VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Mentions (24Hr)
-54.55% Today
Reddit Posts
23 F advice on my long term portfolio: VTI/QQQM/Costco
Is it ok to never have bonds if you start investing early?
Let's go! For most, the best investment route is to just purchase a S&P500 index fund/ETF and hold on (*while adding to it often and extra when markets are in a down-cycle). Vanguard's VOO and VFINX have low expense ratios % and are great choices! VTI / VTSMX are also good (total market) options.
Let's go! For most, the best investment route is to just purchase a S&P500 index fund/ETF and hold on (*while adding to it often and extra when markets are in a down-cycle). Vanguard's VOO and VFINX have low expense ratios % and are great choices! VTI / VTSMX are also good (total market) options.
Let's go! For most, the best investment route is to just purchase a S&P500 index fund/ETF and hold on (*while adding to it often and extra when markets are in a down-cycle). Vanguard's VOO and VFINX have low expense ratios % and are great choices! VTI / VTSMX are also good (total market) options.
I hit $100,000 in Broad Market Index Funds (mostly VOO and VTI) this Jan
I have about 10k on hand. Thinking 50% VTI or VT,30% VXUS, and rest 20% in stocks. Unsure about my ETF choices though
Target Date Funds (TDF) in Taxable Account for Money Needed in 4-5 Years?
What to do with $300,000 just sitting in my checking account?
Thoughts on 31yo investment portfolio - big pay raise next year and questions
100% stocks is not universally good advice. Stock market indexes are not always the right benchmark for your performance.
Is FZIPX same as AVUV? Looking for Low ER small cap ETF
I'm creating a portfolio for my brother, any thoughts?
Lost eBay Lego bid war, now have 1.3k, what stock to invest for coping
Where to invest 10k leveraged from CC cash advance (5% fee)?
As a non-US resident is it worth getting Ireland-domiciled ETFs?
3rd year of maxing out my roth ira. How do my allocations look
Limited International Fund Options in Employer’s 401K Plan?
Choosing spouses growth stocks for taxable account
Three things that will happen in the next 1-2 months. Willing to ban bet any of these if you are.
Okay Portfolio Going Into 2024? [23 YOLD Looking for long term investments]
Thinking about a higher growth portfolio for the new year.
30 year old. What's got the greatest possible potential for returns? TQQQ?
What is the quality of stock markets in other countries compared to US?
Searching for advice on F1 NRA brokerage accounts (Vanguard Vs. Schwab)
Started 529 account for child, invested in "NH Portfolio 2042 (Fidelity Index)"
With IRAs about to reset for 2014 what are you all planning to buy?
Portfollio allocation after move from edward jones
Do you ever buy stocks outside of the indexes and Mag 7 near all time highs?
Investing brokerage accounts for my kids and nieces - best course of action?
Investing advice for moving around 100k into ETFs
I've got $500K burning a hole in my pocket: should I bet it all on tech stocks?
Mentions
Just invest in VTI, VXUS, and maybe VYM or VOO (those are my 4). I do a 2:1 split on VTI and VXUS. For every 2 shares of VTI I have one share of VXUS and that covers US and foreign market funds. That’s where for me my return and I feel it’s a pretty safe investment. Just remember though anything you read on this sub isn’t advice, it’s just the ramblings of retards.
This blend is actually quite aggressive for a 15-20 year horizon. While the cost efficiency is excellent, you are essentially double-dipping VOO with VTV and VGT. This creates a concentrated bet on one sector that will likely fall harder during a market correction compared to a simpler approach. I usually use the portfolio cross-referencing on trylattice to spot this kind of diworsification and check stock filings for better geographic balance. A simpler 70 percent VTI and 30 percent VXUS split would give you similar growth potential with way less maintenance and better diversification.
