Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be a great way to get started investing and can also help even the most experienced investors form a backbone to a stock portfolio.
It's a common misconception that you need to buy individual stocks to create wealth in the stock market. While it's certainly possible to achieve excellent returns by doing so, you might be surprised at how well the stock market has performed over time. Over decades, the benchmark S&P 500 -- which is widely considered to be the best indicator of the overall stock market -- has delivered annualized total returns of about 10%. And a return rate like this, sustained over a long period, can help you create lots of wealth.
Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)
That's where an S&P 500 ETF can be handy. Investors worldwide are familiar with the S&P 500 index, which is often used as a benchmark for stock market performance. There are several great ETFs that allow you to track the performance of this benchmark index with a bare minimum of expense.
| ETF Name | Annual Fees (Expense Ratio) | Assets Under Management | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT:SPY) | 0.0945% | $561 billion | The first S&P 500 ETF in the U.S. and largest ETF by assets managed. |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:IVV) | 0.03% | $510 billion | An S&P 500 ETF managed by one of the largest asset managers around. |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:VOO) | 0.03% | $488.8 billion | Low-cost S&P 500 ETF option from a pioneer in the retail investing industry. |
| ProShares Short S&P500 (NYSEMKT:SH) | 0.88% | $894 million | A fund designed to profit from betting against the S&P 500. |
| Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT:RSP) | 0.20% | $59.7 billion | An ETF that provides equal exposure to all 500 components of the index. |
Assets Under Management (AUM)
Overview
Investing in S&P 500 ETFs
There are a number of advantages to investing in an S&P 500 ETF. The S&P 500 tracks the performance of 500 of the largest U.S.-based companies.
Although there are thousands of stocks listed on a U.S. stock exchange, many investors default to the S&P 500 when assessing the strength of U.S. stocks. That makes sense, given that more than 80% of the total U.S. stock market value comprises these 500 businesses.
Investing in the 500 companies that make up the S&P 500 can be a solid option, too. After all, it takes time and a powerful business to make it on this list of top corporations. Although not all of the S&P 500 companies are problem-free, there are many high-quality stocks within the index.
As of this writing, top stocks in this index run the gamut from big tech companies, such as Microsoft (MSFT -3.67%), Apple (AAPL -3.82%), and Amazon (AMZN -2.58%), to Warren Buffett's industrial conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -2.66%)(BRK.B -2.13%) and top healthcare companies, such as UnitedHealth Group (UNH 0.3%) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.22%).
With that in mind, here are five top ETFs that track the performance of the S&P 500 index.
5 Top S&P 500 ETFs
1. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF from State Street Global Advisors was the first ETF to be listed in the U.S. The fund has been available since 1993. Paired with the S&P 500 index's popularity, this has made the SPDR S&P 500 ETF the largest exchange-traded fund around, with $540 billion in investor funds under management in 2024.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index, less the annual fee, and distributes dividends paid by the companies in the index. The ETF charges 0.0945% per year in annual fees. For every $1,000 invested, that works out to just under $0.95 per year subtracted from the fund's performance.
2. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF is another long-tenured U.S. ETF that invests in the stocks of the S&P 500 index. It offers an almost identical investing product to the SPDR offering, except that iShares' annual fee is even lower at just 0.03% per year.
The fund was launched in 2000 and had $492 billion in assets under management as of mid-2024. iShares is the ETF division of massive investment manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), which collectively manages almost $10 trillion in global assets.
3. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
Like the previous two ETFs, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a simple way to invest in the companies of the S&P 500 index. It also charges just 0.03% annually. The ETF version of this Vanguard fund has $472 billion in assets under management. The company also offers a mutual fund that tracks the S&P 500, and both types combine for a total of $1.2 trillion of investor assets.
Vanguard’s founder, Jack Bogle, invented the passive index fund in the 1970s, which helped revolutionize access to investments for everyday retail investors.
4. ProShares Short S&P500
Unlike the previous ETFs, the ProShares Short S&P500 fund is a way to bet against the S&P 500 index. An investor might want to profit by betting against an investment, as some investors did during the bear market of 2022. It can also be used as a hedge if you think the market might be a little overvalued but aren't exactly ready to start selling your stocks.
The ProShares Short S&P500 aims to provide a return exactly the inverse of the S&P 500 index's daily return. So, if the S&P 500 is up 1% on a given day, the ProShares fund will be down 1% (before fees, which total 0.88% on an annualized basis). If the S&P 500 is down 1%, the ProShares fund will be up 1% (before subtracting fees). ProShares can deliver this performance by utilizing derivatives contracts on the S&P 500 index.
The fund might have a place in the portfolios of investors looking to hedge against what they expect to be a downturn in the market. However, remember that due to the use of derivatives contracts and the compounding effect of returns, the ProShares fund is designed only to reflect daily inverse returns of the S&P 500, not to be a buy-and-hold fund over extended periods. Fund performance will deviate from the exact inverse performance of the S&P 500.
Also, while designed to be a hedge in a bear market, this ETF will decline severely in value during a bull market. Investors should note this particular risk and understand the fund's function as a shorter-term hedge.
5. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF
One problem with the S&P 500 is that it's a weighted index, meaning that larger companies contribute more to its performance. These days, massive tech stocks like Nvidia (NVDA -7.03%) and Microsoft (MSFT -3.67%) make up a disproportionate amount of the index's weight.
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF takes a different approach. It invests in the exact same 500 companies as other S&P 500 ETFs, but it invests an equal amount of money into each one. In other words, all 500 of the companies in the index get a 0.2% weighting in the fund -- no more, no less. This can be a good ETF to consider if you want a broad index fund but aren't comfortable with a large percentage of your performance dependent on just a handful of stocks.
Drawbacks
Drawbacks to investing in the S&P 500
Investing in an S&P 500 ETF can lay a great foundation for an investment portfolio. It isn't necessarily the be-all and end-all of investing, though.
For one thing, the S&P 500 is a market cap-weighted index. That means the bigger a company is, the larger its share in the portfolio. For example, as of this writing, the top 10 stocks in the index make up almost 30% of an S&P 500 ETF's holdings. This makes for outsized exposure to just a few companies and means an S&P 500 ETF may not be as diversified as some investors think.
Related investing topics
Investors should also consider their long-term goals. Investing in stocks is one of the best ways to build wealth over time. However, investing solely in the S&P 500 may not be the best strategy for retirees in need of income. Incorporating other asset classes into the mix would be advisable.
On the other hand, younger investors with decades until they plan to tap into their investments may also want to invest outside of the S&P 500. For example, the S&P 500 is a large-cap stock index. That means it yields no exposure to smaller businesses, many of which are fast-growing and could be future leaders of the S&P 500.
Nevertheless, for investors looking for a quick way to get started in their investing journey, an S&P 500 ETF is a fantastic place to start.
