VTI

ekemp

Yes. Please. (I want to buy VTI on a discount next week.)

greenpride32

> I'm not a fan of the Boglehead-style "put everything in VTI" approach — I'm looking for more detailed, sector-aware input from folks who actively manage their portfolios. By "diversifying" across so many sectors you've effectively made your own custom "VTI". Technology is roughly 30% of VOO or VTI and you're right in the ballpark. Don't see any point in you trying to manage the mix on your own. When people go "anti-VTI" it's usually for a mix of indivdual stocks and/or some income ETF's; and also some amount of VTI/VOO. You can sell some stock in your low income year to get a little bit of a tax break. But I wouldn't liquidate a good position simply for a one time tax break - sell when you want to sell. A one time tax benefit on ladder system doesn't amount to so much when you calculate out the numbers - if it was a recurring benefit sure it adds up.

gr7070

VTI and VXUS are the best ways to buy gold.

max-at-origin

Skip the IUL for now - it's expensive and complicated. You're young, so Roth IRA is your best bet. Open a Roth at Fidelity/Vanguard, dump the 5k into a total market index fund (VTI or FSKAX), and keep adding what you can up to the yearly limit. The beauty of Roth? You pay taxes now when you're in a lower tax bracket, then all future growth is tax-free. Plus you can pull out contributions anytime without penalties if needed.

max-at-origin

Having solid index fund exposure should be your foundation before branching into other assets. With your income and age, missing out on the tax advantages of maxing 401k/IRA first would be a mistake. What I've learned is that most successful investors start with low-cost index funds (70-80% of portfolio) before expanding into real estate/alternatives. Property management isn't passive - start with VTI/VXUS while learning RE fundamentals.

GAV17

The diference in price is negligible for someone that is just buying a holding something like VTI. If you are buying $500 worth of ETFs you are much better off with a free service instead of oaying $5 a trade, especially with extremely liquid ETFs where price difference will be non-existant.

DaemonTargaryen2024

> Are Index Funds truly safe Depends on your definition of “safe”. - If you mean “can’t lose money” then no, index funds absolutely are not safe. - But if you mean grow over the long term (decades not years and certainly not months) then yes index funds are “safe”. > For those who invest in only index funds, what people think that they will truly continue to go up forever, albeit going down and up at times? A broad index fund will, by definition, go up as long as the world markets/economy continue to go in a positive direction long term > What is there to suggest that some new financial tool will not replace index funds? What is there to suggest that some new tool *will*? Don’t deal in hypotheticals, deal in reality, and the reality is that broad market index funds have grown immensely over the years. > Is VTI and VOO truly that safe? Well, there’s obviously the risk that the US doesn’t always outperform the rest of the world, which is a practical impossibility. So owning a globally diversified portfolio is also important. > For those with a long time horizon, will these index funds truly keep going up? As long as western civilization exists, yes an index fund will continue to go up. It has to. > If they’re 270 today, can we expect 2000 plus in 40 years? You can reasonably estimate 7-8% average annual return if you want to be on the conservative side.

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.

ThroatPlastic6886

The last “Trump blip” was +70% return for VTI in 4 years.  I wouldn’t even accept your premise that the market is “currently undergoing major identity issues.” We always think we are currently living in special and unprecedented times, but looking back at history things are currently pretty mundane by comparison. 

m_d_f_l_c

Stick it all in VTI or VTSAX and just live off the dividends/growth and hope for the best.  For sure do not gamble it away chasing more money. You got the money. Money most can only dream of. You need to shift from “accumulation” mindset to “preservation” mindset.  Even all stocks, like VTI (total stock market fund) many might say is too risky. But being young I think you’d be able/have time to ride out any ups and downs. If you are more conservative (doubtful, given the sub) you could even do a bond (or money market) and stock split to your preferred risk tolerance.  You have money. Your focus should be on living a happy life now, not on just making the most money. Unless that is what makes you truly happy. 

FIREinParis

Keep your spending under 3% of your invested assets (including trust funds yet to be delivered). Invest the bulk in equity index funds, with a reasonable split between US and International funds (VTI/ITOT and VXUS/IXUS). Keep about five years of spending in an appropriate short-term government bond fund. And don’t get married without a strong pre-nup. Hire a good CPA. And don’t really tell anyone about the wealth.

StickyTip420

I would buy a nice house for <3mil, put 21.5mil into VTI, and use the other 500k for 0DTE play money

chipbod

I have like 45% of my portfolio in VXUS, even with VTI now to try and cover this off in the long term

mistressbitcoin

If I have big crypto wins I usually rebalance into VTI/VTSAX or BRK.B, or something similar. They should do very well long term. I'm also hesitant about RE to be honest, but having a primary and renting out all the rooms helped me take the first step.