I get the sentiment, the massive jumps or dumps based on a single tweet are incredibly frustrating, but like said, Index funds. I'm about 45% VFIAX, 45% VTI, 5% VGT and the other 5% is a few random single stocks. My timeline isn't that great, I'd like to retire in 10 years and not where I'd like to be, but doing alright in the grand scheme, I guess. I do wish I'd have started investing in my early 20's, I will say that
Passive investing only works in an efficient free market. The US is closer to a centrally planned communist or fascist economy right now. Passive investors are easy targets in this system. Billionaire owners of speculative tech companies with lofty valuations are selling stock to index investors and using the cash to buy less risky assets like land. Trustworthy companies like Vanguard bundle these junk companies together and sell them to index investors the same way Wall Street firms bundled together terrible mortgages and rated them AAA during the Great Recession. Investors that should be 60-40 stocks to bonds are 70-30 or worse. They feel safe because they’re invested in a trust with asset like VTI. But while Vanguard itself is safe, you’re passively invested mostly in a handful of megacap tech stocks. The main source of the capital to drive their valuations came from Gulf oil monarchs whose main assets, oil fields, are literally on fire right now. That means they’re going to crash down quickly. So my advice is to figure out the real asset allocation for your age according to Vanguard’s target date retirement fund, and invest there. That means holding boring bonds. Don’t be one of the risk taking idiots who holds 100% VT or a tilt to speculative tech. There’s a ton of them in /r/Bogleheads these days. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc120RAcx48 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/23/volume-in-stock-and-oil-futures-surged-minutes-before-trumps-market-turning-post.html
I’m not swing trading VTI LOL. I’m holding for 20-45 years
I dunno, DCA VTI (or similar index funds) and chill is a very popular strategy on Reddit and it’s never steered me wrong.
VT is a good mix imo. It's about 60/40 in VTI (US total market) / VXUS (international).
So complicated. Why not just 100% VTI or voo?
NVDA and BTC and MSFT and AMZN. This is my brokerage. My other account is VTI, VXUS, and QQQM but don’t trade at all in that.
VTI, VXUS, VTO all have done me well.
You don't lose unless you sell, first of all. Second, Trying to time and manipulate the market because of a war that's been brewing and poked at by Netanyahu for 30 years just.... doesn't seem very smart to me. Maybe just stick to the boglehead method. VTI / VXUS / BND and chill out. Set automatic deposits and buys and then hide the app. Don't look at it. If you're sick, just fast, don't eat sugar until you're better. Doctor won't do anything besides bill you and maybe suppress some symptoms
I'm about to turn 30 and have been putting all my disposable income into VTI since I graduated college. I have like $500k, almost half of which is gains. I'm getting engaged and buying a house this year. The stock market is awesome, America is awesome. You're a retard.
Could have put into VTI and made more.
ha 90/10 VXUS/VTI is wild. Even as someone who has a high VXUS % I couldn't go past 50%
This is why you hold VTI + VXUS. If you don’t believe in US market, you can do 90% VXUS and 10% VTI, or none at all. lol.
I have made thousands and thousands of dollars putting my money 70/30 in VTI/VXUS (and so have millions of others) over that time dawg. This is the most basic, boring way to make money, but it's good money.
Yup I sort of like the little 2 percent dips I just buy more VTI
When the markets are frustrating and down for some prolonged period of time, I just focus on my ETF holdings. This country is organized around the idea of making money, so it can’t go down forever. May as well throw my money into something I know will bounce back with it like VTI/VOO/etc.
I’m not doing anything different from a year or two ago. VTI/VXUS
Nope I'm decades from retirement and I'm still buying VXUS and VTI regularly The market is irrational. No point wasting time and energy trying to understand it
Like what for example ? Should I pull everything out of s&p and transfer into VTI? I’ve been doing this a year and I’ve started when the market was fortunately taking off , I know for a fact big losses if I see them, I can’t stomach. Hell no. I have all my capital in this.
There’s an 88% overlap between VTI and VOO. It’s slightly more diversified, but not by much.
Good idea most of the time but not great when there's an obvious crash on the horizon. By the way, when did people start stanning VTI over VOO?
Same as every paycheck. VTI/VXUS across all accounts.
