It doesn’t take much money to get a lot out of investing. Give the stock market enough time, and compounding will take good care of you. But what if you had just $500 to kick-start your investing portfolio?
An index fund — designed to track a specific market index — would be an excellent choice to start. These funds are buckets of individual stocks lumped together and traded under one ticker symbol.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF(NYSEMKT: VOO) tracks, you guessed it, the S&P 500.
Here are three reasons investors should put at least their first $500 into this rock-solid index fund.
1. It’s a Warren Buffett pick
Warren Buffett is known for his legendary career as a stock picker and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Within Berkshire, he has a massive $365 billion stock portfolio with dozens of companies.
With all his immense investing talent, Buffett keeps just two index funds in his portfolio. Both happen to track the S&P 500, which isn’t a coincidence.
According to Buffett, owning an S&P 500 index fund is the best thing most investors can do, as he said at Berkshire’s 2020 annual shareholder meeting. One of the two index funds in Berkshire’s portfolio is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.
2. It tracks the world’s best index
Buffett’s fascination with the S&P 500 is well justified. The index itself represents about 500 of America’s most prominent corporations.
The U.S. is the world’s largest economy, so getting into the S&P 500 is a badge of honor that puts a company among the world’s best businesses. It’s hard to argue against the wealth our capitalist system has created.
The market can become volatile as a reflection of how buyers and sellers feel at any given time, but over the long term, the S&P 500 has always bounced back and risen to new highs. That remains true today, with the index now at all-time highs:
^SPX Chart
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF hitches your wagon to this financial horse, and for practically nothing in return. All funds charge an expense ratio to compensate those running the fund, but this fund’s expense ratio is just 0.03%, or less than $0.02 on your $500 investment.
3. It provides instant diversification
Perhaps the best part of a fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is its diversification. It’s hard to buy many shares of stock with $500, but buy one share of this fund, and you’re instantly exposed to every company in the S&P 500. That means you own a tiny piece of all the “Magnificent Seven” stocks and hundreds more!
It might be tempting to buy one stock with $500, but what if something happens to that one company? The S&P 500 has proved to be resilient since its founding, and barring a doomsday economic scenario, it will still be here 10, 20, or 50 years from now.
And your money will be working for you all that time. You won’t find a better use for $500 than buying a fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.
Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?
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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
