Banker Explains: The Best ETFs to Buy and Hold Forever (2026)

If you want maximum simplicity, one ultimate investment, you want to make one decision, invest consistently and build for retirement and then move on with your life. This investment is about as simple as it gets. Did you know that there are over 15,000 ETFs available globally? With that many ETFs, it can be very confusing to know which ones to choose. But here's the truth. You don't need 15,000 options. You don't need 50 ETFs. You don't even need 10 ETFs. The good news is, you only need a few solid ETFs that fit your investing goals and you can buy and hold for the long term. So if you are looking to build a set-it-and-forget-it portfolio, here are seven top ETFs to consider. I'll break down what each one does and how it can grow your portfolio, what stocks they actually invest in, their performance, because this is critical, and most importantly, what sort of investor each one would be ideal for. At the end of this video, I will explain one key mistake that a lot of ETF investors make that could cost you thousands or even tens of thousands if you fall into that trap. First off, what is an ETF? An ETF is an investment that holds multiple underlying assets in one convenient product and can be bought or sold on an exchange, much like a stock. ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are one of the most popular and easiest ways to invest in the financial markets. So instead of stressing over picking the right stocks or trying to predict which company will be the next Apple or the next NVIDIA, you'd simply build your portfolio around ETFs which are mostly low-cost investments. The first ETF is VOO, which is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. This is a classic set-it-and-forget-it ETF and it's been around for 16 years. It's actually one of Warren Buffett's top picks and is run by Vanguard. VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index, which is an index of the largest 500 companies in the USA. When you buy this ETF, you are essentially investing in the entire US economy's biggest businesses. Moving on to the top 5 stocks within this ETF, the top spot goes to Apple, then Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, and Alphabet or Google. So if you invest $1,000 into this ETF, $73 of that goes into Apple. $66 goes into Microsoft. $50 goes into NVIDIA. $34 goes into Amazon. $30 goes into Alphabet. And the rest of the money goes into the rest of the index, meaning that 23% of your money is invested in 5 main stocks. But what you should remember is that these percentages will change over time. And the stocks within the index may change as well. For example, if a company no longer meets the minimum requirements or the minimum thresholds to be in the S&P 500. Now let's look at how this ETF has performed since it was launched 16 years ago. And here you can see this year's performance so far. You can see the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year performance. One thing to note is that these numbers are average annual figures over 3, 5, and 10 years. Another important note is that the annual performance is not always positive. Some years will be negative. And these numbers are the averages over the respective time frames. For example, one of VOO's best performing years was 2021, where it was up by 29%. And one of its worst years was the next year, 2022, where it lost over 18%. VOO works very well for beginners as well as long-term patient investors and anyone who wants a buy-once-and-hold-forever core investment. If we've never met, hi and welcome. My name is Jim Okere and I spent close to two decades in investment banking prior to retiring from my 9-to-5 job. I post videos every Sunday on personal investing and finance, as well as self-improvement and wealth creation. If that sounds interesting to you, do not forget to click the subscribe button. Hit the notification bell so you do not miss any new videos every week. Up next is another ETF by Vanguard, VTI, which is the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, which has been around for 25 years. Now this ETF takes things even further. So instead of investing in 500 companies like VOO, it holds over 3,500 stocks across the entire US market. So when you buy VTI, you don't just get exposure to the largest companies, you also get medium and small companies across 11 different sectors. If VOO is big companies, VTI is literally almost everything. And that means even more access and more spreading of risk across different stocks. Now the top five stocks in VTI are very similar to VOO because big companies dominate. So the top spot goes to Nvidia, and then Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. Now let's look at its performance. And as you can see, it's very similar to VOO with one notable difference. The average annual return since inception is almost half of VOO's. Bear in mind that VTI has been in existence for longer, and it's seen more ups and downs or more market crashes than VOO. This ETF works for investors who want one ETF to rule them all. They want exposure to the entire US market in a very low cost way. Now let's talk about a true all-in-one option, and that is VT, which is the Vanguard Total World Stock ETF. This ETF takes diversification to a global level, and it's been around for 18 years. So with one investment, you are investing in the entire global economy. And VT is an interesting one because different countries grow at different times and different speeds. Sometimes the US leads, and other times other economies outperform the US. And VT gives you exposure to that automatically, and it holds more than 10,000 stocks. Now let's talk about the five top stocks it holds, and you may think that it would be quite different from VOO and VTI. But even though it's a global ETF, the biggest companies still dominate here, with one notable difference. The percentages are lower. So the top spot goes to Nvidia, then Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. So in terms of performance, VT has historically delivered around 8.3% annually over the long term. That's lower than US-only funds like VOO and VTI. But remember, you are getting much broader exposure, and for many investors, that trade-off is worth it. So who is VT ideal for? This is for someone who wants maximum simplicity. You want one ETF, one decision. You don't want to think about US versus international stocks. You just want to invest consistently and move on with your life. VT is as simple as it gets. And this is why ETFs are so popular. They do all of the homework for you. Owning ETFs is like having your own professional investing team doing all the work for you, so you can focus on other equally important priorities. And this is exactly how I create my personal finance videos and where Storyblocks comes in. Storyblocks is a go-to all-in-one creative toolkit, packed with professional-quality videos, audios, images, all made by real humans. This alone can save you hours every week hunting for the perfect clips to bring your videos to life. With a vast library at your fingertips, you can create amazing and impactful videos faster. And the best part? Everything you download is royalty-free, so you're protected, whether you're making YouTube videos or delivering polished client work. So if you're serious