This isn't even Bull vs Bear. This is peace vs millions dying. This is 70s stagflation or 08 recession vs. a normal steady market pricing. I'm 98% cash and loving it while this unhinged maniac idiot continues to sleepwalk right into WWIII. Hope the world survives, but boy am I waiting for VTI to come down to 270-
VOO, VTI, VXUS with repeat contributions and chill
You’re overthinking it. VTI and chill
I don't usually do short term plays but I thought what the hell. I sold a portion of my IAU right when gold was starting to drop off. Put in to MAGS rather than trying to pick something specific. I'm adding to VUG, VTI etc because it's a good time to do so but MAGS I will sell off when things blow over. Could be 3 weeks could be 3 months. If it's 3 years then that's okay too.
My VTI buy is on every two weeks regardless of what's in the news.
I’ve been DCA last 2 weeks. Started around $326 (VTI) and went down to $319. Still have powder ready to go. Hopefully can see 275-290
Actually buying, not pretending. Added to SCHD, VTI, and some individual positions in GOOGL and META this past week. My framework: I never try to catch the exact bottom - that is a fool game. Instead I ask: Is the business I am buying fundamentally impaired by what is causing the selloff, or is it caught in macro crossfire? If it is macro crossfire (tariff uncertainty, Fed noise, geopolitical flare-ups) and the underlying business is intact, that is usually a buying opportunity. The businesses I am adding to generate real cash flow, have pricing power, and have survived multiple downturns. The fear right now feels like a mix of legitimate concerns about tariffs and their second-order effects, and pure sentiment contagion. The companies with real moats tend to work through these periods. That said, I am not going all-in at once. Dollar-cost averaging into volatility is how I manage my own uncertainty - because I know I cannot time the market, but I do know that broad market drawdowns have historically been buying opportunities on 3-5 year horizons.
Manipulation will keep it volatile (more bulltraps are good for liquidation with these corrupt insiders),....but I can't see how we don't see 310 or less VTI this week unless Taco tacos by Tuesday...of course, via tweet.
I just started a new job and have 60 K sitting in my savings account but can’t bear to risk using any of that to buy any dips given the way the job market is so unpredictable. I’m holding 2000 shares of Reddit, 4000 Affirm, way too much open door and sofi, dangerously low amounts of VTI relative to how risky the rest of my portfolio is. Holding everything with my butt cheeks clenched.
the overlap between VOO and QQQM is real but it's intentional, not a mistake. VOO is already like 30-35% tech. adding QQQM is a deliberate growth tilt, not an accident. you're essentially saying "I think large cap tech outperforms over the next 20 years." a lot of people do and it's a defensible bet. The downside is what happened in 2022 — Nasdaq dropped 33% while the broader market dropped less. with this portfolio you'd have felt that harder. if you can hold through that without panicking it's fine. VXUS at 20% is a mild underweight vs global market cap (\~40% non-US) but totally normal for someone US-tilted. Overall this is a coherent portfolio not a chaotic one. the simpler version is just VTI+VXUS but yours is fine too. If you want to dig into what's actually inside each of these and how they compare on holdings/fees: [wealthiq.co/best-etfs-to-buy-2026/](http://wealthiq.co/best-etfs-to-buy-2026/)
Decide how long your time line is with-a percentage of your cash. If you are comfortable with 10 plus years with a percentage of it ,buy in over time in tranches.For relative safety invest in vanguard index funds as their rates are some of the lowest in-the industry. I would agree VOO is very heavily weighted with AI stocks ,therefore would buy only some and only on a dip(15% or more off from the high ) ,diversify with VT,VTI and a vanguard value stock index . Also buy in on dips of 15% or more , off the high . It’s not guaranteed it will drop this much , but all the indexes are overbought and correction time is due and with geopolitical factors being what they are , likely to drive indexes down further . Diversify. Synchrony Bank has a 4.1% cd for 14 mos . Just tied up a significant chunk that I will not worry about and can sleep at night . Will buy into the market on broader dips, 15% down from highs, and more if 20%. Buying certain stocks that are value and have fallen in the broader drop but still have good value. Looking at Canadian stocks in us index. Recently have bought BN,MAIN,NNN,VICI ,ARCC ,VZ (at 39) ,BEP (at 19). With the exception of BN have bought in retirement accounts. Others, let me know your thoughts on these. Open to discussions . I have a long watch list and waiting for fundamentals to line up to buy.
