Which Index/Mutual fund are you using and why?

I have SWPPX. I honestly jumped into this one within days of my learning phase. As silly as it sounds, because I use Charles Schwab, that played into my decision. SCHWAB S&P 500 INDEX SWPPX. Basically I used the old "Use GM parts on a GM vehicle," approach.

However, I've killed hours of my time learning about mutual funds and ETFs, and I don't regret my choice one bit. I needed something I could throw odd number dollars at and not have to buy complete shares. The performance numbers, and the reviews on SWPPX are really good.

I'd love to hear what the rest of you are using and your thoughts. It goes without saying, but I'm still very new to this.

I think for where you are today you should keep socking away money in that fund. You'll do well.

When you accumulate more funds you can start to evaluate new opportunities for places to invest. Or you can keep buying that fund for nearly your whole life and you'll do well most likely.

Good job starting early.

You did good.
VOO is Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF, SWPPX has an expense ratio of .02%, VOO's is .03% but their performsnce is almost exact, 15,76 vs 15.77 over 5 years. Keep adding, especially when the market takes it's inevitable 10% swoon.

Spyder sector ETFs.

bmks270 said:

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Spyder sector ETFs.

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I am huge into ETFs. just a few of my holdings:

XLE
XLF
XLI
VOO
ONEQ
DIA
IWM
SPY
XBI
VTSAX
GoldMiners

It depends on a few things...
- what kind of account is it in?
- what's your time horizon?
- how much are you invested currently?
- Are you making new investments? Are you withdrawing?

As someone who is intimately familiar with the industry, I strongly suggest staying away from schwab. The people I know there do not inspire confidence. They hired a lot of the bad apples from fidelity and td when they came to westlake. Having been at both Fid and SCHW, I strongly recommend Fidelity for retirement/MFs, they're who I use and recommend to anyone.

Jimbos Plaque said:

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It depends on a few things...
- what kind of account is it in?
- what's your time horizon?
- how much are you invested currently?
- Are you making new investments? Are you withdrawing?

As someone who is intimately familiar with the industry, I strongly suggest staying away from schwab. The people I know there do not inspire confidence. They hired a lot of the bad apples from fidelity and td when they came to westlake. Having been at both Fid and SCHW, I strongly recommend Fidelity for retirement/MFs, they're who I use and recommend to anyone.

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This is likely very confusing advice for the original poster.

I THINK this poster is referring to localized financial advisors at Schwab and Fidelity. He has opinions on where the better advisors hang their hats, which is fine.

In no way is he referring to self-directed brokerage solutions, where Fidelity and Schwab are virtually identical, in terms of trade execution, commissions, margin, research tools, trading requirements, etc.

Bottom line - - if you're a do-it-yourselfer trading ETFs as long-term holds, you're fine just about anywhere (Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, RobinHood, Interactive Brokers, ETrade, etc.).

And furthermore, if you're just asking which brand of index funds to use, the first couple responses correctly report that both Schwab and Fidelity are fine choices. I'd put Vanguard in that group as well - - they all have very low fees, and have enough volume to keep it that way. They are kind of the WalMart or CostCo offerings of low-cost broad-market ETFs, which is important, as your money will compound more rapidly.

I simply made an online account with Schwab and have never looked back. I haven't spoken to anyone about stocks and investing outside texags

How much do you consider expense ratio when selecting a ETF?

Curious why you would have both VOO & DIA.... aren't both ETF's tracking the S&P 500?

VTSAX is a mutual fund, btw.

Aggie Class of 2026 said:

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How much do you consider expense ratio when selecting a ETF?

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Expense ratio is a VERY important factor, as most broad index methodologies are quite similar. No reason to pay anything more than the lowest expense ratio, unless there's some performance drag for other reasons (look at comparisons of their performance history over time).

As far as ETF vs. Mutual Fund, over a very long time horizon, it doesn't really matter much, as long as expense ratios are similar. However, I have come to prefer index ETFs over index MFs, as you have more flexibility on selling (intraday trades are allowed), and more favorable return of capital approach. If it's after-tax money, I strongly prefer ETFs, and if it's pre-tax (IRA), I still like the flexibility and liquidity of an ETF, but less strongly.

This is a good path for you to start with - you can always start buying individual stocks after you've gained some knowledge and can make more informed decisions. Patience is key.

Yeah I've concluded to stick with my mutual fund, and do ETFs until I'm more knowledgeable

honestly you could do well to just squirrel away every spare penny you can afford to your S&P500 ETF and never bother picking individual stocks until you retire. a majority of people who pick stocks and funds professionally struggle to outperform the market.

thanks to the power of compound interest, the more money you put away right now the stronger you'll be financially in 10, 20, 30 years. investing a majority of my income into VOO in my early 20s was the best decision i ever made.

