Is it bad to have too many ETFs?
Common mistakes to avoid when choosing the number of ETFs
SPY, VOO and IVV are among the most popular S&P 500 ETFs. These three S&P 500 ETFs are quite similar, but may sometimes diverge in terms of costs or daily returns. Investors generally only need one S&P 500 ETF.
The one time it's okay to choose a single investment
That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.
This investment strategy seeks total return through exposure to a diversified portfolio of primarily equity, and to a lesser extent, fixed income asset classes with a target allocation of 70% equities and 30% fixed income. Target allocations can vary +/-5%.
The answer depends on several factors when deciding how many ETFs you should own. Generally speaking, fewer than 10 ETFs are likely enough to diversify your portfolio, but this will vary depending on your financial goals, ranging from retirement savings to income generation.
Setting a rule of five per cent helps investors avoid owning too many ETFs and essentially sets the limit at 20 ETFs (100/5) if a portfolio consists solely of ETFs. Deciding on the weighting of a position for a stock is very different than deciding on a weighting for an ETF.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in February 2014 would be worth $5,971.20, or a gain of 497.12%, as of February 5, 2024, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 178.17% and gold's return of 55.50% over the same time frame.
In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500, then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.
Think About This: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000 would have grown to $32,527 over 20 years — an average return of 6.07% per year.
If Vanguard ever did go bankrupt, the funds would not be affected and would simply hire another firm to provide these services.
Do ETFs ever go to zero?
Until the ETF stops trading, you can sell shares like normal. The fund will continue to track its underlying index, which helps ensure its price won't plummet to zero just because of the closure announcement.
The price of an ETF share generally stays very close to NAV but if the share price is below the NAV, then the ETF is said to be trading at a discount. Conversely, if the ETF share price is more expensive than NAV, the ETF is said to be trading at a premium.
Specifically, a fund is prohibited from: acquiring more than 3% of a registered investment company's shares (the “3% Limit”); investing more than 5% of its assets in a single registered investment company (the “5% Limit”); or. investing more than 10% of its assets in registered investment companies (the “10% Limit”).
What is the Rule of 40? The Rule of 40 states that, at scale, the combined value of revenue growth rate and profit margin should exceed 40% for healthy SaaS companies. The Rule of 40 – popularized by Brad Feld – states that an SaaS company's revenue growth rate plus profit margin should be equal to or exceed 40%.
The S&P 500 data on exchange traded funds (ETFs) for 2019 seems to uphold this, with Monday being the only trading day with a drop in its average daily change percentage.
For instance, some ETFs may come with fees, others might stray from the value of the underlying asset, ETFs are not always optimized for taxes, and of course — like any investment — ETFs also come with risk.
For example, a typical balanced ETF might invest in a target allocation of roughly 60% stocks and 40% bonds.
Key Takeaways
For most ETFs, selling after less than a year is taxed as a short-term capital gain. ETFs held for longer than a year are taxed as long-term gains. If you sell an ETF, and buy the same (or a substantially similar) ETF after less than 30 days, you may be subject to the wash sale rule.
What do analysts say about VOO? VOO's analyst rating consensus is a Moderate Buy. This is based on the ratings of 505 Wall Streets Analysts.
"A newer investor with a modest portfolio may like the ease at which to acquire ETFs (trades like an equity) and the low-cost aspect of the investment. ETFs can provide an easy way to be diversified and as such, the investor may want to have 75% or more of the portfolio in ETFs."
Which ETF has the highest return?
| Symbol | Name | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|
| QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust Series I | 18.25% |
| IGM | iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF | 18.06% |
| IWY | iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF | 17.93% |
| SCHG | Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | 17.29% |
As of March 28, 2024, the price of Tesla's stock was $175.79. Ten years ago, at market close on March 28, 2014, Tesla's stock was trading at $14.16 per share. This means that $10,000 invested in Tesla in March 2014 would be worth about $124,145 today.
| Discount Rate | Present Value | Future Value |
|---|---|---|
| 17% | $1,000 | $23,105.60 |
| 18% | $1,000 | $27,393.03 |
| 19% | $1,000 | $32,429.42 |
| 20% | $1,000 | $38,337.60 |
Think about this: If you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 1980 and left the money untouched until 2022, you'd have accumulated nearly $1.1 million by the end of last year, according to the Hartford Funds. The S&P 500 has an annualized total return of more than 12% over the last decade.
- 10-year return: 24.37%
- Assets under management: $10.9B.
- Expense ratio: 0.35%
- As of date: November 30, 2023.