Dalewyn

If you are actually concerned about the risk, then yes: Stocks and specifically index funds are a very good idea. Investing in diversified index funds like VTI or even VT *should* result in gains a few decades down the line. If you have more strong opinions about the kinds of stocks you want, you can invest in more specific index funds like VOO or QQQ. If you want safer investments, also consider bonds with the safest being short term Treasuries (including money market funds) and the riskiest being so-called junk bonds. There are index funds available for these too.

SirGlass

Unless the brokerage was committing fraud and co-mingling assets (what IS illegal and would be fraud) nothing, your assets are transferred to another brokerage SIPC insurance protects against this fraud , the brokerage losing your assets . Example if you have 1000 shares of VTI , and somehow your brokerage loses them SIPC will work to return you those 1000 shares SIPC will not insure the value of those 1000 shares, if VTI drops by 50% thats just an legitimate investment loss

RubiksSugarCube

Yeah but I mean look at how many investors have strayed away from fundamentals as well. Exhibit A: This sub Turns out that posting modest but reliable gains on a blend of VTI/VXUS/BND/BNDX just doesn't reap that sweet sweet karma

wish_you_a_nice_day

You need to enable margin and need to have 1k divided by 0.3 of VTI for example

helpwithsong2024

I mean, almost every major ETF will have TSLA. Don't be political with your investment choices. Just buy VOO/VTI/VT and chill.

helpwithsong2024

I mean, if it helps you sleep at night, sure. Then go buy more VTI and just leave it!

Ferris61186

I think a 10% bond allocation is fine, I know a lot of Redditors would disagree. I don’t hold gold myself but I thought it was something you wanted. If you think 10% bonds is too much you might as well just do 0%. Go with 80% VTI, 20% VXUS or something like that. I started investing around your age with a 60% VTI, 30% VXUS, 10% BND portfolio. Ten years later my portfolio is almost 7-figures. I recently upped BND to 15%. Bond funds are complicated. I think it’s good to start investing in them now so you can start to understand how they work

chipbod

I do like one a week, definitely just straight gambling right now lol. When 95% of my portfolio is in VTI and VXUS I like to have a bit of fun with the remaining 5%.

Pure-Fuel-9884

Its fine if you have a seperate fund. Drop defense stocks, they are included in broad index funds. You also don't need that many index funds, VTI is enough, you can also go VOO+EU stocks. I'd go 70% stocks 5-10% btc 5-10% gold rest bonds. Its all about your personal preference. Your goal is to take maximum possible risk withour losing sleep at night and panic selling at every dump, like people on this sub. BTW major investment subs are notoriously cluless and butthurt about bitcoin. Don't listen to them.

ShojanNaN

I own NVDA @ 101 , now it's at 108 Do you recommend I enter a STOP LOSS @ 104 for all I own ? I'm nervous not only about tariffs ( priced in? but about Huawei huge steps ) Most of my portfolio is VTI, but 2 weeks ago bought NVDA. PS. I never used anything other than simple buy and sell with limit.

KnowWhat_I_Mean

Can’t go wrong with VTI!

Ferris61186

I personally feel that allocations under 10% aren’t worth it. 5% in defense isn’t going to noticeably affect your performance and just over complicates things. Maybe do something like 60% VTI, 20% VXUS, 10% BND, 10% GLD? If you don’t like nominal bonds you can swap out BND for VTIP.

dvdmovie1

Another vote for #2 but I'll actually say 50% VTI 20% VEA. I'd consider SHLD over ITA - SHLD is global and a bit more of a growth tilt vs the US-focused ITA. Be careful with commodity ETFs. DBC is structured as a partnership, which you don't want.

MetalMuted4307

VTI potentially?

Cruian

1 & 2: Follow the /r/personalfinance Prime Directive: https://reddit.com/r/personalfinance/w/commontopics 3: VTI is good, but going global can be beneficial to both returns and volatility compared to the US only that VTI is. VXUS would be a common natural complement. * https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/portfolio/vtwax - Global market cap weights (be sure to switch from “Regions” to “Markets”). This can be a great default position. * https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/investment/international-investing - Vanguard 40% of stock is recommended to be international. * 2022 Survey of target date funds: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bogleheads/comments/rffoe7/domestic_vs_international_percentage_within/

chipbod

VTI and chill is calling your name

Stateof10

At various points, international markets have outperformed US securities. That's why you maintain VTI and VXUS for nonoptions trading, exposure to both.

