New to investing? Don't worry -- there are some easy and effective ways to get started.
One of the best methods is to simply buy an ETF, or an exchange-traded fund. These funds trade like stocks. Simply look up their ticker with your brokerage account, and you should be able to buy and sell them whenever the market is open.
ETFs are great because they can give you broad diversification with a single investment. There are ETFs that track the performance of large companies and small, foreign companies and domestic, and even various industries like oil producers or utility businesses.
There's one ETF in particular that new investors should strongly consider: the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI +0.53%).
NYSEMKT: VTI
Key Data Points
This is probably the ETF for you
If you're a new investor, there are a few things you'll want to do.
First off, don't invest in individual securities just yet. Stock picking is a difficult game. Only one-third of professional money managers are able to beat the market in any given year. Doing so as a novice ensures that the odds are stacked against you. That's why buying an ETF like Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF is so appealing.
This ETF tracks an index, which is a collection of stocks based on a particular theme. As its name implies, the Total Stock Market ETF buys a small stake of nearly every U.S. company -- 3,731 of them to be exact. With this ETF, you don't need to figure out whether large companies will beat small ones, or whether technology stocks will outpace energy stocks. You'll be buying bits of all of them, profiting when they rise, while diversifying your risk if some struggle.
Importantly, Vanguard doesn't have a team of professionals managing the ETF's portfolio. The ETF's holdings simply mirror the underlying index, which in this case is the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index. This index tracks nearly all the U.S. market's stocks, a list that doesn't vary much from year to year. That allows for very little portfolio turnover, minimizing taxes and uninvested cash.
Last year, for example, Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF had a turnover rate of just 2.2%. Actively managed funds -- or those that hire professional stock pickers -- often have turnover rates between 50% and 70%.
By simply tracking the market, this ETF doesn't try to beat the market -- it simply is the market. Since the ETF launched in 2001, it has returned an average of 8.63% annually. Its benchmark index, meanwhile, returned 8.65% annually -- a near-identical performance.
Remember that most professional stock pickers fail to beat their benchmark index. A big reason is fees. Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF charges just 0.03% per year, meaning your portfolio maintains 99.97% of its value from year to year. Actively managed funds, meanwhile, often charge between 0.5% and 1.5% per year, putting a big dent in your long-term profits.
Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF is simply the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to get you invested. It also gives you great odds of beating professional stock pickers at their own game.
When should you buy this ETF?
This ETF is ideal for new and experienced investors alike. But when should you start investing? There's a simple answer: right now.
The minimum investment needed to buy Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF is $1. Many brokerages will let you purchase the ETF with no commission. You can even set up recurring investments of, say, $20 every week.
You'll be amazed at how quickly your portfolio begins to grow with even a small recurring investment. Plus, recurring investments allow you to tap into the magic of dollar-cost averaging. If you purchase shares of Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF automatically every week or every month, for example, you make sure to buy at all different prices, ensuring your portfolio can take advantage of various market swings.
Whether you opt for recurring investments is up to you. But if you're a novice investor, the best way to start is to simply buy Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF. It may end up being the only ETF you ever need.