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.
Meh the cure for high prices is high prices. This will boost investment in US extraction tech and capacity. Only change I’ll make when I buy back in to have less VXUS and more VTI.
I think it goes without saying that if the asset moves in sync with the public markets it’s not “de-correlated.” And no amount of packaging or marketing should be able to change that for the individual investor. However, many people are not sophisticated enough to know any better, which is the exact reason alts aren’t for everyone. De-correlated classes of investments exist, for sure, and if that’s the goal, those are the things you should invest in. If you’re investing in a fund that’s “bullshit” then in my mind you’re not in an alt. To name a couple: insurance linked securities; litigation finance; and here’s one I’ve only ever read about: carbon removal. These things don’t move in lockstep with VTI or gold or most other publics. However, they cost a lot (potentially high fees and minimums), can tie up your money for years, and you could lose during a financial downturn and suffer a double whammy.
the Singaporean Jim Cramer stated that US market has cracks. so I am all in on VTI.
This. VTI and VXUS are the way to go. Otherwise VT and chill.
SCHD is a div etf. If you’re young or got 15+ years, just go VTI 80%. You can DCA each month. Keep it in SGOV to get interest before you buy each month. Maybe have a very small hedge in gold 2%, you can use IAU and some in a growth ETF like VB. VXUS is good for international exposure but the war and what is happening in America right now is going to impact everyone.
Great position to be in at 35 — you've already cleared the biggest hurdles most people struggle with (emergency fund sorted, house down payment separate, solid income). Here's how I'd think about the $70k: The core framework: ETFs first, individual stocks later (if at all) For someone who wants to "grow money safely over time," broad index ETFs are the answer — not because they're flashy, but because they're the mathematically boring correct choice. Something like VTI (total US market) or VOO (S&P 500) gives you instant diversification across hundreds of companies. You don't need to pick winners; you own a slice of all of them. If you want some international diversification too, pairing VTI + VXUS (international) covers essentially the entire global market. Very solid, low-cost foundation. On mixing in individual stocks It can make sense to allocate a small portion (10-20% max) to individual stocks IF you're willing to do the research. The key is buying companies trading below their intrinsic value — what value investors call a "margin of safety." You want to understand what a business is actually worth before you buy it, not just what the market prices it at today. Most people skip this step and buy based on momentum or headlines, which is how they lose money. On timing with $70k Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) — investing a fixed amount every month rather than all at once — reduces your risk of buying at a peak. With a lump sum this size, spreading it over 6-12 months is reasonable and helps you sleep at night. Biggest caution: don't let perfect be the enemy of good. The biggest risk for most people isn't buying at the wrong time — it's staying in cash too long waiting for the "perfect" moment that never comes. Time in the market beats timing the market.
You're going to get a lot of advice that says plow everything into VTI or VOO, set it and forget it. This is unwise, given your statement that "I want to grow this money safely over time, not trying to get rich overnight." Sure mega equity exposure has given people the opportunity to harvest multiple years of double digit returns over the past decade and a half. But that's if you bought then. As veteran market participants like to say "past performance is no guarantee of future results." The zero real, and negative nominal interest rate environments that the Federal Reserve implemented along with massive increases in the national debt (decreases in the value of the dollar) had a lot to do with that. Could the market keep doing that for a decade? Possibly. Could it lose 50% particularly given the current geopolitical situation? Possibly. Could it take a decade or more to recover? Possibly. All these things have happened in the past. Given your goal of growing money safely over time, you need a diversified portfolio. Look at Harry Browne's permanent portfolio or the Golden Butterfly portfolio as examples. The former offers a 25/25/25/25 split that you occasionally rebalance. The latter is a 20/20/20/20/20 split. The one caution that I would offer about both is that they were developed in a time when US treasuries were almost "good as gold." Particularly long dated treasuries are not. My personal philosophy is given current conditions not to hold anything with more than 5 years to maturity. I certainly wouldn't hold anything more than 10. Best wishes.