rubixd

Reddit would have you believe the sky is falling, and that any day now the entire stock market is going to crash. I’m not going to tell you what to do but I’m in my 30s as well and I just continue to buy VOO and VTI. This question may be better suited to r/personalfinance

smartfon

How much do you spend per month? Open an Excel sheet and write down how much you spend on rent, food, leisure, transportation, everything. Multiply the sum by 10x. This will be your emergency reserve. You will not invest this money in the stock market under any circumstances. If you don't create this emergency reserve and instead put all your money in the stock market, imagine if something happens and you need money and you're forced to sell stocks to get money, and that period coincides with the market being down. You'll be forced to sell at a loss. This is how people lose money. To avoid losing money, you need that separate emergency reserve. But you don't want to keep that reserve in your bank account either because your bank doesn't pay an interest so your money gradually loses its value to inflation. Instead, you can move this reserve into another institution that provides a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA). Right now you can earn 4% just by keeping your money there. An alternative to HYSA would be purchasing a stock called SGOV that's not really a stock but more like a stable bond that guarantees you won't lose money. You will get the same 4% with SGOV. So why choose SGOV instead of HYSA? The interest you earn from SGOV will not be taxed by your state; you only pay federal tax. That was about your emergency reserve. The rest of the money can be invested in the stock market, specifically in ETFs. The fewer ETFs you buy, the less money you pay to companies that run those ETFs. You only need two ETFs: VTI and VXUS. VTI is the total U.S. stock market and already includes big tech and S&P 500. You do not need to buy SPY or VOO separately. Only VTI. VXUS is the rest of the world. If you lookup the past performance from the last 10 years it may seem like VXUS is a waste of resources because of lower returns but that's a trap. It's important to be diversified. You can go with the lump sum approach and spend all the money (minus the emergency reserve) to buy stocks now, or you can Dollar Cost Average (DCA) by scheduling regular purchases of small amounts. I do the latter for psychological reasons. If you're impulsive or hot headed or an emotional type of person, go with the DCA approach. Everything I told you is something that I personally do and it's not financial advice coming from a professional advisor. I am not an expert. Right now, due to market volatility, most of my money is parked in HYSA/SGOV. My portfolio is 60% cash (HYSA/SGOV), 30% VTI and 10% VXUS. I plan to buy more stocks toward the end of the year. Do not buy stocks of individual companies like Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, or some random company. There is a higher risk of losing money. Only buy ETFs. Do not buy gold. It's highly speculative and the price can dramatically crash at any moment. Do not buy cryptocurrency. Do not buy and sell stocks, you will waste time and in the end lose money. Only buy and hold. You are not day trading, you are investing long-term. Do not waste your time on YouTube videos or websites where smart-looking people show you complex charts with green and red lines and predict that this or that company's stock will go up or down. Ignore it all. You do not even need to read the news. You do not need to check your account every day. Open a Robinhood Gold account and move the funds there. Keep some cash in your regular bank account for day to day expenses. Keep the emergency reserve parked in Robinhood Gold and do not invest it in the stock market (but buying SGOV is okay). The non-reserve money you have just moved to Robinhood Gold can be used to purchase VTI and VXUS. At this point you'll choose your approach: lump sum (spend all at once, not recommended) or schedule an automatic small transaction every Tuesday (what I do). Your $200,000 is not enough to earn a regular passive income high enough to cover your rent and monthly expenses. It will earn you $9,000 per year at most. This is why people invest their money in the stock market. While a stable HYSA can give you an annual 4% return split into monthly installments, a stock market is usually double or triple that amount. But with stocks you don't get that money in monthly installments so it's more like a buy-and-hold retirement thing. Do not bother with "dividend" stocks, don't even Google it. I recommend doing more research. Again, I am not a licensed financial advisor. I recommend Robinhood Gold because of its simplicity. Only their Gold service pays 4% interest on parked cash. Good luck.

Such-Yam-1131

First off, props to you for even thinking like this at 18. Most people would have just blown it. For hands-off investing, broad ETFs like VTI, VXUS, or even a simple target date fund can be super chill. Set it up, automate contributions if you can, and just forget about it while you focus on school. Also, there is a newsletter I read that breaks down passive income ideas without all the crazy “get rich quick” energy. Let me know if you want the name.

throway_hurtinghands

No time is different unless you apply a very fine granularity. Next time neurotic people will say "when in the last 100 years did X and Y happen at the same time right after Z"? Answer: I don't give a fuck, because 5 years from now this is a blip. Same as COVID, Brexit, the first round of tariffs, etc. And when things are good, neurotics will keep complaining: "the market is overvalued!!". When $VTI was around $100/share people were already crying about how expensive the market was. Today it is $270/share. Neurotics will always lose in the stock market.

Riotroom

I would hold most in a 4.5% core position and dca $12k into $VTI and $8K into $VXUS over the next 10 months. An epic rebound will happen, but it could get a lot uglier first. If you can stomach a $50k possible drop go ahead and lump sum it today. Vti is the US market and vxus is the international market. 60/40 ratio is kinda the default ratio based on $VT.

