The Best ETFs for 2026

The Best ETFs To Buy Now 2026

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iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)

Expense Ratio

0.03%

3-Year Return

20.16%

Total Assets (as of April 15)

$764.7 billion

0.03%

20.16%

$764.7 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: May 2020

Morningstar awarded iShares Core S&P 500 ETF a five-star gold rating, among large blend funds.

IVV is a great way to get exposure to U.S. large-cap companies. It follows the ultimate stock market benchmark of the S&P 500. But it does so by offering investors a low net expense fee of 0.03% alongside tracking the index with minimal tracking errors.

Let’s compare the fund’s net asset value (NAV); the market value of the fund’s assets minus its liabilities, with the heralded benchmark index. The difference between the NAV and annual returns has been less than 60 basis points since 2023. With such small differences, that shows the fund is adhering to its thesis of tracking the performance of the S&P 500.

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (VGT)

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (VGT)

Expense Ratio

0.09%

3-Year Return

27.42%

Total Assets

$126.5 billion

0.09%

27.42%

$126.5 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: January 2004

Like many of the funds on this list, the focus is on high-performing large-cap ETFs. Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index, a stack of large-, mid- and small-cap U.S.-based technology companies. VGT “includes stocks of companies that serve the electronics and computer industries or that manufacture products based on the latest applied science.”

Nearly 80% of the portfolio is tilted toward large-cap exposure. In fact, Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft represent over 40% of the holdings at the time of this writing.

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Fund ETF (VONG)

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Fund ETF (VONG)

Expense Ratio

0.07%

3-Year Return

24.31%

Total Assets

$44.9 billion

0.07%

24.31%

$44.9 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: September 2010

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund ETF boasts an even lower expense ratio than other Russell 1000 index funds, with a 0.07% expense ratio. Vanguard typically offers low expense ratios on passive index funds.

Vanguard slashed expense ratios for over 85 funds in February 2025, as part of the company’s 50th anniversary. Before the move, VONG’s expense ratio was 0.08%.

The growth-focused ETF holds roughly 390 equity holdings with a focus on large-cap and mid-cap growth. The fund includes the “Magnificent Seven” within its top 10 holdings: Tesla, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Apple and Meta Platforms.

The top 10 holdings account for around 60% of the fund’s asset allocation. Apart from a down year in 2022, the fund has delivered double-digit annual returns since 2019.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH)

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH)

Expense Ratio

0.35%

3-Year Return

43.75%

Total Assets

$52.2 billion

0.35%

43.75%

$52.2 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: December 2011

As the name of the fund implies, VanEck Semiconductor ETF is sector-specific. Its list of top holdings reads as the “Who’s Who” of the AI and semiconductor world: Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Broadcom, Applied Materials and Micron Technology.

AI has been a big buzzword in investing for the past few years, and semiconductors add value to all different stages of the AI value chain—from graphics processing units (GPUs) at huge data centers to efficiency chips found in consumer electronics.

The portfolio falls under the bucket of large-cap growth companies, which makes sense since these companies are bolstering the AI economy. Around 80% of SMH’s assets are in U.S. equities, the rest is invested in non-U.S. equities and other assets like cash and fixed income.

Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK)

Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK)

Expense Ratio

0.07%

3-Year Return

25.79%

Total Assets

$27.9 billion

0.07%

25.79%

$27.9 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: December 2007

Like all the other funds on this list, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF is passively managed. MGK tracks the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth index. The fund replicates the index with 66 equities, weighted toward the technology sector—roughly 70% of its assets. The next biggest allocation is to consumer discretionary stocks (13%), with investments in Chipotle Mexican, McDonald’s and Monster Beverage to name a few. The fund also doesn’t have any exposure to any non-U.S. equities. The only down years for annual returns were in 2018 and 2022. Since 2022, the fund has been ushering in double-digit returns.

Of course, as it’s a Vanguard fund, it comes with an attractive net expense ratio of 0.07%.

iShares S&P 100 ETF (OEF)

iShares S&P 100 ETF (OEF)

Expense Ratio

0.20%

3-Year Return

23.05%

Total Assets

$18.8 billion

0.20%

23.05%

$18.8 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: October 2000

As the name gives it away, this fund tracks the S&P 100 index in terms of its portfolio allocation and performance. The S&P 100 is the supercharged version of the S&P 500, with just the elite 100 “blue chip” listings. To qualify for the S&P 100 club, a company must have an unadjusted market cap of at least $22.7 billion; sector balance within the index is also a consideration.

For that reason, OEF is weighted toward AI and semiconductor darlings: Nvidia (11%) and Broadcom (4%). In fact, nearly 17% of the portfolio is allocated toward the semiconductor industry.

