SpaceX is now publicly traded and sitting just outside the reach of the world's largest ETF, and the rulebook keeping it out raises real questions about what VOO holders should do while they wait.
When everyone indexes, what is the market?
As the month of August came to a close, the first index mutual fund got to celebrate a key milestone. The mutual fund in question is the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX), which originally launched on August 31, 1976.
Over the past 100 years, the S&P 500 has generated an average annual return of roughly 10%. If the index can achieve that over the next 20 years, investors would see their money grow by nearly six times.
Dividend ETFs spent a decade quietly losing ground to the S&P 500 for three very specific reasons. One of Vanguard's most overlooked funds may finally be turning that story on its head.
Investors can't buy directly into a stock market index. Exchange-traded funds like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF or the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, however, effectively make it possible to do so.
The S&P 500 Index and its top ETFs like VOO and SPY have pulled back in the past few days as concerns about the soaring US debt remained. It retreated to 7,674 points, down slightly from the all-time high of 7,820 points.
If you polled 100 American investors about their core holding, most would name one of two funds: the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) or the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEARCA:VTI).
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) advertises a 0.03% expense ratio, roughly $3 a year on a $10,000 position.
The S&P 500 has historically registered an annualized total return of about 10%. If the past is any guide, investors who buy the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF should do this well.
Owning Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) is the closest thing to a default answer in American investing.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) has been the default S&P 500 vehicle since January 23, 1993, and its $9.8 billion-plus asset base reflects three decades of habit, deep options liquidity, and institutional inertia.