Jsomin_89

First off, big congrats! It’s a huge step to land a great-paying job and be thinking about planning before the money hits. That’s rare and incredibly smart. Let’s break this down into steps: 1. Immediate Priorities (Next 1–3 months) • Emergency Fund: - Before investing aggressively, aim to save 3–6 months of essential expenses in a high-yield savings account. - Essential = rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, insurance, minimum debt payments. • Basic Budget: - Make a zero-based budget every month — tell every dollar where to go before you get it. • A simple starter split could be: - 50% Needs (housing, groceries, insurance) - 30% Goals (savings, investments, debt help if needed) - 20% Fun (spending, entertainment) • Track Spending: - Apps like Mint, YNAB (You Need a Budget), or even a simple spreadsheet can be life-changing. 2. Debt and Relationship Planning • Talk Openly with Your Partner: - Set clear goals and timelines. Since your fiancé’s income is focused on student loans, your income carries the living expenses and saving goals. - You’re teammates. Being clear now prevents resentment later. 3. Saving and Investing Plan (Big Focus) • Short-Term Saving: - Besides the emergency fund, you’ll want savings for upcoming moves (relocation costs are sneaky expensive). - Investing for the Future: • Max out retirement accounts early if you can (especially while making more money): - 401(k) at work — especially if they offer a match (always take full advantage of any match — free money!). - Roth IRA (2025 contribution limit is $7,000 if under age 50) — great if you qualify while making a big salary. • Brokerage Account: - After maxing retirement, if you still have a surplus, open a taxable brokerage account to invest. Simple low-fee index funds (VTI, VOO, etc.) work really well. 4. Lifestyle Planning • Lifestyle Creep: - It’s tempting to “reward yourself” when income jumps. - Choose 1–2 things to upgrade intentionally (e.g., better apartment, reliable car) — but keep most lifestyle costs flat. • Future Pay Cut Preparation: - Build your savings by assuming lower future pay so that your lifestyle won’t need drastic cuts when you move back home. 5. Mindset and Habits • Automatic Everything: - Auto-transfer into savings/investments the day your paycheck hits. • Small Splurges: - Allow small splurges in the budget to reduce big blowouts. • Learning Mindset: - Read one finance book every 6 months. (Suggestions if you want!) Quick Example Budget for $3,000/month Take-home Pay with Category, Amount (per month) and some Notes: - Housing + Utilities [$1,000 – $1,200] Rent/mortgage, electricity, water, internet - Groceries [$300 – $400] Target about $75–$100/week - Transportation [$200 – $300] Gas, insurance, bus pass, parking - Insurance (health, renters, etc.) [$100 – $200] May vary depending on employer coverage - Debt Payments (if any) [$0 – $300] For fiancé’s loan, or other minimum payments - Emergency Fund Savings [$250 – $400] Build 3–6 months of expenses - Retirement Savings [$300 – $400] 401(k), Roth IRA - Fun / Personal Spending [$150 – $250] Dining out, hobbies, small splurges - Future Expenses (moving, wedding, travel) [$100 – $200] Short-term goals • Summary View: - Needs (50%) = $1,500 - Goals (30%) = $900 - Fun (20%) = $600 Tips for $3,000 Take-home: - Housing is the biggest lever: keep rent/house payment at or below $1,000–$1,200 if you can. - Automate savings/investments the moment you get paid, so you “pay yourself first.” - Use a free budget app to track spending easily (Mint, Rocket Money, or even a simple Google Sheet).

adminsarecommienazis

if the goal is diversification, VTI or VT over VOO.

TapDangerous1996

Good question, no I always look at the top holdings to see if they are companies that have sound financials or growth strategies I mostly want to try to exceed VTI over a shorter term. It’s not really huge risk/reward. Mostly something interesting to do that can potentially boost my returns

RichardFlower7

Vanguard total market Ex US 20%, gold 10%, bonds 10%, VTI 50%, QQQM 5%, JEPQ/JEPI/SCHD/QQQI 5% is what I’m currently doing for new money in

sjs72

Its a roth… just sell it and get VTI + VSUX or just VT if you want to be more diversified.

mister_picklz

32. I've been at my current job for 2 years, opened Roth and brokerage this year. Plan on retiring when I'm 67. Focusing on emergency fund (20k) and down payment for house (40k) over the next 3-5 years (minor investments into Roth and brokerage to keep them warm), 401k at 8%. 401K (High priority) SP 500 50% World Equity Index EXUS 25% SP 600 Smallcap 15% Midcap Index 10% Roth IRA AVUV 40%  AVDV 25%  AVEM 25% QQQM 10%    Brokerage (low priority) VTI 75% VXUS 20% BRKB 5%

Nocturnal86

You just invest in a broad index like VTI and chill. Stop trying to time the market. Especially, if you have a long time horizon.

Leroy--Brown

1) focus on staying employable. It's hard to tune out the rest, but keep up on your job skills and stay relevant, stay employable. 2) do you have a good investment strategy? Trust that strategy, and automate it. Keep DCA into VOO or VTI or whatever, and automate it. Ignore a lot of the other shit. Get a low cost hobby to stay busy. Your financial worries should only be about budgeting and living below your means so that you can keep investing

AltruisticGate

Regular DCA'ing into VOO and VTI with a healthy amount in SGOV.

