7 Best ETFs to Buy in November 2025

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that trade like a stock but give investors ownership of a broad range of stocks or other assets. ETFs offer investors an appealing alternative to owning individual stocks.

There are all kinds of ETFs available. Some track major indexes, such as the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq Composite. Others give investors exposure to certain parts of the world, like China or emerging markets. And some ETFs concentrate on certain sectors, such as technology or banking, or specific types of stocks, like dividend or growth stocks.

Vanguard created the index fund. If you're looking for an S&P 500 index fund, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -0.96%) is hard to beat.

It offers a dirt-cheap expense ratio of just 0.03%, compared to the 0.22% average for similar funds. This lower expense ratio means that for every $10,000 invested with the fund, investors will pay just $3 in annual fees versus $22 in a typical competing fund.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is one of the largest and most popular ETFs. It was the largest ETF by assets under management, or AUM, in November 2025. The ETF's combination of low costs and large size makes it a great choice if you're looking to invest in the broader market. Because of its history, diversification, and exposure to blue chip stocks, many investors consider it one of the best ETFs to buy and hold.

The S&P 500 has an excellent track record of delivering returns for investors. Over the last 50 years, the average stock market return, as measured by the S&P 500, has been 8% with dividends reinvested. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a low-cost way to capture the market's returns.

2. Invesco QQQ Trust

If you're looking to gain exposure to big tech stocks, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ -1.54%) is an excellent choice. The ETF tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, which includes 100 of the Nasdaq's largest nonfinancial companies.

The top stocks in the ETF are Nvidia (NVDA -3.20%), Apple (AAPL +0.56%), Microsoft (MSFT -0.27%), Broadcom (AVGO -3.57%), and Amazon (AMZN -0.97%). As one of the best-performing ETFs, it boasts an affordable expense ratio of 0.2%.

As of November 2025, the Invesco QQQ Trust had generated a total return of around 536% over the past decade. A $10,000 investment made in the Invesco QQQ Trust 10 years ago would be worth more than $63,600 today.

The Nasdaq-100's focus on innovative technology companies positions it to continue delivering strong total returns, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates growth in the tech sector in the coming years.

3. Vanguard Growth ETF

If you want to invest in growth stocks but don't want to be an active stock picker, the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG -1.25%) makes that easy. The ETF holds large-cap growth stocks and tracks the CRSP US Large-Cap Growth index.

Like Invesco QQQ Trust and Vanguard S&P 500, the Vanguard Growth ETF's biggest holdings are Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft. The growth-focused ETF also held many other growth stocks among the roughly 160 companies in the fund as of November 2025.

The Vanguard Growth ETF offers a rock-bottom expense ratio of just 0.04%. Its low cost makes it a good deal for anyone looking for a growth stock ETF.

4. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF

The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR -0.07%) provides broad exposure to small-cap stocks. Small caps tend to be more volatile than the broader market because they may not be profitable or as financially strong as their large-cap counterparts. As a result, small caps tend to be riskier during a downturn because they may not have the same access to capital.

This ETF helps mute some of that risk by owning a large basket of small caps. As of November 2025, it held almost 630 stocks and had a fairly low concentration of holdings. Its top 10 holdings made up about 6.5% of the total. The ETF has a very low expense ratio of 0.06%, making it a low-cost way to add some small-cap exposure to your portfolio.

Dividend stocks are great long-term investments. Over the last 50 years, dividend-paying companies outperformed those that don't pay dividends by more than 2-to-1 (9.2% average annual total return versus 4.3% for dividend nonpayers). The best performance came from dividend growers and initiators (10.2% versus 6.8% for companies with no change in their dividend policy).

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD +0.41%) provides exposure to high-yielding U.S. stocks with a history of growing their dividends per share. It tracks an index (Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100) that measures the performance of 100 top dividend stocks based on several quality characteristics. Among its 10 largest holdings in late 2025 were notable dividend payers PepsiCo (PEP +1.22%) and Chevron (CVX +1.47%).

The ETF offers a relatively attractive dividend yield. As of November 2025, it had a trailing-12-month yield of 3.8%, more than triple the 1.1% dividend yield of an S&P 500 index fund. And thanks to its low expense ratio of 0.06%, investors get to keep more of the dividend income that the ETF produces. The fund should also deliver price appreciation as the underlying companies grow their earnings and dividends.

6. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

Although the S&P 500 is considered a broad-market index, it gives you exposure to only 500 large-cap U.S. stocks. If you want to own all the stocks in the U.S. market, the best way to do it is through a total stock market fund such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI -0.94%).

As of November 2025, the fund held more than 3,500 stocks, including large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stocks. Because its holdings encompass the S&P 500, its largest positions are the same as for the broad market index.

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF aims to track the CRSP US Total Stock Market index. Like other Vanguard funds, its low expense ratio of 0.03% makes it an affordable way to invest in the entire U.S. stock market through one ETF.

7. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF