6 ETFs I'd ONLY Buy for Long-Term Investing in 2026 (Ultimate Guide)

A disclaimer is that the content in this video is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or tax advice. I am not a financial advisor. Here are 6 best ETFs to buy and hold for long-term investing in 2026. With so many ETFs to invest in the stock market, it can get so stressful and a bit confusing and frustrating deciding which are the best ETFs to invest in the stock market for decades to come. Some ETFs, in my opinion, are horrible investments with no investment process and also horrible stock choices. Some ETFs will gladly take your money and give you heavy net version because you wanted that sweet juicy dividend that ended up destroying your portfolio. And while some ETFs on the other hand are actually good funds and good ETFs because they could actually hopefully make you so much money in the next decades because they actually invest in high quality stocks or at least have a good investment process. So in this video, I'm going to give you 6 ETFs to buy and hold for your ETF portfolio whether or not you like dividends, high growth, diversification, cover call ETFs, and so much more. I'll be listing 6 different ETF categories for you to consider in your ETF portfolio that have long track records of making investors so much money and hopefully could continue well into the future. Now I personally invest in so many ETFs featured in this video. Now if you want to see my whole entire just under $400,000 ETF only portfolio, you can for free on Blossom, yes for free, using the link in the description of this video as well as in the pinned comment section. You get to see my buys, my portfolio, and so much more. Now we'll see you there on Blossom. Let's get started with our first ETF category which is the everything ETF category. With the everything category, you can invest in just one ETF and be extremely diversified, safe, and sleep like a baby knowing that you can invest in so many things in just one fund. Basically you invest in everything possible in just one ETF. The one ETF I'd buy in the everything category is VT Vanguard's Total World Stock ETF where my honorable mention fund is SPGM. Vanguard's VT basically invests in both foreign and US stocks, so basically the entire world, so basically everything globally, hence the everything category. An ETF like VOO for example invests in the S&P 500 index. Now this index lacks international diversification such as emerging and developed markets, even small cap and mid cap companies. This problem is solved by VT because it invests in about every market and every region you could think of, from small caps, mid caps, large caps, even emerging and developed markets, so it has everything in this one ETF. With VT you invest in just under 10,000 different companies. Yep, you heard that right, just under 10,000 different stocks from every sector of the stock market. And you also invest in some of the largest companies in the entire world, like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Broadcom. The dividend yield is currently 1.78%, which is quite solid, and the expense ratio is exactly 0.06%. The returns from VT have been quite solid for investors, of just over 11% per year in the last 5 years, and even in the last decade, so if you want to make investing super simplified, this could be the one for you. Alright guys, so the second category is going to be the growth category. The growth category is filled with so many high-flying growth stocks that could go up the fastest and also have higher risk, but also the best returns possible and the highest returns possible in the stock market. And hopefully these growth ETFs can rocket up to the moon. The one ETF I'd buy in the growth category is SCHG Charles Schwab's U.S. Large Cap Growth ETF, where my honorable mention fund is going to be Triple QM by Invesco. Schwab's SCHG basically invests in high-flying growth stocks, mainly technology stocks and stocks that could hopefully, once again, go up to, well, the moon. Wait guys, and also, these stocks come with more risk, they also come with more volatility, and hopefully they do come with more reward, but keep that in mind as well. Personally, I invest so much money into both SCHG and Triple QM, I'll explain why right now. The reason why I hold both is because one or the other could go up more than the other in any given year, which is completely normal. Now, the reason why I prefer SCHG over Triple QM is because SCHG invests in two different stock exchanges versus Triple QM only invests in one, yes, only one stock exchange. So basically, SCHG is more diversified than Triple QM. The stock exchanges in SCHG are the NYSE and the NASDAQ. For Triple QM, it's only the NASDAQ. So if you like stocks from the NYSE, you won't get them in Triple QM because it can't buy stocks or invest in stocks from the New York Stock Exchange, only the NASDAQ. So keep that in mind, SCHG will be safer, more diversified, and overall, in my opinion, a better investment than Triple QM. But yes, I do own both because one could go up more than the other in any given year, which is completely, completely normal. With SCHG, you invest in just under 200 different companies from mainly the technology sector. And you also invest in so many high-quality, fast-growing stocks like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta. Dividends are very low for SCHG because these stocks don't pay as much dividends at all. They do mostly share buybacks, so this dividend yield for this fund is just 0.36%, and the expense ratio is a very low 0.04%. The returns for SCHG have been some of the best returns possible on the stock market, hence the growth name. Now it has done over 15% per year in the last 5 years, and even over 18% per year in the last decade, so definitely one to keep on your radar. The third category is the dividend category. The dividend category is filled with companies that pay a high dividend to investors, and is for low-risk investors who want to hold high-quality, profitable businesses that pay you passive income to hold their stock. The one ETF I'd buy in this category for dividends is SCHD Schwab's US Dividend Equity ETF, where my honorable mention fund is going to be DGRO. You know it, I know it, we all know it that SCHD is often referred to the king of dividend ETFs, and for good reason. SCHD has a starting dividend yield of over 3.5%, and a near-perfect score by Seeking Alpha of a solid A-grade for dividends. This fund also has a low expense ratio of just 0.06%. What makes SCHD the king of dividend ETFs in my opinion is because it's been able to grow its dividends every single