Investing is made to be seen as complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Indexes are your friend. Buy VOO, VTI, whichever you prefer, and continue to buy, especially in downturns.
Cutting the cutter. I'm in my accumulation phase (mid 30s)... can do 100/0 un-lev until 50. But I wanna lev so 80/20... here is my question.. a lot of books speak about TA but rules based info is limited. And we know why.. but that shouldn't stop an investor from asking right? Imagine shitting on an investor cause he asked if we should leverage below 200d SMA. There is nothing magical about that number but consensus have agreed that volatility is double said SMA while 12M forward looking return is roughly the same.....make what you want out of this info but it's sure as hell useful to someone like me who's interested in leveraging my folio. Had I had not interest in leverage 100% VT is such a lovely position .and for those with the itch ....applying dual momentum would either put you in 100% VTI or VXUS (vxus has been the default position for a while now....it's just the market signaling what it what's to signal)
It sure ain't VXUS. Bought that to diversify from US stocks with an international ETF. Everytime VTI is down VXUS is down just as much if not more.
The defense sector (ITA) has a 15+ year track record of outperforming the S&P on a total return [basis](https://totalrealreturns.com/s/VTI,ITA?start=2010-01-01).
And how is the S&P? VTI? Down 5%? I’m still way up overall for my international diversification. 10% down after a near 50% runup last year? Nothing is doing good in this stupid war. Even gold is eating shit. Unless you timed Oil futures we’re all eating shit until the straight of Hormuz opens again.
Tbh, I don’t focus too much on individual stocks, my main priority for now is broad indexes. At the moment, only these three individual: MSFT, GOOG, and DOCU. The latter is the most interesting in my opinion, as I don’t see how AI is an enemy of DocuSign. If anything, it’s a booster for their product. As for the indexes, I’m selling puts now on the classic ones: VOO, VTI, VXUS, and I just started with SMH and XSD. As gold seems to be coming back to a more reasonable price, I’ll probably add IAU into the game.
Alternatives could mean many different things. In my mind, it's an umbrella term that covers investments that aren't available to the public . . . meaning you can't get on your etrade account and buy them. As examples, he could mean funds that invest in private credit, private real estate, private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, etc. If your guy was at Merrill, it was probably some pretty vanilla offerings. A common pitch from these guys is that you want to remove volatility while becoming de-correlated from the public markets. This is sound advice. However, the devil is in the details. For instance, private credit was the "in" thing several years ago and for several years they were probably correct. Now, everyone thinks it's the Titanic. Google "blue owl private credit". People in this sub have pretty strong opinions on these strategies and will tell you its a scam, the fees will chew up all your gains and generally advise you to put your entire nut into VTI. Is this the right advice? You'll be diversified in the sense that you're in the total US stock market. Is that enough? Who knows? Was your guy giving you bad advice? Maybe. Some people will say that if it's gotten to your level, that you're just serving as an exit for the earlier institutional investors. If you want other options, call someone at one of Merrill's competitors (e.g., Morgan Stanley or Fidelity and ask for a call with someone in their alts group) and ask the same questions and see what everyone says. You can also ask them to vet the funds that have been pitched to you to see what they think. Good luck.
I've been buying more, almost every time the market is down 2%, I've been buying 20-30 shares of VTI. Some of it is just reallocation, as I'm selling SGOV to free up cash. I'm 47, so I have no worries that buying at these levels will work out in 10, 15, 20 years.
Cool, so about 20% then....VTI 265-270 it is.