Icy_Mushroom_425

I'd definitely start diversifying - even if you love NVDA, having 50%+ in one stock is risky long-term. Index funds like VOO, VTI, and VXUS are solid core holdings. SCHD adds dividend exposure and QQQ/SCHG give you growth.

Slunk_Trucks

Blah blah blah AI drivel VTI forever

jkd-guy

Consider that terminal returns may be more important than a dividend-focused fund. Dividend focused funds usually drop their share price equal to the dividend. It's not free money. Historically, funds like VOO or VTI will outperform funds such as SCHG. Just sell shares whenever the money is needed. Moreover, since BTC is most likely to outperform most assets if trends continue, even a small % can make a big difference.

mhoepfin

Tips etf (SCHP) 30% High quality corp bond etf (LQD) 20% A small amount of total us market etf (VTI) 10% European market etf (VWO) 20% Emerging market etf (VEA) 10% Bitcoin etf (IBIT) 10% Possibly reallocate to specific sectors like consumer staples, semis, etc if they begin to look attractive. As we start to bottom, begin positioning back into the us market.

Random2011_

I won’t be adding any moving forward - I am putting all money into VTI/VOO and some non tsla mag7

DixOut-4-Harambe

The "problem" is divesting of the Tesla stock. Sell it all at once and it stings come tax time. Sell it $100K/year, and you risk it cratering before you're done selling. That does remind me to start selling off one of my high flyers and purchase VT/VTI with it. Maybe some SCHD for more cash flow.

oalfonso

There is a bad influence from stock market ETFs and DCA. In the moment the investments aren’t linked to profit performance a stock price can be driven up just by being in the right index. There are a few papers on this and some studies on how ETFs like VTI/VOO with DCA are distorting the market.

othersidehello

Thanks. I hold shares of quite a few solid companies and some sensible ETFs (SPYI, VXUS, VTI, COST, QQQI are my biggest holdings). and gambled away 6% of my brokerage and am glad it wasn't more and that i learned from it

alchemist615

I love BRK-B. It is the best individual stock in the market. That being said, I would not ONLY buy it. Why? Because it is still one company. Warren is aging, and though it is reasonable that the new leadership will keep things smooth, you never really know. VTI/VOO & BRK-B and chill is a good allocation, IMO. I'd feel comfortable holding up to 20% in BRK-B.

Gp7se

I'm 32 and my portfolio is currently 30% VTI 70% BRK.B 😅

Digital-Doc-777

VT is ok to start with, but I find that it overweights the international. I also don't like that you don't get the foreign tax paid benefit of the international, so would prefer a mix of VTI and VXUS so I can manage the proportion myself.

Least_Use607

Folks like yourself need to just buy VTI and stop trading. Have some self control and keep on investing your money and eventually you'll have far more than $18K.

Penis_Raptor

I sold a bunch of 275$ / September covered calls on my VTI position yesterday. That's my insurance for now. We may keep on creeping up on SPY until hard data starts coming in bad so I may have sold too early but you never know

Cruian

VT is US + international combined into one. VTI is the US only one.

GloomyCardiologist16

It's strange how I can look at charts of Brk.b, VOO, and VTI and all 3 show peaks and valleys at the exact same times

AskPatient1281

1) Find a broker where it is easy to open several accounts. Fidelity comes to mind. 1) Create your emergency fund. Open a brokerage account for this. Deposit 3 to 6 months expenses - build it little by little and revisit every year. Some people have 12 months of required living expenses in their emergency fund. I have 6 months. The more you have, the better you can sleep at night. Only you can decide. Invest in something with little to no risk - you can't lose this money. I use SGOV. 2) Do you have a job with 401k? Do they offer a match? Max it out or - at least, contribute to the match level You're young. I would go full SP500 in your 401k. I use VOO. VTI/SPY, they are also great options. Do they offer HSA? Max it out and IF POSSIBLE do not use to pay medical expenses. Instead, treat it as just another 401k. Use it to save for your retirement. 3) Open an Roth IRA/IRA account Max it out. Still 100% in SP500. 4) Open a second regular brokerage account for the remainder of your investments Here I would be more careful. If you plan to buy anything major in the next 5 years, for example, down payment on a house. be more conservative. Maybe 50% SP500 and 50% bonds or treasury. The closer your get to the date you will need the money, the more you need to "de-risk" your portfolio. Move more to treasury etc. Only invest here if your emergency fund is fully funded. This is what I would do.

LBTRS1911

Yes, it's the sixth largest holding in VTI.

ClassIINav

It depends on what you're saving for. If this is long term savings, then a stock index fund like VTI would be ideal. It may be a while to see good returns but if the money isn't needed in the next 4+ years that's fine. If it's for something more immediate like buying a house, probably either in short term treasuries or even a high yield savings account / money market fund. Either way try not to pay attention to the daily going's on in the market. It's a scary time to invest right now but that can also be seen as a good chance to buy at a discount. It just depends on a) when you expect to need the money and b) your personal tolerance for seeing losses especially early on.

MyEXTLiquidity

I’ll be honest I don’t particularly understand futures since most things get trades roughly around the clock already.  No worries. ETFs are “exchange traded funds” - they’re like mutual funds essentially but you can trade them all day like a stock (mutual funds just do the buys end of day). They’re basically stocks that are bundles of other stocks. So for instance say you have $1000. You can pick and choose companies like Tesla or NVDA or apple or google or whatever. High risk and high reward because your putting all your eggs in whatever individual company you chose basket. Or you can buy SPY/VOO which are ETFs that track the S&P500. So rather than you having to pick individual stocks, you just own the whole S&P500. Still will get great gains and you own the “whole basket” You can do this with the whole world. The US. international. Etc. even sectors like say you wanted semiconductors, you can buy SMH which is an etf of semiconductor stocks. What I personally run is two accounts. In my IRA I have 70/20/10% split between VTI, VXUS, and BND. VTI is all of the US. VXUS is all international no US. BND is all us bonds. In my brokerage I do 50/50 VOO/VT. VOO is S&P 500. VT is the whole world.  I am overweighted toward the S&P500 but that’s by choice. 

kiwimancy

There would be very little difference between those two portfolios. VFX is the stocks in VTI minus the stocks in VOO, mostly small caps. VB is a small cap index fund.

AnotherThroneAway

Dude. Having children means you acted irresponsibly with respect to them. Next time you put money into an investment, make it VTI, VOO, or a tuition check.

ConversationPale8665

Is Tesla somewhat propped up by being in so many ETF funds like SPY and VOO, VTI, QQQ etc? I’ve always wondered if one of the consequences of having these brainless funds based on industries or specific market indices is that they only get updated quarterly and because Tesla is one of the larger stocks in many of these funds, it’s almost like a circular reference? Essentially, because Tesla is in the S&P 500 and one of the top 10 based on market cap or whatever, then when people invest in these funds, they are automatically investing in Tesla at a pretty high rate whether they really want to or not. I know personally, if I could invest in a SPY (-Tesla) I would.

RavageDolphin

Say I’m allocating 70% to VOO. How would that compare to say 50% VOO and 20% VTI? Is this stupid? Is there fund with just mainly small cap holdings? I’m 26 and am getting my Roth IRA going. I know VTI is similar to VOO but with added small market caps. And it’s not usually recommended to hold both. I already have VOO but am curious about getting small cap exposure.

Powerful_Reward_8567

1 low cost index fund (VOO or VTI)

amg-rx7

That’s a good simple setup. AIX and ROX perform almost identically just like VOO and VTI so I’m not sure owning both really diversifies the performance. I had a similar setup in my 401k then just stopped investing new money into VTI. The only suggestion I’ll make is to switch to the equivalent ETF of the mutual funds you selected since the cost of ETFs are cheaper. And maybe consider allocating 5-10% to a growth focused ETF like VUG or VGT to boost performance. You’re young and have the time until retirement to weather volatility - if your personal risk tolerance can handle the volatility…

fakeemail47

VTI is priced in dollars and roughly is theoretically the net present value of all future cash flows of all companies in that index, which as a shortcut is earnings times a multiple. In this case $269 / 24.5X = $2.24 earnings per share of VTI. Leaves you with three reasons the ETF can go up in the long run: 1) The multiple goes up (investors willing to pay more per dollar of earnings based on vibes, their view of economy or whatever); 2) real earnings go up (companies earn more dollars); 3) inflation (there are more dollars, so you need more dollars to buy this share of companies producing stuff or services, which is priced in dollars); earnings go up, but real (inflation adjusted) earnings may or may not. The modern economy is geared to have persistent low inflation (2% target) because anything else (high inflation or any deflation) is very damaging to the financial system and the real economy In the short run, VTI can swing based on almost anything. TLDR - Yes assuming Vanguard, the stock market, the federal reserve, the US, and the US dollar all exist in 40 years, VTI will go up forever because that's how the system is designed.

jdp111

Doesn't VTI hold BRK.B?

jordan2279

Emergency fund, Then VTI through Roth ira

TheEndIsNigh2028

If you do want 1 stock that will go up forever BRKB is it. You can think of it as an index fund/ etf like VTI or any other professionally mangaged fund, but this one is run by the best financial advisors/ one of the richest people on the planet.

