The S&P 500 has had a great run over the last 10 years, but if you want to take it up another level then consider some of these ETFs as investments.
American Funds Growth Fund of America A
- American Funds Growth Fund of America A
- American Funds Growth Fund of America B
- American Funds Growth Fund of America C
- American Funds Growth Fund of America F
- American Funds Growth Fund of America I
iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF
The iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (IJR) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The index includes 600 stocks of small companies that are deemed to be undervalued by analysts. It’s considered a low volatility fund and can be used as a core holding in a portfolio.
This ETF’s performance over the last 10 years has been more than twice that of the S&P 500, which has returned about 6%. Because it focuses on value stocks and not growth stocks, there have been some periods where IJR lagged behind other small cap ETFs like IWM or JKH when these two were beating them by a wide margin with leveraged returns on their holdings (which tend to do well during times when investors are feeling optimistic). However, because this particular fund tends not to stray too far from its underlying index and doesn’t rely on leveraging its holdings for returns like many others do—and because value investing has been shown over long periods of time to be effective—you’re still likely to see better returns from this investment than many others out there if you happen upon this one at just the right time.
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
iShares Russell 2000 ETF is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Russell 2000 Index. The Russell 2000 Index is made up of small-cap stocks and represents about 98% of the total capitalization of all U.S.-traded securities. It’s a subset of the Russell 3000 Index, which consists of 3,000 large-cap companies from diverse industries across multiple market sectors.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF follows an index methodology based on price return methodologies to ensure that it closely tracks its underlying benchmark index. The fund uses a sampling approach when selecting securities for its portfolio: out of all eligible securities in each sector under consideration, it selects those that are most representative based on their weightings within the overall universe (i.e., those that have higher market capitalizations).
JPMorgan Mid Cap Growth Fund
JPMorgan Mid Cap Growth Fund is a mutual fund that invests in large-capitalization growth stocks. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in mid-cap companies.
The company was founded in 1856 and is based in New York, United States. The firm provides wealth management services to its clients through its subsidiaries; JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association; J.P Morgan Prime Brokerage LLC.; Jpmorgan Chase Bank National Association (SBNY).
Vanguard Equity Income Fund
Vanguard Equity Income Fund (MUTF:VEIPX)
Vanguard 500 Index Fund (MUTF:VFINX)
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (MUTF:VTSAX)
Vanguard Mid Cap Index Fund (MUTF:VIMSX)
Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund (MUTF:VISSMX)
If you’re looking for a no-nonsense, low-cost way to invest in stocks, the above funds are your best bet. You’ll get broad exposure to different types of stocks with these index funds. The downside is that they aren’t going to outperform their respective indexes consistently. However, if you want an easy way to diversify your portfolio and grow it over time then these are some of the best options out there.
The above funds should give you a great foundation for investing in stocks. If you’re looking to build on that, then consider adding a fund or two focused on dividend growth.
Dividend growth investing is a popular investment strategy for retirees. You get paid to wait for your stocks to grow in value over time, which can help you avoid running out of money in retirement. But finding the best dividend funds can be challenging because there are so many different options out there.
PIMCO Total Return Bond Fund
In a nutshell, the PIMCO Total Return Bond Fund (BONDX) is designed to invest in all types of bonds, including government, investment-grade corporate and high-yield corporate debt.
The fund’s managers use their best judgment when deciding which bonds to buy and sell, with the goal of maximizing total return after fees are taken out. For example: If they think inflation is going up and interest rates are going up as well (and vice versa), they’ll want to sell some shorter-term bonds for ones that pay more interest. Or if there’s too much demand for one kind of bond (and not enough supply), they’ll buy more from other investors so that everyone has an equal chance at getting one.
SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial
The SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial ETF (XLF) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the financial sector. It invests in stocks from companies that are involved in the commercial banking, securities brokerage, insurance and real estate industries. There are only 30 stocks in this ETF and its top 10 holdings represent about 44% of its total assets. These stocks include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc..
The iShares MSCI USA IMI Financials ETF (ITIP) is another popular way to invest in the financial sector. It tracks companies that provide services like insurance and capital markets as well as other financial institutions such as banks, asset managers and thrifts/savings banks. The top five holdings make up almost 25% of ITIP’s total assets which also include JPMorgan Chase & Co., State Street Corp., Bank of America Corp., BlackRock Inc (BlackRock).
Invesco Balanced-Risk Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund (FIRM)
The Invesco Balanced-Risk Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund (FIRM) is an actively managed fund that invests in a diversified portfolio of futures contracts on precious metals, energy, livestock and agricultural commodities. FIRM is designed to provide investors with a way to participate in the potential growth of the global commodity markets.
This fund holds up to 16 different commodity futures contracts at any time, but never more than 5% of its assets in any one commodity. The goal is to hold riskier positions when prices are higher and less risky positions when prices decline. The portfolio includes oil, gold and silver as well as grains such as corn and soybean meal. It also holds palladium—a metal often used by auto manufacturers for pollution control systems—and platinum group metals used in jewelry manufacturing.
Franklin Templeton U.S. Government Securities A Fund (FGOVX)
Many investors are looking for ways to beat the market. ETFs can be a great way to do just that, as they tend to offer better diversification and lower costs than mutual funds. The Franklin Templeton U.S. Government Securities A Fund (FGOVX) is one example of an ETF that outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 10 years, with a return of 14.1% per year versus 13% for the S&P 500 index over that period.
ETFs are great for diversification and can offer a higher return than the S&P 500.
ETFs are one of the best ways to invest in the stock market. They can offer a higher return than the S&P 500, and you can buy them in your brokerage account. They’re also tax efficient, easy to trade, and allow you to buy into multiple stocks at once.
However, they’re not the best option for everyone. If you don’t have a lot of money to invest in your portfolio, for example, it may be better to buy ETFs with lower expense ratios instead.
So, if you are looking for a way to diversify your portfolio and get better returns than you’re getting from an S&P 500 fund, these are some options that I would recommend. The top five performers in our analysis are all solid choices and have good records of performance over the past 10 years or so.