Hi, I am a dum dum, but would U recommend me to long term invest in VOO or VTI. I prob have like 35 years left in me to retire lols
How low does everyone suppose it will go? I predicted SPY 645 this week, and today it hit it. My Index Limit Buys for VTI originally started at 320, which it would've hit today, but I adjusted it 2 days ago to start around 316---tapered down to the high 200s around 285.
International is obviously worth investing but the VXUS passive all market approach is going to include some garbage and unforeseen risk. Look at the performance of FIVA and FNDF in comparison. VTI might be fine for US holdings but once you go international some competent active management really seems to help.
in real annualized terms VTI is up 6.5%. most of what i buy is from other americans, so while i'm not going to pretend a weak dollar is a good thing, my ability to retire is still better now than it was 14 months ago.
Sold all my VTI just now. Maybe i can buy dips on monday.
Hope y’all prepped for this. Between Berkshire, cash, and my 3 individual utility stocks I feel kinda somewhat in a decent spot. I was just starting to feel better about my 15% VXUS but now that’s crapped the bed. I do have approximately 10% cash ready to buy the dip. I raised the cash when VTI was at 334. Thinking I might start deploying cash if we dip -10% on the index.
Bought $50,000 worth of VTI today. Putting my short term bond money to work now. 🕺
How am I still losing money on VTI😔😔
I dumped 600K in VTI at 3pm yesterday
VTI has 3500+ companies. if that one company goes all the way down, possibly five others are slowly taking its place. For S&p500, they have to meet certain criteria to be included and they would be removed if they don't meet it. So they might not even have negative returns in that case. [https://press.spglobal.com/2025-12-05-CRH,-Carvana-and-Comfort-Systems-USA-Set-to-Join-S-P-500-Others-to-Join-S-P-MidCap-400-and-S-P-SmallCap-600](https://press.spglobal.com/2025-12-05-CRH,-Carvana-and-Comfort-Systems-USA-Set-to-Join-S-P-500-Others-to-Join-S-P-MidCap-400-and-S-P-SmallCap-600)
Using VTI instead of VOO or other S&P 500s does not bypass the issue. While they track different indexes, both face the problem of passive funds being forced to buy into massive, low-float IPOs before there is reliable price discovery.
I yoinked out a big chunk of VTI today. It’s been chopping down toward my cost basis over the past few months (I’ve been dca’ing for only a year. Liberation day hammered me right when I lump summed in a bunch). And that’s before the oil crisis numbers drop amongst all the other bullshit that’s in front of our faces. Yeah yeah don’t time the market but it’s getting ugly out there. I’m sitting on the bench with my meager cash.
I’m certainly not lol. Trump is an elderly and temporary problem. He is also ensuring his voters will never have any financial power. I am just DCA-ing throughout this whole ordeal and holding what I have. I hold 33% in BLK, about 50% in SPY, about $10k in TTWO, and around $10k and rapidly growing in VTI. Bonus rolls in on the 31st and that’ll all go into VTI. There is an old adage in investing, you buy calls or sell stocks during Democratic administrations while prices are higher and you buy puts or buy stock during Republican administrations when the stock price is suppressed by subpar economic ideas. This has worked since Reagan introduced supply side economics.
Great time to start buying quality companies or VOO/VTI. Setup automated weekly or monthly buys.
RIVN gains are just barely canceling out my VOO/VTI losses. Nothing like getting lucky on a 8%+ pop day to offset your "stable" ETF's.
$96k in VTI 5 years ago would be $164,000 today. But instead you tried to beat the market and ran it to $0.
Yup. You’re exactly right. Using the example of the Canadian market, in the last 12 months from today the ‘total Canadian market’ went up 24.37% while paying a 2.27% dividend. The ‘total USA market’ went up 16.68% while paying a 1.11% dividend (VCE.TO & VTI) That’s 26.64% growth and 17.79% growth. And due to currency differences it was even a little more severe than those numbers show. But even that is 50% higher returns from the Canadian market over last 12 months.
My brother in christ just buy VTI and chill man you could have doubled your money doing nothing.
VTI and chill from now on?