about creating high-quality content without the hassle, head over to storyblocks.com. They are currently offering 15% of any annual plans for a limited time, and that discount is only available through my link below. Moving on to ETF number four, this is where things get a little bit more interesting and more specific. QQQ, or as I like to call it, Triple Q, which is not one of Vanguard's for a change and is managed by Invesco. It is the oldest ETF from the list we've covered so far and has been around for 27 years. Triple Q is a growth-focused ETF. So when you buy it, you get exposure to around 102 companies at the forefront of innovation across different sectors because it tracks the NASDAQ-100, which is a US stock index heavily focused on technology and innovation. So you are investing in companies that will most likely shape the future like cloud computing, blockchain, digital platforms, as well as AI. Now, even though Triple Q is not managed by Vanguard, the top stocks it invests in are very similar. The top holding is Nvidia, followed by Apple, then Microsoft, Amazon, and we have a new one here, Meta. In terms of performance, as you can see, this ETF has actually delivered strong returns over time and has actually returned 556% more than the S&P 500. It's had the highest return over the last decade compared to the other ETFs on this list. And that is because it is more zoomed into tech and AI stocks which have done astronomically well in recent years. So Triple Q would be well-suited to investors who are comfortable with risk and are focused on growth, specifically those seeking heavy exposure to top technology and innovation. And staying with the growth ETFs, another growth-focused ETF is VUG. This is the Vanguard growth ETF. Now, this ETF holds more stocks than Triple Q. It holds 151 stocks and it was launched 22 years ago. VUG focuses specifically on the largest growth companies, the kind of businesses that are expected to grow faster than the overall market. So we're talking technology, innovation, and companies that are consistently expanding. Growth companies tend to reinvest their profits back into the business instead of paying out dividends. And so broadly speaking, the goal here isn't income, it's capital appreciation. You're essentially aiming for your investments to grow faster over time. In terms of the top stock it holds, no surprises here. The top stock is NVIDIA, followed by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Meta. Now, one important note here is that if you invested $1,000 into this ETF, almost half of that will be invested in only five stocks and the remaining 50% will go into 146 stocks. That's quite a concentrated exposure and it's a key point for you to be aware of. Now, in terms of performance, VUG has also historically delivered strong long-term returns, very similar to QQQ, and often performs better than broader market ETFs, especially during growth-heavy periods, again, similar to QQQ. But there is a trade-off. When growth stocks fall, they can fall harder. So this ETF can be more volatile than something like VOO or VTI. Now, obviously, anyone can invest in any of these ETFs, but I would say that VUG might be quite attractive to younger investors, given the higher risk and exposure from the top five stocks being very concentrated. It would also be attractive to long-term investors or anyone looking to tilt their portfolio towards higher growth potential. Now, if you're someone who wants to take a little bit more of a conservative play, this next ETF gives you exposure to companies that are more established and are returning profits in form of dividends to investors. SCHD is the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF, and it holds 100 dividend-paying stocks. So this ETF is focused on a specific strategy, which is income and stability. So instead of trying to figure out and pick specific dividend-paying stocks yourself, this ETF does all of that work for you. In terms of the top five stocks, it's quite refreshing to see a completely different list than what we've seen in the previous five ETFs. The top spot here goes to Texas Instrument, then United Health Group, Chevron Corp, Merck & Co and Coca-Cola. SCHD tends to be less volatile than growth-focused ETFs, and as you can see, it's the only ETF on the list so far that has had a positive performance over a three-month period and also year-to-date. So who would really enjoy SCHD in their portfolio? Well, SCHD is a very popular one with more conservative investors. Those who want less risk in their portfolio and perhaps are getting closer to retirement and want passive income. This final ETF won't appeal to everyone because it's not US-focused and is truly an international ETF. It is VWO, the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF. It's been around for 21 years and holds 6,305 stocks. Now, this ETF focuses on countries that are growing fast, places like China, India, Brazil and Taiwan. And I don't want to say developing because frankly, some of them are actually more advanced than Western countries. VWO could potentially be great for a portfolio because emerging markets often have higher growth potentials compared to developed markets or countries, and this could lead to stronger long-term returns. But the trade-off is that these markets tend to be more volatile, there might be more political risk and currency fluctuations and so on. Now, the top 5 stocks here look very different to the other ETFs because remember, this ETF is not focused on the US market. Currently, the top holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. Now, in terms of performance, as you can see, VWO has historically been more unpredictable than US markets. Some years it outperforms and other years it lags behind. But over the long term, it does offer diversification outside of the US, which some investors find really valuable. VWO is attractive to investors who want exposure to emerging markets. You may already have US ETFs or index funds and want to diversify further and are willing to accept higher risk for higher potential growth. Now, here's a big trap that I see some people fall into. You see, there is a common pattern here where some of these ETFs hold the same top stocks and there's quite a bit of overlap, especially with the first 5 ETFs. And that's exactly why owning more ETFs doesn't automatically mean that you are adding more diversification. A lot of people are unknowingly doubling down on some of the big tech stocks without even realizing it. And so a good research tip that I can give is that before buying an ETF, take a look at the top 5 or 10 stocks it holds and compare it to those of other ETFs that you might be interested in. Now, here's the bottom line. You don't need to be a stock expert to build wealth. Sometimes simpler is actually better. If you don't want to constantly manage your portfolio, the ETF approach makes a lot of sense. A simple 304 stock ETF portfolio strategy could be a core ETF like VOO or VTI, a growth ETF like QQQ, a dividend ETF like SCHD, and a global ETF like VWO, which has zero overlap with an ETF like VOO. If you own any of these ETFs, leave a comment below as to why you invested in that particular ETF or those ETFs versus other ETFs available. Thanks for watching. I will see you in the next one. Look after yourself.