If you have extra cash -- say $1,000 -- that you want to put to work in the stock market, you might want to consider exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs deliver exposure to many stocks with a single purchase, making them ideal for beginner investors or for anyone seeking increased diversification.

ETFs offer a great option for those who don't have an individual stock in mind for potential purchase but still want to invest. They also offer a great option for those who might want exposure to a particular investing style like growth stocks or dividend income but aren't sure where to start. ETFs are ideally suited to meet these challenges.

There's even an ETF that can help you achieve the total return of the broader stock market with your single $1,000 investment. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI 0.33%) meets that goal well, making it an excellent go-to option for your extra cash.

What Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF is all about

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF aims to track the return of essentially all U.S. stocks, ranging from large-capitalization giants down to small-cap businesses. Given that broad target, it's easiest to talk about what you don't gain exposure to when you own this ETF.

It doesn't include any bonds in its portfolio, and it doesn't cover stocks you can't invest in through U.S. exchanges. Just about everything else is fair game.

It isn't a perfect stand-in for the S&P 500, but the returns of this Vanguard ETF closely follow that hugely popular index. Returns over the past decade have averaged just over 12% per year.

It's also an index fund, meaning it is passively managed rather than run by a fund manager. So expenses hover near zero: The fund's expense ratio is just 0.03%, meaning there's almost no drag on your return from expenses and fees.

VTI offers exposure to growth

While it's a diversified fund, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF does tilt its exposure toward the biggest companies on the market, which today are tech giants. The fund's list of top 10 holdings reads a bit like the list of "Magnificent Seven" stocks, with Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and Amazon landing in the top five positions. You'll get even more exposure to Apple stock through Berkshire Hathaway, which is the fund's sixth-largest position.

This is no surprise given that these companies generate an outsized portion of all U.S. corporate profits these days. But it's useful to know -- if you already have a few big tech stocks in your portfolio, then owning the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF will give you even more exposure to this single, expensive market sector.

Buy this ETF over time

You might want to buy the ETF over time (ideally acquiring shares every month or quarter) to reduce the risk of purchasing it just before a sharp downturn. That risk is elevated here in early 2024 after tech stocks rallied over the past year. Many of the largest holdings are sitting at or near all-time highs today.

Still, the fund represents a fantastic way to "own the entire market" with a single purchase. And the risk of buying shares at a peak is far less than you would encounter by owning individual stocks, especially those in the high-growth category like Nvidia. Consider putting cash into the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF at regular intervals and whenever you want to invest in the market but don't have a compelling individual stock in mind.