year, year over year, which is absolutely insane. And also the high dividend yield of course, but you get that sweet passive income for doing absolutely nothing year over year as a pay raise which is absolutely crazy. And you also invest in some of the most profitable dividend-paying companies in the entire world, like Lockheed Martin, Chevron, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Texas Instruments, Merck, and Home Depot. The returns from SCHD have been quite a rollercoaster for these investors, because you can't expect this fund to go up to the moon, because you just can't. You literally sacrifice returns for a high dividend yield. So if you want less returns, more dividends, this one could be for you. But if you want more returns, then look at something like SCHG, even VOO, SPYM, etc. So yeah. In the last five years, SCHD has returned over 8% to investors every single year, and over 11% annually over the last decade. So not too shabby in my opinion for this fund of SCHD. And no, SCHD is not a bond replacement. It's not a bond. Not a bond. The fourth category is the covered call category. The covered call category invests in covered call funds that pay either monthly or weekly dividends to investors from a covered call option strategy. With these funds, you sacrifice your upside potential for dividends. So if you want the best returns possible, covered call funds are not for you. They will underperform the market because you exchange your returns potential for dividends. So keep that in mind. And also, no, we will not be talking about the high yield funds. Only reasonable yields. If you see a yield like this, run. Just run. Forget it. Don't do it. Don't be tempted. The one ETF I'd pick in the covered call category is going to be QQQI by Nios, Nios' Nasdaq 100 high income fund, where my honorable mention is going to be SPYI by Nios. Nios' QQQI basically invests in the Nasdaq 100 index, so you do own 100 different companies, and then they go and sell or write call options on these holdings to generate high monthly income to investors. So if you want monthly income and less upside potential, this fund could be for you. But if you want the best returns possible, then invest in something like QQQM by Invesco. The dividend yield for this fund is going to be 14% for investors, where this fund pays monthly dividends, and the expense ratio is 0.68%. The fund's holdings and sectors are super similar to that of any regular Nasdaq 100 fund, but Nios' twist is writing cover calls for income to investors, where the monthly dividends have been super stable and reliable for these high income investors. Nios also uses index options to make sure that this fund of QQQI is as tax efficient as possible for the most efficiency for taxes, so you aren't freaking out come tax season with all those dividends. The returns of QQQI have been super solid for cover call income investors, but once again, it is also underperforming its relative index, so do keep that in mind. But on the bright side, it is still beating other high quality cover call funds. That is a great thing for this fund though. And also keep in mind, if you want monthly income and growth, this one could be for you. The fifth category is the high growth category. The high growth category is filled with so many ETFs and stocks that are super volatile, have high betas, more risk, and even could be super wonky in terms of its movement because it's super volatile and risky, but it could also offer the best returns possible in the market for the highest returns possible for investors. The one ETF I'd buy in the high growth category is SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF, where my honorable mention funds are going to be SPMO and or AOTG. VanEck's SMH invests in, you guessed it, only semiconductor stocks, so it's going to be super concentrated to only semiconductor stocks and well, on the bright side though, this ETF favors the largest companies in this industry of semiconductors. It holds both US and international stocks for diversification and also highly liquid companies. With SMH, you invest in just under 25 different companies, which well, isn't a lot at all, but that's the risk you take for high growth. On the flip side though, you do own some of the highest performing stocks in the face of the planet, like Nvidia, TSM, Broadcom, Micron, ASML, and Intel. The dividend yield is very low at just 0.27%, which is super low because semiconductor stocks don't pay much dividends, if at all, and the expense ratio is exactly 0.35%. VanEck's SMH is probably one of the best performing funds to ever exist in my opinion, where it's given investors over 30% returns per year over the last decade, outpacing any ETF I could possibly think of. The last category is the S&P 500 category. The S&P 500 category is one of my favorite categories. I personally have so much money invested in this category into VOO. You get dividends, you get growth, you get to buy and hold it, you can sleep at night. Warren Buffett approves of this fund, or should I say this category, and you get to invest in some of the best performing stocks in the market and the best performing indexes in my opinion, that being the S&P 500 index. Now, in my opinion, I think that investors can invest so much money into this one category and be safe and sleep well at night because you get so many stocks. You get the point. I personally have over $160,000 invested in this category into VOO by Vanguard because it's my favorite ETF of all time. But if I can't invest into VOO, I then will choose SPYM by State Street. Vanguard's VOO invests in, you guessed it, the S&P 500 index. You get to hold 500, not 400, not 600, but 500 of the largest companies that best represent the US economy. You also get diversification. High quality stocks like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Broadcom, and Google. The whole ETF investing experience in this one fund. And also the dividend yield is currently 1.12% and the expense ratio is exactly 0.03%. Lastly, the returns from VOO have been remarkable of just over 14% per year in the last 5 and 10 years. So if you can't beat the market, then just invest in the market or the S&P 500 index. And this ETF of VOO does just that. Now, if you guys like this video, please give it a like because this cute puppy did. And don't forget to check out our last video right here on your screen. And I love you guys so much. And I will see you guys all on the next one. And once again, this video is not financial advice. It is for educational and informational purposes only. We are not financial advisors. Please, please, please do your own research.