Are ETFs worth it long term?

Many ETFs are worth it as long-term investments. Several are ideally suited for holding many years because they provide broad exposure to the stock market or to a specific stock type.

How long should I hold a long-term ETF?

You should aim to hold most ETFs for three to five years, and ideally much longer. You can hold many ETFs through retirement, selling shares as you need cash.

Which ETF does Warren Buffett recommend?

Warren Buffett has recommended that investors buy shares in an S&P 500 ETF such as the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO).

What is the best ETF in the last 10 years?

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NYSEMKT: SMH) is the best-performing ETF over the past decade with a 34.0% average annual total return through the end of August 2026.

How many ETFs should I own?

The number of ETFs you should own depends on your personal preference. You want to hold enough ETFs to build a diversified portfolio without becoming over-diversified. For some investors, that could be as few as one completely balanced ETF, such as the iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF. However, for investors who want more control over their finances, holding somewhere between five and 10 ETFs would probably be an ideal target. You'd want to own funds that provide broad exposure to the U.S. and international stock and bond markets. Additionally, you may want to allocate a portion of your funds to an ETF focused on a specific type of stock (e.g., dividend or high-growth stocks) or one that aims to capitalize on a particular trend (e.g., artificial intelligence (AI) or renewable energy).

Can I invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money?

Yes, you can invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money. You only need to buy one share of an ETF at a time, which typically costs less than $100. Meanwhile, some brokers and fund managers enable you to invest in fractional shares of ETFs for as little as $1.

Are long-term ETFs suitable for retirement planning?

Long-term ETFs are ideally suited for retirement planning. They enable you to passively invest in stocks or bonds over the long term to build a diversified, lower-risk portfolio.

Best ETFs for Long-Term Growth

A look at the top ETFs to consider investing in for the long term.

By Matthew DiLallo – Updated Sep 11, 2026 at 12:50 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

+Fool.comon

Key Points

The best long-term ETFs combine low expense ratios with broad diversification, since fees compound against your returns over decades just as gains do.
Options range from broad-market index funds to sector, dividend, and international ETFs, so the right pick depends on whether you want a single core holding or a mix of complementary funds.
Larger funds with long track records and well-known sponsors tend to be safer long-term bets, since they're more likely to closely track their benchmark and stay around for the long haul.

The best long-term ETFs allow investors to easily build a diversified portfolio. They can provide exposure across many asset classes, industries, and geographies. This diversification can help an investor reduce risk without sacrificing long-term returns.

There are many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) built for long-term investors. Here's a closer look at several top ETFs that make ideal buy-and-hold investments.

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hand and ETF spelled out-1200x800-5b2df79 — Image source: Getty Images.

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Top long-term ETFs

Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Current price
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:VOO)	$703.58
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT:RSP)	$214.91
iShares Trust - iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:IWF)	$122.62
Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEMKT:VNQ)	$95.01
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHD)	$34.16
iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Eafe ETF (NYSEMKT:IEFA)	$99.61
iShares Trust - iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF (NYSEMKT:AOR)	$69.43

Data as of Sep 11, 2026. Showing 7 of 7 total entries.

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1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

NYSEMKT: VOO

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Today's Change

(1.00%) $6.93

Current Price

$703.58

Key Data Points

AUM

$1.7T

Dividend Yield

1.04%

Expense Ratio

0.03%

Top Holdings

NVDA

7.55%

AAPL

7.05%

MSFT

5.36%

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The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO +1.01%) is an index fund designed to track the S&P 500 index. The index represents 500 of the largest U.S. publicly traded companies. The ETF's goal is to closely track the S&P 500's returns, the primary benchmark for the overall U.S. stock market.

It offers meaningful growth potential, making it an ideal long-term investment. Over the last 50 years, the average annual return of the S&P 500 was 10%. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has only slightly underperformed its benchmark's returns since its inception, thanks to its modest expense ratio.

Like the S&P 500, the ETF uses a market-weighted strategy, giving larger companies greater weight. Its top 10 holdings accounted for nearly 38% of its total net assets in early September 2026, providing investors with relatively concentrated exposure to the index's largest companies.

The ETF has a very low expense ratio of 0.03%, significantly lower than the average expense ratio of 0.23% for similar funds. Investors would pay only $0.30 in annual management fees per $1,000 invested in the ETF, compared to $2.30 per $1,000 invested in the average fund.

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2. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

NYSEMKT: RSP

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Today's Change

(0.82%) $1.74

Current Price

$214.91

Key Data Points

AUM

$99B

Dividend Yield

1.49%

Expense Ratio

0.20%

Top Holdings

MRNA

0.58%

VEEV

0.31%

ZBRA

0.31%

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The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP +0.83%) is also an index fund based on the S&P 500. However, it uses an equal-weight approach rather than a market-cap-based one. As a result, the ETF's top 10 holdings represented slightly more than 3% of its total assets in early September 2026.

