The Single Best Investment for Long-Term Wealth.

The easy way to invest without guessing or chasing trends.

Have money to invest that’s been sitting on the sidelines for a while? Not sure where to put it?

Maybe you’ve been meaning to do something with it, but who has time to research hundreds of investments and read through endless conflicting advice?

Or maybe you don’t know where to start. Should you invest in tech, crypto, NVDA, or make a sector play?

So let’s cut through the overwhelming number of choices with a simple question:

What is the single best investment that I would recommend to almost anyone?

The Answer: VTI

It’s an easy answer for me.

I would buy the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. Also known as its ticker symbol: VTI.

I love VTI because it represents the most well-tested and evidence-based investment strategy: a low-cost, broadly diversified fund. It’s less risky than sector investments and individual stocks. You own the entire market instead of trying to beat it, which helps you stay consistent, stay invested, and let compounding do the work.

Vanguard Total Stock Market funds¹ have $3.3 trillion in assets under management and an expense ratio that’s dropped to just 0.03-0.04%.

It’s become the largest single investment on earth! And they are a major part of the portfolios of both individuals and sophisticated institutional investors.

Why VTI Is The World’s Best Fund

VTI Is the U.S. Market

VTI doesn’t try to beat the market. It simply owns it all. The fund holds more than 3,500 stocks, which is nearly 100% of the investable U.S. stock market. From mega-cap tech giants like Apple and Microsoft to small-cap companies you’ve never heard of, VTI captures them all stocks in the US².

Which means it provides fully diversified and comprehensive market coverage across all important sizes and sectors.

VTI Has Ultra-Low Fees That Keep Falling

At a 0.03% expense ratio, it’s as close to free as you can get. That means you pay just $3 annually for every $10,000 invested. To put that in perspective, the average fund charges around 0.37%, more than 12 times higher.

These razor-thin fees compound in your favor over decades. You would save $30,000+ on fees over 30 years at 7% returns compared to average fees.

Set It and Forget It Simplicity

VTI automatically rebalances as companies grow or shrink. When a small-cap company becomes a mid-cap, or a mid-cap joins the large-cap ranks, the fund adjusts without you lifting a finger. No trading decisions, no market timing, no second-guessing.

This is the same approach used by major institutional endowments, like Harvard, Yale, and countless pension funds that use total market index strategies to build wealth across generations.

The long-term results show how powerful this is:

• 10-year annualized return of VTI: 13.86%

• 20-year annualized return of VTI: 10.90%

• 30-year annualized return of VTI: 10.46%

A one-time $10,000 investment in VTI 30 years ago would be worth approximately $225,000 today with dividends reinvested.

Tax Efficiency Built-In

VTI’s turnover rate is remarkably low at just 2-3% annually. A low turnover rate just means the fund rarely sells holdings. That’s a good thing because every time a fund sells a stock, that can lead to taxes. VTI minimizes taxable capital gains distributions. Compare that to actively managed funds that can have turnover rates of 50-100%, triggering big tax bills year after year.

For couples in a higher tax bracket, this tax efficiency can add an extra 0.5-1% to your after-tax returns annually. For example, investing $10,000/year would mean you earn an extra $200,000 over 30 years! Taxes matter.

Here’s What People Usually Ask Next

“Shouldn’t I tilt toward small caps, value stocks, or tech?”

Let’s look at the data. Small-cap and value stocks have underperformed the broader market for much of the past 15 years. Only tech has outperformed in that time frame.

But here’s what’s great about this fund: VTI already owns all the tech companies. It also owns every other sector that might overperform next year. So why try to guess who will go up when you can buy it all?

The fund currently allocates approximately 31% to technology stocks, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta in its top holdings. You name it, it holds it. So you’re already benefiting from tech’s success without overconcentrating your portfolio in a single sector.

“Why not just buy the S&P 500 (like SPY or VOO)?”

This is probably the most common question, and honestly? The S&P 500 is also a solid strategy. The performance difference between VTI and SPY is minimal. They’re 99% correlated.

But there are two key differences:

1. Lower cost: VTI’s 0.03% expense ratio beats SPY’s 0.0945%—that’s three times cheaper. Sure, it’s only $6 on every $10,000 invested. But with compounding, it adds up.

2. Broader diversification & better “bubble protection”: The S&P 500 represents about 84% of VTI. The remaining 16% includes mid-cap and small-cap companies that don’t make the S&P 500 cut. Over VTI’s 23-year history, this broader exposure has added meaningful value. For example, Carvana is up 1,800% over the past five years, and it isn’t in the S&P 500 but is in VTI.
   

“What if I don’t have access to Vanguard funds in my 401(k)?”

No problem. These excellent alternatives are extremely similar. If none of these are offered and you want to follow this strategy, look for a “total market fund” with fees <0.5%. If your 401(k) doesn’t offer that at all, complain loudly to HR, because they are not acting in your best interest.

• Fidelity Total Market Index Fund (FSKAX) - 0.015% expense ratio

• Schwab Total Stock Market Index Fund (SWTSX) - 0.03% expense ratio

“What about international diversification?”

This is a fair and important question. VTI is 100% U.S. stocks, which means you’re betting on continued U.S. market leadership. That’s been a good bet over the last few decades.

For true global diversification, consider the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (ticker symbol: VT). It’s the one-fund global alternative, holding approximately 60% U.S. and 40% international stocks, essentially VTI plus international markets in a single investment.

The trade-offs:

• VT expense ratio: 0.08% (slightly higher than VTI, but still very, very low.)

• 10-year annualized return: VT has returned 11.38% vs. VTI’s 14.04%

• Volatility: VT is slightly less volatile due to international diversification

Many sophisticated investors split the difference with an 80% US stock fund like VTI and 20% International stock fund. This gives you customizable international exposure while keeping costs low and maintaining the foreign tax credit benefit in taxable accounts.

The Bottom Line

The sheer number of investment options makes investing more complicated than it needs to be. While Wall Street often profits from complexity, the evidence is clear: a low-cost, broadly diversified fund that you actually stick with beats a “perfect” portfolio you abandon during volatility.

For most couples working to build long-term wealth, VTI offers all of the reward with none of the complexity. It’s not the sexiest answer, but it’s smart for nearly everyone. But remember to consider your own goals, understand your risk tolerance, and do your research before deciding if it’s best for you.

Three decades from now, your future self won’t regret spending hours and hours researching investment and trading funds for no extra return. What will matter is that you:

1. Started investing now

2. Kept costs low

3. Stayed the course through market ups and downs

4. Automate monthly contributions so you don’t have to think about it

VTI checks all the boxes.

What’s in your portfolio?

Are you team VTI, team S&P 500, or charting a different course? Reply and let me know your strategy. I’d love to hear how you balance investing simplicity and your goals.

Disclaimer: This article is for general education only. It isn’t personal financial advice. I don’t know your full situation, goals, or risk tolerance, and nothing here should guide your decisions on its own. Do your own research or speak with a licensed professional before acting on any investment ideas.

1. This includes VTI and its equally great is its mutual fund twin, VTSAX, which owns identical investments, but has some minor differences in fund structure and fees. (I recommend VTI over VTSAX because fees and minimums are slightly lower.)

2. It’s tracks the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index.