T-Bills are often called cash equivalents. They'll mitigate the capital loss caused by inflation while giving you modest returns with zero downside risk. SGOV is an ETF that acts like short term treasuries, paying you out with a dividend by holding government debt. Look into how this works. It adds up.

RichardKowalski1

Honestly most people asking this end up buying VTI or similar anyway. Just skip the year of research.Low expense ratio and broad market coverage is basically all you need for ETFs. Individual stocks are their own game, you actually need to understand the business. My cousin spent 2 years reading finance books before he just gave

Apart-Selection5680

All ETFs will decline in the event of a crash. Diversification can help only to an extent. I would split it this way - 30% VTI, 20% VTV, 25% VXUS, 25% VUSXX.

Proud_Possibility256

Your advisor is feeding off of your mother's money, he does not care about you. VTI is your answer. 

MenopauseMedicine

The advisor will suggest investments upon which they get a commission in addition to the fee you're already paying them regardless of the performance of that investment. After ensuring you have an emergency fund. Open a Schwab account, put all your money it, buy VOO or VTI. You just saved a lot of money.

sexyshadyshadowbeard

Actually, you should invest in VOO or VTI or SPY because you don’t understand. It’s investing in stocks in its simplest form for a novice investor. Most on here suggest VOO because it’s the lowest fee structure of all of these very similar investments. It’s also the index to measure any advisors worth (ie is s/he beating this index?).

OutspokenLurker

If the advisor charges $300/year, probably OK if he's checking every few months like that. But why even have an advisor? Just put it in VOO or VTI and so some self-study over the next 20 years while it grows.

DrEtatstician

Just dump the money in VTI and forget

WhiteLotus_1776

Managed accounts always lag and you lose tons of money in their fees over 40 years. Get rid of that. Also Robinhood sucks, move to either Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard. 70% VTI / 20% VHUS / 10% is how I have my teenage son’s Roth IRA and it’s done great

GatorBo69

It’s all individual stocks, over 200+ stocks so that way there’s no expense ratio (since I’m obvs paying them, lol) I’m pretty impressed with their choices but have to admit I would NEVER have picked what they have.. They obvs have strong positions in the Mag7 stocks, but also BP, Amex, Lilly, ASML, CAT, Coca Cola, Citi, I mean I could go on.. Stocks from S&P, Dow, Nasdaq and spread fairly evenly across recognizable names, but they change their positions based on the market and trends… My portfolio isn’t heavy in any one sector, which I actually like, but I can’t deny the performance is astounding. Surprisingly I have no positions in RKLB or SpaceX as of now, but I did start my own brokerage account that only has like $115k in it where I try to “beat Fisher” but have never been able to come close. I basically follow the standard playbook that most people use: 50% VTI, 30% VXUS, 20% VOO, but I recently opened a $40k position in FSELX at the beginning of the year that has been performing amazingly, especially since I opened it in the middle of March, lol. I try to always have $100k in liquid cash in my HYSA so I can jump into a position during a market downturn. Trump made a pattern in his first term that I have been able to benefit greatly from, last year when he announced the tariffs I threw all of my $100k over to Fisher, and then this year when I saw he was getting ready to do the same thing in late January with the Iraq war I asked Fisher to exit my positions, gave them $60k and asked them to wait until March to reinvest, and that’s when I used the other $40k to open my own holding in FSELX.. But I’m not ballsy enough to do what you did!! And I gotta say, it will most def pay off, bc we have never had a President that has manipulated the market more, and I absolutely love it, lol

Particular_Maize6849

If you have any high interest debt (i.e. credit card debt), put it towards that first. If you don't have any savings at all, put it in an HYSA that you will try to build up to at least a months of expenses. If that's all taken care of, only then start to invest. Put it in VTI or VOO or something. Don't pick individual stocks.

CryptoSamia

I mostly just hold VTI so I get all of them anyway lol. but if i had to pick I'm with you on google at the top, youtube alone is insane and nobody talks about it enough. I'd probably swap meta up though, they print money on ads. nvidia I'd put lower just cause everyone already expects perfection from it, feels like a lot is priced in. and yeah tesla last, its barely trades like a normal stock. Apple idk, I'm kinda meh on it but I have no reason on that other than I don't like their products so it's personal

DoinIt4DaShorteez

No, VTI and VXUS are fine for a majority of your portfolio. SMH gives you plenty of aggressive growth exposure.

