3 Vanguard ETFs to Buy With $1,000 and Hold Forever

Investing doesn't have to be complicated. Sure, you can research stocks in-depth and buy potential winners. Many investors do and make a lot of money over the long run. However, you can also take a much easier path.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a simple and convenient way to buy a broad basket of stocks. Vanguard markets a variety of ETFs with low annual costs. Here are three Vanguard ETFs to buy with $1,000 and hold forever.

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1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

There's perhaps no other ETF more important to building a solid investment portfolio than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT:VOO). You can buy one share of this ETF for roughly $550. With that money, you'll gain part ownership in the 500 large U.S. companies that comprise the S&P 500 Index.

The beauty of this Vanguard tracking the S&P 500 is that the index is rebalanced regularly. Big winners such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Google parent Alphabet, and Amazon make up a larger percentage of the fund's portfolio because of their size. Stocks that underperform for too long will be replaced.

Since its inception in September 2010, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has delivered an average annualized return of 14.52%. Over the last five years, it has grown by an annual average of 15.21%. Dividends help boost the ETF's total returns.

Fees won't take much of a bite out of your gains with this fund. Its annual expense ratio is a low 0.03% compared to an average of 0.78% for similar funds.

2. Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 ETF

Consider taking another $112 or so of your initial $1,000 to scoop up a share of the Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 ETF (NYSEMKT:IVOO). This ETF attempts to track the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Index, which includes 400 mid-sized companies. Some of the members of this index have performed especially well over time and advanced into the S&P 500 Index.

Unlike the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, no individual stock weighs especially heavily in the Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 ETF. This Vanguard fund's largest holding makes up only 0.71% of the total portfolio.

Vanguard launched its mid-cap ETF at the same time as it introduced its S&P 500 ETF in September 2010. Since then, the Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 ETF has achieved an average annual return of 12.09%. Over the last five years, its average return has been 11.26%.

You'll pay a slightly higher annual expense ratio of 0.1% with this Vanguard ETF. However, that's still well below the average expense ratio of 0.89% for similar funds.

3. Vanguard Small-Cap ETF

To round out your exposure to U.S. stocks, a little over $250 will buy you a share of the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:VB). As its name indicates, this Vanguard ETF owns stakes in smaller companies.

The Vanguard Small-Cap ETF's portfolio includes 1,384 stocks. None makes up more than 0.47% of the fund's total portfolio. This diversification helps reduce the impact of the higher volatility associated with small-cap stocks.

Since its inception in January 2004, the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has delivered an average annual return of 9.24%. Over the last five years, its average annual return has been 10.14%. These returns are lower than those of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and the Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 ETF. However, over the long term small-cap stocks have outperformed other stocks.

The average expense ratio for similar small-cap ETFs is 0.99%. As usual, though, Vanguard handily beats its peers when it comes to cost. The annual expense ratio of the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF is only 0.05%.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Small-Cap ETF, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.