Interesting - everything I was holding when I posted this was green (all fairly broad index funds - I’m out individual stocks during this volatility.) Almost everything is green now again with the only exception being VTI. Seems like even after hours are fairly volatile compared to the norm at the moment.
Bro, but why is my VTI only down like 2.7% YTD then? I don't get this...
If you do this make sure to buy back in using a different ETF holding the same equities. VTI or SPXU would be appropriate. https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/taxes/offset-gains-loss-harvesting
Still only down 3% on VTI. I always believed 2026 could be like 2022 and still can with this dumbass war but I still dont sell
a similar covid crash-like may occur if this keeps going... I have been piling into silver / gold and sgov laterly. Using my option premiums to buy foundational etf like VTI and SCHG during significant dips. I am avoiding massive buys on big tech, although it overlaps with my SCHG
VT and chill as opposed to VOO, VTI, or VGT and chill is, if nothing else, wild.
You can just do VT as a conservative bet, which is basically 60/40 VTI/VXUS. I like 70/30 VTI/VXUS personally, but all-in VT is fine too. You are very diversified with this. If you want to be even more conservative toss in 10% BND or VBIL or SGOV.
Bruh, it's like cheating on VTI
"Markets going down" and "losing money" aren't always the same. Someone who keeps buying index funds without selling, the paper value may go down, but generally they're in it for the long haul. That's just regarding your title. Now, to some of your points First off, the difference between a mutual fund and an ETF isn't whether it's active or passive. There are index-tracking mutual funds and there are actively managed ETFs, that range from rules-based funds (e.g. Avantis funds) all the way to very active single-stock leveraged ETFs. The difference between mutual funds and ETFs is more about how to invest in them, taxation, etc., not about whether they're active or passive. Passive beating active over the long haul isn't just stuck in 1973 literature. You can also see statistics from much more recently, e.g. [Active versus Passive Investing: An Empirical Study on The US and European Mutual Funds and ETFs | Contemporary Issues in Bank Financial Management | Books Gateway | Emerald Publishing](https://www.emerald.com/books/edited-volume/15687/chapter-abstract/86983408/Active-versus-Passive-Investing-An-Empirical-Study?redirectedFrom=PDF) Correct, an index fund cannot "prepare" for a market crash. (I will add that theoretically, the large cap companies an index tracks actively manage their very own strategies which has an impact on stock price and could try to "prepare" for a crash, but don't...) On the flip said, Peter Lynch himself (no passive investor) said: "More money has been lost preparing for a crash than has been lost in an actual crash." So maybe trying to prep isn't such a great strategy to begin with. You also mention hedge funds. But these aren't the same as active funds. The purpose of a hedge fund is rarely to "beat the market" or a given index. The potential investors are different. Someone looking to start investing and buy VT or VTI or VOO (or any other broad market index fund) often starts out with a small amount of money. Many hedge funds require a minimum investment of $100K (or even $200K) and liquid net worth of at least $1M. The type of person is different and therefore the purpose is different. They're both "investments" but you're not comparing apples to apples. Active strategies also have negative real (and nominal) returns, but you seem to keep assuming that one can time the market. For the long haul, it generally goes up. But if companies with billions of dollars in research and trillions in assets have not yet successfully figured out how to time the market, who exactly do you propose to actively manage a portfolio that can successfully time the market?
I threw $10 on DOGE a few years ago and cashed out at a total $100 like a month later. On a percentage basis, that is my most successful ‘investment’. All of my money goes to VTI and FXAIX. I don’t have the stomach to get granular with my strategy.
Do it earlier. Don’t wait. Spend time learning while you deposit each month.. Do it now. Make some mistakes and figure out your risk tolerance. Even if you’re putting 20,50,100 a month. Low cost, broad ETFs (we do VTI and VXUS now) should be in the mix. Probably 50% or higher of your overall portfolio but if you want to go high risk/high reward then do it. You could hit.
If you’d put it in VTI July 1 last year, it’d be about $27,189 today.