Dazzling_Repeat_3950

VOO vs SPY is basically Coke vs Pepsi, you’re splitting hairs at that point. Pick one, set up automatic contributions every paycheck, and don’t touch it for 10 to 20 years. If you want to get slightly fancier while still lazy, some people do 80 percent VOO and 20 percent VXUS for international, or just grab a total market fund like VTI and call it a day.

AndyMilonakis717

Dude should be in VTI

InvestingNerd2020

First I want to congratulate you and your father for starting on this pathway. Too many people are scared to invest. Nowadays it is a lot easier to do so, and the way to grow wealth long-term (5+ years) has been well refined. 2 good books to read that helped me a lot are: - Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J Stanley. - I will teach you to be rich by Ramit Sethi. Lean about different retirement accounts (company sponsored and individual ones), active vs index funds, and ETFs vs mutual funds. Accept that investing into most individual stocks is far worse than a collection of stocks (index ETF or index mutual fund). The only exceptions are high growth stocks that are literally effecting an economy (Tesla, Google, or Nvidia). Also, the most popular funds are not always the best to apply in all situations. Mindlessly following VOO and VTI isn't the best thing to invest into in every account type. Some other investments have lower expense ratios, better automation, can be less difficult with brokers that don't offer fractional share investing, or better suited when turning on the breaks in retirement. Zero expense ratio funds with good performance are around. The only things I would have done differently, would have setup a HYSA sooner and invested into a Roth IRA sooner with my tax returns. However, the 2000s was a bad decade to start with far more limitations and fees. This generation has it far too easy, which I am happy for them. Just take full advantage of it. Avoid brokers with bad customer service (Robinhood and E*Trade). Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Vanguard, or SoFi are the best choices for long-term investing with good to decent customer service. At your age and using a custodial Taxable brokerage account, just get started with ETF SPYM. Lowest expense ratio for a good ETF and it follows the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 index requires all the stocks in it to have 4 straight quarters of profits, so only winners.

youngishgeezer

I hope you’re investing this in an IRA. If it’s in a traditional brokerage you should consider splitting your VT investment into the US portion and non US portion by buying VTI & VXUS instead. It slightly lower fees, but more importantly will let you reduce your taxes on the foreign fund distributions. But really just aim to max out your Roth IRA every year and buy VT. $100 per month is a great start.

RichardKowalski1

Put it all in VTI or a similar total market index fund and forget about it. Don't try to pick individual stocks at this stage, the expense ratios on broad index funds are basically zero and you get the whole market. The one thing I wish someone told me at 16: stop reading financial news, it makes you want to do things to your portfolio when doing nothing is usually the right call.

D1rtyH1ppy

I think full port GOOG is a good move. I'd sleep better at night with VTI, but that's just me.

UnfairDiscount8331

Do you think I’m being a little too safe sticking to VTI and VXUS?

Thermogenic

One thing I’ll add is VT is a bit inefficient in a taxable account. In a taxable account you may be better off with a blend of VTI and VXUS to have roughly the same coverage but capture some of the tax benefits of foreign dividends. VT traditionally does not have enough in foreign investments to be eligible for the foreign tax credit.

plshelpmebuddah

VTI is \~1.6% off ATHs lmao. If there's a real correction, there will be so many tears in this sub JFC.

madhattr999

If the price doesn't drop in 6 months, then there's no bag being held. The relevance of it being float-adjusted is that significant time is elapsing to discover a truer price. The insiders' shares are not on the market, and not reflected in VTI.

blindnlearning2see

Just put 10% of your pay when paid into VOO (or whatever VTI, etc.). For most people this is twice a month.