Thoughts on SCHG?

lck90 said:

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Thoughts on SCHG?

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This is my rookie opinion. But any ETF that's doing really well AND has Tesla in their top 10 of equities grabs my attention. It's also highly rated across the board short/mid/long

lck90 said:

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Thoughts on SCHG?

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Growth fund. VUG is the Vanguard version. Guessing similar makeup to QQQ.

there are 5 stocks in their Top 10 holdings that have made up ~60% of the S&P returns this year.

Not surprising that the performance has been good. Also a lot of risk there.

Pretty much any growth fund is going to have the same set of holdings at the top end. I'd bet most of any over/underperformance will come down to the simple question of how much NVIDIA they held.

Jimbos Plaque said:

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It depends on a few things...
- what kind of account is it in?
- what's your time horizon?
- how much are you invested currently?
- Are you making new investments? Are you withdrawing?

As someone who is intimately familiar with the industry, I strongly suggest staying away from schwab. The people I know there do not inspire confidence. They hired a lot of the bad apples from fidelity and td when they came to westlake. Having been at both Fid and SCHW, I strongly recommend Fidelity for retirement/MFs, they're who I use and recommend to anyone.

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my personal brokerage is Fidelity but my corporate 401K (I have no choice) is schwab

I much prefer Fidelity.

the best pure play sector funds are VANGUARD

I tried buying an ETF last night. Stayed up past midnight looking through all my notes, reading reviews online, using the Charles Schwab, filter to find the perfect ETF for me.

Ended up dumping the little bit of ETF spending money I had into my SWPPX (mutual fund) and shut the computer down.

One of these days...

Aggie Class of 2026 said:

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I tried buying an ETF last night. Stayed up past midnight looking through all my notes, reading reviews online, using the Charles Schwab, filter to find the perfect ETF for me.

Ended up dumping the little bit of ETF spending money I had into my SWPPX (mutual fund) and shut the computer down.

One of these days...

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Dont overthink it. Put the majority of your money in the S&P 500, which you are already doing. Put some in QQQ (Nasdaq 100) if you feel the need to buy another ETF. Do this consistently every single month and you will be very well off in 10-15 years.

Good advice there. My focus will probably always be my mutual fund (SWPPX) I was hoping to get into a few ETFs that would cover numerous sectors without too much over lap.

Here's a good question. What are the best ETFs out there that don't have Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, NVDA, GOOG/GOOGL, and Meta as their top holdings?

As I stated earlier, I'd like to spread out a bit.

I'm looking for companies like, Tesla, McDonalds, Tractor Supply, Coca Cola, Dutch Bros, Pepsi, pharmaceuticals, other semiconductors...

None of the aforementioned companies HAVE to be in the ETF but I figured I'd at least give some ideas if anyone out there knew of a good ETF that has some of those included toward their top.

Aggie Class of 2026 said:

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Here's a good question. What are the best ETFs out there that don't have Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, NVDA, GOOG/GOOGL, and Meta as their top holdings?

As I stated earlier, I'd like to spread out a bit.

I'm looking for companies like, Tesla, McDonalds, Tractor Supply, Coca Cola, Dutch Bros, Pepsi, pharmaceuticals, other semiconductors...

None of the aforementioned companies HAVE to be in the ETF but I figured I'd at least give some ideas if anyone out there knew of a good ETF that has some of those included toward their top.

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Just an idea: You could consider an equal-weight index ETF, which is not weighted with the market cap of the biggest companies. In other words, you're buying an equal amount of the 499th ranked size company as the second-biggest one in an S&P fund. QQQE is one I have held for a while, and while has lagged the QQQ, I think it may outperform in the coming year.

IWP
ISCG

I made this yesterday while bored. Thought I'd share if anyone out there wants a snap shot at comparing what I thought were some good ETFs I came across. Some others would be, SPYG, and FHLC. Sorry for the messy handwriting. I can clarify anything if someone is confused in what they're seeing. "NER" is net expense ratio.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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My brother in Christ... you know about Excel, right?

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I knew that was coming

You should see this notebook I've started with all my notes

I have used IGM in the past, adding RSPT to it recently. Also MLPX.

I've been adding CGW water index fund to help diversify


SOXQ is a semiconductor index, but I'm Leary on the semiconductor AI bubbles

Just in case people aren't aware, SOXL is a 3x leveraged ETF of SOXQ. Very volatile.

Ill add

FHLC (health care)
.084% ER
Morningstar LOVES this ETF

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Just in case people aren't aware, SOXL is a 3x leveraged ETF of SOXQ. Very volatile.

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Agree, but as usual, I'd go further than that - - it's basically uninvestable. Suitable for extremely short-term speculative trades by experienced traders only. Do not buy and hold it!

This. Y'all I know I love me some TQQQ and TNA, but I'm not touching SOXL with a 10 foot pole in the current market.