Many investors are intimidated by the idea of buying individual stocks. The potential rewards of choosing tomorrow's blockbuster stock pick are immense, but you can also lose everything if you choose badly. If that level of risk is too much for you to handle, exchange-traded funds offer a way to get a highly diversified portfolio that you can use for long-term financial goals like retirement.
In fact, you can put together a smart retirement saving strategy with just a handful of ETFs. The following seven funds give you exposure to every major asset class, with all kinds of diversification to keep your portfolio on an even keel throughout your career.
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