TheEndIsNigh2028

There are countless stock etf's and mutual funds that build their stock around the sp500, such as VTI, VOO, ITOT, FSKAX, SPY etc, etc. The top 10 holdings in all of them are basically the dame with only different distributions.  VTI is Solid, but certainly not the best sp500 variant. TMFC and SCDG historically have been the 2 best variants since their inception when compared to stocks like VTI. VTI is simply the oldest and most well known. I used it 15 years ago when it was the best, it no longer is the best in its category and I split my growth funds 50/50 between TMFC and SCDG. Also, if you understood the sp500 you would understand why there will be growth so long as there is a functioning government. The sp500 is an index that tracks the 500 largest companies in the USA. Stocks like VTI and VOO use that as their base for knowing how much money to allocate into what companies each quarter, buying and selling according to which companies and rising and falling.  The only way VTI/VOO would collapse would be if the 500 LARGEST companies in the USA all started failing simultaneously. Think companies like Apple, Amazon, Walmart, Costco, Chevron, Facebook, Disney, Nvidia, Microsoft,Chase bank, JPmorgan bank, McDonald's, Starbucks, Netflix, etc etc... A couple dozen companies go in and out of the sp500 every year and the funds are redistributed to the current highest performing companies. This is why it always grows. Meaning if VTI crashes, all the companies I mentioned above along with the other largest companies in the USA have crashed, this would include all the major banks in the USA. This is why there is no need to be skeptical, so long as there is a functional government and things haven't devolved into pure anarchy you are fine.

Reasonable-Wafer-248

I had a dream last night that i was staring at a street sign at an intersection. One road was VTI one road was SCHD… But my brain was focused on one road and I said “SCHD” in my sleep…. Is this obsession or a sign? (no pun intended)

SteppnWolf

Nah stick with it. This is my portfolio too. VTI & BRKB. Good shit.

erstwhile_estado

Mitigation. I have most my money in VYMI and VTI giving my primarily ex-us with some us exposure. This is balances with some long term put hedges against SPY. If the market keeps going up I lose a little as I watch the hedge go to zero. If it starts tanking I have time to sell some things and rotate.

SirNutellaLord

I'm 23 and my portfolio is currently 70% VTI 30% BRK.B

Misaiato

Buffet certainly has the track record. But VTI and BRKB are not an either / or. I’m somewhat tired of posting this, you can search my history for a longer explanation. Basically this: only half of BRKB are publicly-traded companies. The other half you couldn’t own without owning BRKB. VTI directly holds shares of companies. Things you could buy yourself. These things are not the same.

timmyd79

Some index fund will increase forever, no proof it will be VTI and VOO that lead it but you can still see where the top innovating companies are in the world and this shift would be pretty slow and evident to the point that even the Boglehead wiki may be updated to give you better advice when they time truly ever comes. People say to zoom out on VTI and VOO. Guess what when you zoom out enough the political entity may cease to exist. When you zoom out even further the species may cease to exist. Your age and lifespan and some probabilities probably tell you that you probably don’t need to worry about zooming out that far. Just look at Brexit and compare the indexes on the London Stock Exchange or Stoxx 600 index and see it was a crash not as large as the GFC that still destroyed valuations for an entire year. Using Brexit as a case study gives a pretty strong range check on how you might want to react. I love to rant a bit about our political situation cause I do think it to be self-inflicted stupidity. Quite frankly a good gauge is DEI. Despite the setbacks to DEI which country is still truly leading in DEI? Japan has a stagnant population, and had lost decades, they clearly need to open up immigration especially considering it is so easy for them to attract skilled productive and creative workers given they are the weeb capital of the world. How do you think Japan ranks on DEI? They recently had a string of soda pop machines get busted and were quick to blame Vietnamese criminal gangs. If a company like Toyota had more DEI it might have been that a company like Tesla wouldn’t have come along and steal their lunch so hard. The issue is it is hard to create the next generation of automobile for folks living in the states used to larger spread out living populations on a workforce that just lives with some of the best high density public transit in the world. The reality of the situation is when you see many countries look at us and call us inhumane and racist, they often throw stones from a glass house as there are still few to no places in the world with as much heterogeneity. And yes even with sweeping deportations and explicit anti-DEI policy it sadly does not change the US position in being best in DEI. China can’t even stand having Tibetan monks and have issues with Uyghurs. I don’t think their welcome of IShowSpeed changes much about human nature of many populations to be NIMBY. It is easy to claim not to be racist when your minority is 0.1%. Far more folks have difficulty being pro DEI when they see the minority swing closer to majority. And let’s be clear there are many other countries/populations calling us terrible and inhumane about deportations that would *never* entertain the idea of minorities getting close to 49%.

InterestingFee885

No, I’d expect VTI to be in the 8,000-12,000 range in 40 years.

BirchInvestment

Roth IRA and VTI. Set it, forget it, retire early.

AlarmingConsequence

I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm not sure I follow. What does the fact that the target date is a "fund of funds" created this vulnerability? If Vanguard suddenly offered a new share class of VTSAX (or VTI) with half the expense ratio it would turn out the same as it did for our Target Date funds: investor sell off VTSAX and fund managers have to raise cash to pay them by selling holdings, generating capital gains for those of us left behind. Perhaps I am missing something?

