Picking individual stocks is extremely difficult.
That’s a rough truth about investing that many individuals don’t learn until they’ve made some costly errors. And here’s another hard truth: Most investors trade too much, chasing fads or selling stocks at the first sign of trouble. Not only can this drive up your fees, it can also result in chronic underperformance.
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These facts are true for the pros, too. In 2025, actively managed funds struggled, with just 38% of active ETFs and mutual funds beating their passive benchmarks. So given that the deck is stacked against you, a better approach for most investors is to build a diversified portfolio of the best ETFs they can hold for years to come.
This list of ETFs is a great place to start, and all seven options are great foundational holdings for long-term, buy-and-hold portfolios:
| ETF | Expense ratio | 10-year annualized return |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (ticker: VOO) | 0.03% | 15.2% |
| Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) | 0.03% | 10.9% |
| iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) | 0.05% | 11.1% |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) | 0.18% | 21.1% |
| Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) | 0.04% | 11.5% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) | 0.05% | 9.5% |
| Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) | 0.06% | 12.4% |
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
The S&P 500 index of the largest U.S. companies is perhaps the world’s most widely followed benchmark of stocks. VOO provides simple, cost-effective exposure to these 500 leading companies. There are other look-alike funds tied to this same passive list of stocks, such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which is the oldest such fund. But VOO offers great liquidity and a rock-bottom expense ratio. As a result, this elegantly simple long-term ETF gives you a piece of leaders including Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) in one single holding. As tech stocks tend to be the largest and most prominent companies on U.S. exchanges, this sector leads the fund with about 39% of assets, followed by financial services and communications stocks at about 11% each.
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA)
Another great long-term ETF holding for investors, this Schwab fund zeroes in on “growthier” opportunities in stocks that average about $6 billion in market value. It holds around 1,700 stocks, with an incredibly diversified lineup of companies. Top sectors include industrials at 16%, followed by technology and financial services at around 15% each. The top individual stocks at present include digital memory leader SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) and oncology biotech stock Revolution Medicines Inc. (RVMD). With holdings like these, investors get ownership in up-and-coming businesses that may offer greater upside as they grow and mature over time.
iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH)
IJH is a middle ground between the prior two funds. It includes mid-sized companies that are not so small that they have limited resources but neither are they so large that they are entrenched behemoths with a difficult path to new customers and growth. This iShares fund is the largest mid-cap ETF out there that focuses on this class of company, tied to the S&P 400 index — that is, the next 400 stocks in line after the top 500 U.S. companies are tallied for its sister index. Top holdings at present include cloud communications firm Twilio Inc. (TWLO) and genomic analysis firm Illumina Inc. (ILMN), among others.
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)
For investors who care less about broad swaths of the stock market and prefer to veer toward the high-flying technology sector in pursuit of long-term growth, QQQ is a solid option to consider. This massive ETF tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, giving it a heavy allocation toward major tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and other innovators listed on this exchange. While QQQ holds some non-tech names to provide diversification, it focuses on this high-growth sector that has been a leader in recent years. In fact, almost 60% of its assets are allocated to tech stocks.
[Read: QQQ vs. QQQM: What’s the Difference?]
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM)
Investors prioritizing income may want to consider VYM as a long-term holding. This fund tracks an index of companies that have above-average dividend payouts compared to the broader market. While sacrificing some growth potential, VYM delivers an attractive 2.3% dividend yield — more than 1.1 percentage points higher than the S&P 500 index’s average. Major holdings include well-known dividend payers like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO). By focusing on profitable firms that share the wealth with stockholders, VYM can be an excellent complement to growth-oriented funds in your long-term ETF portfolio.
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS)
For geographic diversification beyond the U.S., VXUS gives investors access to roughly 8,700 stocks headquartered in foreign markets. While not constituents in the most popular domestic indexes, many names that make up this fund will be familiar, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSM), Tencent Holdings Ltd. (700.HK) and HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L). With broad exposure across developed and emerging markets, top countries include Japan at 15%, Taiwan at 9% and Canada at 8%.
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT)
Can’t decide between any of the prior options? Thankfully, there’s a fund that covers all your bases with exposure to the totality of the global stock market. VT has a wide-reaching portfolio of nearly 10,000 stocks that spans the globe. While U.S. equities represent more than 60% of assets, this fund also provides ample investment across international markets. As mentioned in the introduction of this list, trying to outsmart the market can often result in headaches for investors. This “total world” fund casts the widest of nets to allow your portfolio to ride the long-term uptrend in the global economy without trying to get cute about what’s hot and what’s not.
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Update 07/17/26: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