This approach reduces concentration risk by providing broad exposure across the 500 stocks in the S&P 500. The ETF rebalances its holdings quarterly to ensure each holding remains a relatively equal portion of the fund's assets.

The ETF has a reasonably low expense ratio of 0.2%. That's a reasonable fee to gain broad, equal-weight exposure to 500 of the largest public companies in the U.S.

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3. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

NYSEMKT: IWF

iShares Trust - iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

Today's Change

(1.07%) $1.30

Current Price

$122.62

Key Data Points

AUM

$124B

Dividend Yield

1.14%

Expense Ratio

0.18%

Top Holdings

NVDA

15.69%

AAPL

7.43%

GOOGL

5.79%

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The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF +1.07%) provides exposure to U.S. companies expected to grow earnings at an above-average rate relative to the broader market. The fund held shares of 366 companies as of early September 2026.

The ETF takes a market-weighted approach. Its top 10 holdings accounted for over 57% of its total assets. Given its growth focus, technology stocks accounted for more than 55% of the fund's holdings, led by technology titans Nvidia (NVDA +0.26%) at 15.5% and Apple (AAPL +2.34%) at 7.8%.

The ETF charges investors a reasonable expense ratio of 0.18%. That's a fair price to pay to gain long-term exposure to growth stocks.

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4. Vanguard Real Estate ETF

NYSEMKT: VNQ

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Today's Change

(0.95%) $0.89

Current Price

$95.01

Key Data Points

AUM

$73B

Dividend Yield

3.66%

Expense Ratio

0.13%

Top Holdings

WELL

9.92%

PLD

8.17%

EQIX

6.10%

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The Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ +0.92%) invests in real estate stocks with a focus on real estate investment trusts (REITs). These entities typically own income-producing commercial real estate, such as apartments, office buildings, retail properties, and industrial complexes.

As of early September 2026, the REIT ETF had 140 total holdings. The top 10 made up almost 55% of its assets. However, it's worth noting that its largest holding was a Vanguard real estate index fund (which accounted for more than 14.4% of its assets), helping to reduce its overall concentration.

The fund charges a relatively low 0.13% fee, making it an inexpensive way to gain exposure to the real estate market, which has historically been an excellent long-term investment. REITs also tend to pay above-average dividends. This ETF offered a dividend yield above 3.4% in early September 2026, making it an ideal investment for those seeking to generate passive income from real estate.

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5. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

NYSEMKT: SCHD

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

Today's Change

(0.49%) $0.17

Current Price

$34.16

Key Data Points

AUM

$111B

Dividend Yield

3.07%

Expense Ratio

0.06%

Top Holdings

MRK

4.81%

ABT

4.52%

AMGN

4.31%

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The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD +0.49%) tracks an index of dividend stocks known for the quality and sustainability of their dividend payments. The ETF enables investors to benefit from the powerful total returns dividend stocks can deliver over the long term.

The ETF holds roughly 100 dividend-paying stocks. The fund offered a trailing 12-month dividend yield of around 3.1% in early September 2026, nearly triple that of the S&P 500 (1.1% at the time).

Its top 10 holdings made up more than 42% of the total. However, its overall holdings were fairly well diversified. The fund's top five sectors were healthcare (20.7%), consumer staples (20.4%), energy (14.1%), industrials (11.6%), and financials (10.1%).

The ETF charges an ultra-low expense ratio of 0.06%. That lets investors keep a significant portion of the dividend income generated by its holdings. These features make the ETF a very low-cost way to collect passive income via dividend stocks, which have historically been exceptional long-term investments. Since its inception in 2011, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has generated an annualized total return of 13.7% through early September 2026.

6. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

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NYSEMKT: IEFA

iShares Trust - iShares Core Msci Eafe ETF

Today's Change

(1.11%) $1.10

Current Price

$99.61

Key Data Points

AUM

$193B

Dividend Yield

3.30%

Expense Ratio

0.07%

Top Holdings

ASML.AS

2.61%

HSBA.L

1.38%

ROP.SW

1.16%

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The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA +1.11%) is an ETF focused on international stocks. It provides investors with broad exposure to companies in Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Far East. That enables anyone to add some international diversification to their portfolio, which has outstanding long-term growth potential.

The ETF held 2,632 stocks as of early September 2026. It provides fairly broad exposure to global stocks, with its top 10 holdings making up around 12% of its net assets. The ETF is also reasonably diversified by sector and geography:

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Data source: iShares. NOTE: Data as of September 11, 2026.
Top 5 Sectors	Top 5 Geographies
Financials (24.7% of the fund's holdings)	Japan (26.2%)
Industrials (19.3%)	United Kingdom (14.0%)
Information technology (10.5%)	France (8.7%)
Healthcare (9.2%)	Switzerland (8.3%)
Consumer discretionary (8.5%)	Germany (8.0%)

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The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF charges a very low expense ratio of 0.07%, allowing investors to add some international exposure to their portfolios at a low cost and benefit from the long-term growth of the global economy. This ETF also had an attractive trailing 12-month dividend yield of 3.3% in early September 2026.

7. iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF

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NYSEMKT: AOR

iShares Trust - iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF

Today's Change

(0.62%) $0.43

Current Price

$69.43

Key Data Points

AUM

$3.7B

Dividend Yield

2.55%

Expense Ratio

0.20%

Top Holdings

NVDA

2.88%

AAPL

2.46%

MSFT

1.94%

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The iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF (AOR +0.62%) offers investors a simple way to build a highly diversified portfolio. It provides access to several asset classes through one ETF. The fund provides investors with exposure to a broad mix of stocks (roughly 60% of its allocation) and bonds (40%) by holding seven ETFs:

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV +0.99%): This S&P 500 index fund made up 35.1% of the ETF's assets.
iShares Core Total USD Bond Market (IUSB +0.02%): This U.S.-focused bond ETF totaled 32.1% of the fund's holdings.
iShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETF (IDEV +1.04%): This international ETF, which focuses on developed markets, accounted for 17.3% of its assets.
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets (IEMG +1.30%): This emerging markets-focused ETF accounted for 6.8% of the fund's assets.
iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (IAGG +0.11%): This international bond ETF comprised 5.8% of the fund's assets.
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH +0.87%): This mid-cap stock-focused ETF accounted for 1.9% of the fund's assets.
iShares Core Small-Cap ETF ( ): This -focused ETF accounted for 0.9% of the fund's assets.

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Why ETFs are good for long-term investors

ETFs can be great building blocks for long-term investors. They can provide:

Diversification: A single ETF can give you exposure to hundreds of stocks or bonds across multiple industries.
Lower effort: ETFs are professionally assembled, allowing you to gain market exposure without having to research, buy, and manage a portfolio of individual stocks and bonds yourself.

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How to find top long-term ETFs

Here are some tips for identifying the best ETFs for a long-term investment:

Look for a low expense ratio -- it's less of a drag on your returns over the long term.
Focus on passively managed funds that track a well-established index rather than actively managed funds trying to beat an index.
Seek out larger funds (ideally over $1 billion in assets under management, or AUM) with long operating track records by a well-known financial sponsor (e.g., BlackRock (BLK +2.46%) and Vanguard).
Check that the fund has a history of matching or exceeding its chosen benchmark.

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Best long-term ETFs FAQ

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About the Author

Matt DiLallo has been a contributing Motley Fool stock analyst specializing in the energy, industrials, and real estate sectors since 2012. He also covers dividend-paying stocks, pre-IPO companies, ETFs, and other investing topics. He holds an MBA from Liberty University.

TMFmd19

@MatthewDiLallo

Matt DiLallo has positions in Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard Real Estate ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, and iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF. The Motley Fool recommends BlackRock. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Best ETFs for Long-Term Growth

A look at the top ETFs to consider investing in for the long term.

Key Points

Top long-term ETFs

1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Key Data Points

2. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Key Data Points

3. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

Key Data Points

4. Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Key Data Points

5. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

Key Data Points

6. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

Key Data Points

7. iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF

Key Data Points

Why ETFs are good for long-term investors

How to find top long-term ETFs

Related investing topics

Best ETFs for Beginners and How to Invest

ETF vs. Index Fund: What's the Difference and Which Should You Choose?

5 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETFs to Buy in 2026

5 Best Electric Vehicle ETFs for 2026 and How to Invest

Best long-term ETFs FAQ

Are ETFs worth it long term?

Are ETFs worth it long term?

How long should I hold a long-term ETF?

How long should I hold a long-term ETF?

Which ETF does Warren Buffett recommend?

Which ETF does Warren Buffett recommend?

What is the best ETF in the last 10 years?

What is the best ETF in the last 10 years?

How many ETFs should I own?

How many ETFs should I own?

Can I invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money?

Can I invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money?

Are long-term ETFs suitable for retirement planning?

Are long-term ETFs suitable for retirement planning?

About the Author

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Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

6. iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

Key Data Points

7. iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF

Key Data Points

Why ETFs are good for long-term investors

How to find top long-term ETFs

Best ETFs for Beginners and How to Invest

ETF vs. Index Fund: What's the Difference and Which Should You Choose?

5 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETFs to Buy in 2026

5 Best Electric Vehicle ETFs for 2026 and How to Invest

Best long-term ETFs FAQ

Are ETFs worth it long term?

Are ETFs worth it long term?

How long should I hold a long-term ETF?

How long should I hold a long-term ETF?

Which ETF does Warren Buffett recommend?

Which ETF does Warren Buffett recommend?

What is the best ETF in the last 10 years?

What is the best ETF in the last 10 years?

How many ETFs should I own?

How many ETFs should I own?

Can I invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money?

Can I invest in long-term ETFs with a small amount of money?

Are long-term ETFs suitable for retirement planning?

Are long-term ETFs suitable for retirement planning?