Sufficient_Habit5091

Again you are reframing into a straw man. No one is saying that isn't VTI's duty. What OP was stating was if SPCX is being dumped onto VTI bagholders from insiders. And you're response is "it's float-adjusted" which is completely irrelevant as that will change soon to 40% and then 100% next year. Sure if it tanks a lot then we can all say "no problem". But if it doesn't the argument holds.

madhattr999

I don't really see it as moving the goal posts. VTI has a duty to replicate the performance of the total market, even if that includes stocks that aren't fairly-valued. I very much agree with you that its problematic for insiders to be dumping shares onto the public when the stock price is being manipulated to be higher than it's worth. I don't think the solution can be that Vanguard creates that solution (whether its some special exception to exclude SpaceX or something else).

FistEnergy

VTI

drew-gen-x

In fairness the whole world economy & markets have pumped up by money printing. But that's why when I am asked if I am concerned that $VXUS is being propped up by Samsung, ASML, TSM, and SK; I say yes. But those stocks make up less than 10% of the market cap of $VXUS vs $VTI being at 37% tech/Mag 7 stocks. Everything will get hit if this bubble pops. But I don't think people are looking at what is in what they own and are buying. This is what people are missing about today vs dot com. It wasn't the shit tech stocks that crashed the market. It was that everyone owned the same 6-10 stocks and they made up over 35% of the $SPY. If everyone owns the same damn stocks and they all start to fall then who is gonna buy when everyone is selling the same 6-10 stocks when they sell their index funds???

madhattr999

You're saying price discovery doesn't matter? If the stock moves down toward more objective values between now and the end of the year, that's a good thing. A total market index like VTI should include SpaceX, simply because it's part of the market. And it makes sense to be float-adjusted so that only attainable shares are included. If by the end of the year, all of those shares are attainable, then I think that's fair and reasonable. I dislike Musk and corrupted practices as much as anyone, but total market indexes need to include the stock.

drew-gen-x

There's a lot to be concerned about with the absurd valuation of $SPCX entering the Nasdaq. I don't know enough about when it will enter the $SPY or $VTI. I did buy some $VT today and I'm sure $SPCX will be in there as well, but at a much lower concentration than $VTI. And we are gonna get OpenAi piece of shit IPO eventually as well. The markets need to follow the old rules where a stock had to wait 2-3 years before entering the S&P and Nasdaq. This is another reason I am more bullish world ex US over US stocks. There's risks everywhere, but the Nasdaq is super concentrated w over valued stocks bleeding cash right now. Mag 7 super spenders and now Space X and soon Open AI. And it would be 1 thing if these stocks made up 10-15% of the market cap concentration of Nasdaq. But it's gonna be near 40% after Space X is added to the Mag 7 stocks.

Sufficient_Habit5091

It's not about price discovery? It's that a substantial amount of stock will be unloaded on retirement accounts, VTI, target date funds, large cap blend, etc. It's the grift and people unknowingly buying this overvalued crap that's the problem. Never in history have we had an instant mega cap at such a size besides Aramco. Except that was a state backed mega profitable company printing $110B in pure net income a year. Not hemorrhaging cash.

madhattr999

I'm no expert, but I think there's a big difference between VTI having to allocate 5% of the market cap of SPCX vs 100%... "by end of year" and "by 2027" is the same thing.. So I'm not sure what you're trying to say there. 6 months is lots of time for price discovery, compared to one or two weeks.

Sufficient_Habit5091

There's rampant misinformation about how much SPCX is grifting and conning retirement accounts. People keep saying "VTI is float-adjusted!" Why would that matter? By EOY 40% of shares will enter float. By next year 100%: https://i.imgur.com/H7SSWKN.png

Sufficient_Habit5091

There's rampant misinformation about how much SPCX is grifting retirement accounts. People keep saying "VTI is float-adjusted!" Why would that matter? By EOY 40% of shares will enter float. By next year 100%: https://i.imgur.com/H7SSWKN.png

AskPatient1281

Because of diversification -> smaller risk. With VOO you invest in 500 companies. With VTI and VXUS you invest in 12,000 companies in the entire globe.

CryptoSamia

first off sorry for your loss, and smart of you to not just blow it. keeping some in the HYSA as your emergency fund is actually the right call, dont invest all of it. for the rest, open a Roth IRA (Fidelity or Schwab are both easy) and put money into a total market index fund like VTI or a target date fund, then just leave it alone. you dont need to pick stocks or time anything at 20, time is your biggest advantage. set up auto investing monthly with whatever you can comfortably spare and let it ride. one more thing, if the inheritance is a bigger sum, it might be worth a one time chat with a fee-only fiduciary advisor (flat fee, not someone selling you stuff) just to get a plan that fits your situation.

CryptoSamia

I've been thinking about why so many new investors blow up their accounts and it usually comes down to one thing, they treat the market like a casino instead of a savings machine. the stuff that actually works is kinda boring. pick a low cost index fund like VOO or VTI, buy the same amount every week no matter what the price is, and just dont touch it. thats it. no charts, no timing, no checking it 12 times a day. The magic isnt picking the perfect fund, its consistency. when the market drops everyone panics and stops buying, but thats literally when your $100 buys more shares on sale. the people who keep buying through the scary times are the ones who win over 10-20 years. two things that help a lot: automate it so you never have to think about it, and if you can, use a Roth IRA so you dont get taxed on all those gains later. whats the boring habit that made the biggest difference for you? curious what people wish they started sooner.

Regular-Print2896

Thanks! I heard the VT and VTI were some solid global trades ❤️

AskPatient1281

It is a great idea! $100/week in VTI is even better. $80/week in VTI and $20/week in VXUS is even better better bestest.

RJ5R

If I just put $1,000 per month into VTI for 40 years will I be able to retire?

drew-gen-x

Well, that's good to know. BTD in $VTI over the $QQQ.

madhattr999

I think SPY needs to wait a year.. And VTI is float-adjusted... so I think QQQ is the only problematic one.

drew-gen-x

Luckily, $SPCX has every $VTI, $QQQ, and $SPY buyer to help lighten up those bags.

Walkabye25

If patterns are still a thing. Triple top pattern on VTI.

DoU92

No speculation allowed in the stock subreddit,sir! Buy VTI and stop discussing exciting new industries that need time to mature! Imagine being THAT guy.

MayaIsSunshine

Oh no, VTI is down 0.5% in pre-market, how will I survive 🫨

leaning_on_a_wheel

Buying broad indices like VTI is already treading carefully enough. Don’t try to time the market, just keep buying and never sell

vn2017s

You can recover, but takes long time. Make strict rules. No margin. Put 90% in VTSAX, 10% do option trading. I suggest MF version. As you can't trade it like ETF VTI . It curbs the impulse trading. If you have side job, slowly add money. Withdraw if you have winning week and spend it.

gucciman333

Incredible and how much did you start with when you invested in VTI? No one is making 8 figures with a regular day job throwing money into vanguard.

Exquisite-Load8654

No - Buy VTI. Save yourself from yourself.

drew-gen-x

I'm 80% World ex US if you add in Gold. $VXUS is my largest position and I am well aware that most of the gains this year have come from ASML, TSM, Samsung & SK. But at the end of the day $VXUS has 21% tech market cap weight vs $VTI 36.95% tech market cap weight. I find it hilarious that people are fleeing to the Mag 7 cap ex spenders or $VTI as a flight to safety. It might work. But you are less diversified and have a much higher tech market cap concentration than the foreign markets you are claiming have hit their tech peak. Any way Cheers & good luck.

earthwormdeath

I think he just means that S&P general funds - like VTI for example - are styled to reflect the overall market. Thus - when there are bad apples (large company, low performer) - those apples would naturally over time be replaced by some nice shiny ones. This is because the float of the company that is underperforming decreases. As the goal of these index funds are the mirror the overall market - an underperforming company’s will hold less weight relative to the index portfolio as the size of the company relative to the overall market decreases.

drew-gen-x

This is a market. Prices go up and prices go down. I'd be much more worried about SpaceX diluting my $QQQ or $VTI positions if I had any. Everyone is calling for the tops in these semi companies like Samsung and yet Samsung projecting to make more money this quarter than any company ever & has a market cap that is lower than that SpaceX pos stock burning hundreds of billions of dollars being shoved down the throats of every 401K in America that is in the $SPY or $QQQ. I think people need to look at what they actually own and ask themselves which stocks or indices are actually in a bubble??

Alucard2051

VTI