Which ETF should I pick for long-term investing in 2026?

Classic choices: VWCE (Vanguard FTSE All-World, 0.22%/year) for global exposure, or VOO (Vanguard S&P 500, 0.03%) for US-only. Both diversified across hundreds of stocks with minimal fees.

ETF vs individual stocks, which is better?

For 95% of retail investors: ETF. You get the diversification of a large fund, minimal fees, and avoid stock-picking which underperforms the market 80% of the time over 10 years per SPIVA studies.

ETF: definition and examples — Trading glossary

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a basket of assets (stocks, bonds, commodities, crypto) listed on a stock exchange and tradable like a regular stock. Instead of buying 500 individual stocks to replicate the S&P 500, you buy 1 SPY ETF that does it for you.

Key benefits:

Instant diversification: 1 purchase = exposure to dozens/hundreds of assets
Ultra-low fees: typically 0.03-0.30%/year (vs 1.5-2% for active funds), thanks to passive management
Intraday liquidity: buy/sell anytime during the session, unlike traditional funds (1 price/day)
Transparency: composition published daily

Popular ETF types:

Index: SPY (S&P 500), QQQ (Nasdaq 100), VWCE (FTSE All-World, popular in EU)
Sector: XLF (US banks), XLK (tech)
Commodities: GLD (gold), USO (oil)
Spot Bitcoin: IBIT (BlackRock), FBTC (Fidelity) — approved in the US in January 2024, fueling a crypto bull run

EU-friendly ETFs (UCITS): most US ETFs are not directly tradable for EU retail investors due to PRIIPs regulation. Use UCITS-compliant equivalents (e.g., CSPX for S&P 500, VWCE for All-World) instead.

ETF

Frequently asked questions

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