DynamicBongs

VTI and hold.

daviddjg0033

There are less banks than there were 40 years ago. There are less publically traded stocks than there were 40 years ago. The Wilshire 5000 is now, well VTI is 3600 stocks or so. https://youtu.be/gqtrNXdlraM?si=mUSHwFcHoYMPyHgE

hirme23

Borrowing 4.2M is impressive, but to buy VT or VTI or what the fuck this is, wtf is this doing on wsb

Slow-Offer7075

Either dump it all into VTI right now and don’t look at it again for 5 years or dollar cost average it into SPY or VT over the next 7 months and then don’t look at it for 5 years. Your choice.

guitartb

Same as today. Same as last week. Same as last year and last decade. Hold long term investments in VTI and DCA.

SilentBeetle

Don't ask here. These fools will tell you to buy high and sell low. There are plenty of places to find information regarding how to invest. Most of it boils down to making sure you have an emergency fund, paying off high interest debt, making sure you're allocating your paycheck towards retirement and employee match, then investing in something like VOO or VTI in a tax advantaged account such as an IRA.

transient_eternity

If you're just getting started most people will say buy an index fund that's a basket of diversified stocks. VOO, QQQ, and VTI are the common ones, and to put a little bit in each week. From there you'll pick up more knowledge over time as well as get used to the market moving and can move on to picking single stocks.

Latter-Vast-3723

You are using an index that includes international stocks. This post is about America, VTI or voo would be appropriate both down more than 5 percent.

ExtremeIndependent99

When VIX spiked to 60 is the day I plowed most of my money in and I absolutely felt that fear. Investing on days like that are incredibly psychologically difficult. I sold all bonds and international at a profit and plowed it all into VTI. I also bought a lot of Bitcoin.  It’s very easy to stay in cash or buy bonds. But these dips, just like during Covid, and the Japan carry trade last year, we’e great buying opportunities and a great lesson for learning to control your emotions and have focus and resolve to make serious money.

StatisticalMan

Yes. Now it won't be automatically reported by the brokerage and very likely the IRS would never find out unless you were audited but yes absolutely wash sales can occur across accounts. Worse a wash sale created by a purchase (not sale) in a tax sheltered account doesn't delay the tax deduction it effectively erases it. For this reason a very simple workaround is just NEVER own the same assets in both taxable and tax sheltered accounts. For example I hold VTI + VXUS in taxable and FZROX in Roth IRA. Very similar assets but not substantially identical and thus by turning off dividend reinvestment in taxable it is impossible for a wash sale to happen short of me manually buying and selling.

MassiveBoner911_3

Ive been selling VTI and moving to VXUS

MelbourneBiology

Set up automatic transfers from your bank to a trading account. Set up automatic purchases spaced to whenever you can afford- once a month, once every 3 months, once every 6 months doesn't matter. Choose a strategy that is proven, no day trading or bull shit like that. Don't check your portfolio except for taxes and rebalancing. BC you will fuck up and sell at the wrong time. If you ever think you have found genius buy, you haven't. You aren't "early" everyone else just realised why it's a shit trade before you. Never try to be smart and come up with something original. "Smart ideas" are only allowed if you get an economics degree, then a job as an investment banker, then outperform everyone on your floor. If you don't tick those boxes, your next great idea is probably shit. Get the fuck off Reddit financial pages. Everyone is here to laugh at the idiots who are about to go broke. Approximately what I do based advice from a professional: 25% – VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market) Why: Broad exposure to the entire U.S. equity market (large, mid, and small-cap stocks) 10% – VWO (Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets) Why: Exposure to higher-growth economies like China, India, and Brazil 25% – ETF: VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock Index) Why: Diversifies beyond the U.S. with developed and some emerging market stocks 15% – Gold ETF: IAU (iShares Gold Trust) or GLDM (SPDR Gold MiniShares) Why: Hedge against inflation and market volatility 25% – Bonds ETF: BND (Vanguard Total Bond Market) Why: Adds stability and income, especially useful during market downturns

da_man4444

Leave this subreddit and put your money into VTI

luihgi

First of all, VTI on its own is a good choice. I always recommend most money gets invested in ETFs like this for the long term, and then a small proportion goes into riskier assets like leveraged ETFs with alphaAI. Now, whether it makes sense to proceed right now depends on your timeline, goals, appetite for risk, beliefs about the future, etc. If you believe the market will ultimately recover someday and you’ll be invested long enough to see that day, then yes, it makes sense to invest.

Nat00o

Am I making a huge mistake by buying VOO/VTI/VXUS on Fidelity?

kkInkr

VOO and VTI are not safe for the next 10 years according to some. So it is a waste of time to invest into US market for the next time years some may say.