I can do DD. I'm still not going to give financial advice to strangers on penny stocks. Are you a financial advisor? I honestly feel like telling people to buy anything that isn't VTI or a few blue chip stocks your just advising them to gamble.
If we keep an allocation in bonds that doesn’t drop as much, it’s a rebalancing opportunity to pick up more VT / VTI / VXUS on sale before the market recovers. Just don’t sell equity positions when they’re significantly down.
So wow, this rddt is usually decent. So yeah, spreads can create this sort of grey zone that is best avoided..when it matters. Which is over the Dec-Jan 60 day range, just allow things to settle in that period. So many ways to fuck that up, for instance you can permanently forfeit losses by selling VOO in a taxable brokerage for a loss and buying VTI in an IRA (IRA= 'IRA Trap' where you permanently forfeit those losses. In general just avoid this sort of thing in that Dec-Jan period. Break the chain of wash sales if you frequently trade the same/similar thing long-term over that period and you will be fine. Seems like your particular problem comes from losing money on spreads within that range and than opening more near-term spreads on the same thing. Basically carrying losses forward and not realizing losses to offset gains. I think you are making this more complicated than it needs to be (even if this smacks of AI), I think you got hit with the ambiguity of 'Phantom Gains.' Basically you realized your gains and accidentally carried you presumed off setting losses into the next year via wash sales. If I'm right all you can do is realize loss to offset gains this year realistically.. despite the grey area on spreads.
$72k/year for 10 years into VFIAX and VTI is a solid plan. The 403B match alone is free money. At that savings rate you've got a real shot at retiring by 54. If you're curious how DCA vs lump sum would play out on that kind of money, [here's a calculator](https://trackmyshares.com/tools/dca-vs-lump-sum?symbol=VOO&market=US&start=2024-01-01&amount=72000&freq=monthly) that uses real historical data. Helps with deciding how to deploy each year's contribution.
I got 43 shares of msft at 395.4 from stock bonus... should I sell it now or wait till they announce financials? I don't need the money now but also don't want to be too I vested in it.... if I take out the money its probably half for my EF and other half VTI.
Yeah except those far more important factors are already starting to favor non US investment. Compare VXUS to SPY or VTI over the last year. This takes away yet another advantage US markets have, other than stable, sane leadership and soft power which are both gone too.
Why is it in USCRX? That being said even with dividends the Schd underperforms the s&p 500 or VTI so do those instead if you want to switch
I appreciate the skepticism, but there’s a misunderstanding here about index mechanics. 1. Index Agnostic: Funds like VTI and VOO track the entire US market, including stocks listed on Nasdaq. If Nasdaq creates a 'Fast Entry' express lane for a trillion-dollar IPO, it forces broad-market index providers (like CRSP and S&P) to accelerate their own inclusion dates to avoid 'tracking error.' 2. Leeway vs. Math: While the prospectus mentions 80%, Vanguard and BlackRock managers are strictly measured by how perfectly they track the index. They can't just 'opt-out' of a $100B+ inclusion without their fund failing its primary mission. My concern isn't clickbait; it’s about forced volatility. When the 'Fast Entry' rule waives seasoning, it forces every broad-market index fund to buy during the Day 15 hype peak, rather than waiting for a stable price floor. The reason I’m posting this information is because several people across several forums are mentioning it. People are either in disbelief or feel there is nothing we can do. I asked Gemini if there was anything the average index fund investor could do and this information was presented. I appreciate collaboration with others who are more familiar with any or all of the legalities. --- Transparency Note: Research and drafting for this post were assisted by Gemini 3 Flash (March 2026 version). All technical citations regarding SEC Release No. 34-104968 and Rule SR-NASDAQ-2026-004 have been manually verified for accuracy. Final analysis and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the human author.
The past 10 years have been insane for SP500 and US markets. Historically, it evens out with international markets/european markets. I do 60% VTI/VOO and 40% VXUS for total stock market with a good amount of Euro markets. I feel like at your age you should diversify, especially with a shitty USD and all the crap we're going through.