Interestingly, both the five-year and 10-year returns beat the tracking index. So, it’s no wonder that this low-expense fund with a good track record gets a five-star rating.

Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF (FNDX)

Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF (FNDX)

Expense Ratio

0.25%

3-Year Return

18.25%

Total Assets

$24.8 billion

0.25%

18.25%

$24.8 billion

Editor's Take

Inception Date: August 2013

The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF derives its holdings from the broader Bloomberg RAFI fundamental High Liquidity US Large index, which focuses on growth measures.

FNDX is comprised of over 700 stocks, with the technology sector featured prominently. The fund also has decent exposure to the financial, health care, communications and consumer discretionary sectors. It also comes with a decent yield of around 1.53%.

Schwab highlights that the FNDX can serve as part of the core portfolio or “complement to market-cap indexing and active management in a diversified portfolio.”

Methodology

To identify the best ETFs to invest in, we screened thousands of ETFs available on U.S. markets by the following criteria.

Assets under management (AUM). The ETF must hold at least $10 billion in assets under management. A higher AUM generally signals greater fund popularity.

Expense ratio of 0.35% or lower. Almost all ETFs come with an expense ratio. Higher cost funds are typically actively managed funds, and these fees can eat into your investment returns. To keep expense ratios from chipping away at your returns, we selected funds with a net expense ratio of 0.35% or lower.

Large-cap category. The funds selected for Forbes Advisor’s best ETFs to buy are all U.S.-focused, large-cap funds that fall under the category of large-cap growth, large-cap value or large-cap blend. Large-cap companies tend to be more established, with generally stronger financials and lower risk. 

Morningstar rating of “four stars” or “five stars.” Morningstar awards a star rating to funds based on how well they rank against their peers in terms of performance.

Portfolio turnover. Each fund on this list has an annual portfolio turnover rate of less than 12%. For mutual funds, a high turnover rate can lead to increased capital gains transactions, which decreases tax efficiency. 

3-year performance. We applied this screen for identifying top-performing ETFs, although past performance isn’t always a guarantee of future performance, which is why other metrics for screening are important.

What Is an ETF?

ETF is short for an exchange-traded fund. It’s a type of investment that trades on a stock exchange just like a stock. It’s like other types of funds in that it pools money from groups of investors to build a diversified portfolio of financial assets. 

With an ETF, you don’t have to own just a single stock and bear all the risk. ETFs allow you to access the stock market without having to purchase each asset separately. Through a single ETF share, you indirectly own a proportion of the underlying stocks held by the fund. 

Take our top-rated fund, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), as an example. At the time of this writing, IVV holds approximately 503 equity holdings. You’ll notice that IVV’s portfolio holdings closely match the 500 companies in the S&P 500. That’s because the intention of the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF is to track the performance of the S&P 500 index. And it does so, at an expense ratio of 0.03%.

Advantages of ETFs

Let’s dive into some advantages of ETFs: 

Diversity. You’re able to buy a basket of stocks, bonds or commodities. This allows you to spread your risks.

Costs. Generally, ETFs, particularly passively managed ones, have inexpensive management fees. So that helps you keep even more of your returns.

Tradability. ETFs trade throughout the day are similar to stocks. So, you can also use features like limit orders and stop-loss and even margin trades. Mutual funds trade only once a day.

Liquidity. Unlike physical assets, ETFs are easily bought and sold on an exchange. So that means you can liquidate your position pretty quickly.

Accessibility. Through an ETF, you can enter the global market and gain exposure to sectors like semiconductors or technology or even to commodities like bitcoin or gold.

How To Buy ETFs

To buy an ETF, you’ll need either an advisory service or a brokerage account (if you don’t have one already). 

1. Open/Use a Brokerage Account or Advisory Service

Online brokerages Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, to name a few, offer commission-free trading for ETFs with no account minimums. If you’re looking to take more of a hands-off approach, robo-advisory services (e.g., Webull, Fidelity Go, etc.) can help you build an automated portfolio, using ETFs as the building blocks.

2. Fund Your Account 

Before purchasing an ETF, you’ll need to make sure you’ve established a method of payment for the account or service you plan to use. This usually involves funding a brokerage account or linking a bank account for funding purposes.

3. Select Your ETF 

There are thousands of ETFs on the market. For Forbes Advisor’s best ETFs to buy, we screened over 4,700 ETFs that trade on U.S. markets, for example.

Whether you choose a fund from our shortlist above or a different one that suits your financial goals, you’ll want to do your own research. For example, pay attention to the expense ratio that a fund charges. Passive index funds, like the ones on this list, tend to charge less in fees. Actively managed funds, those trying to beat particular benchmarks, tend to charge higher fees because they involve active investment strategies rather than simply following an index.

4. Place a Trade

You can place a trade on a brokerage platform by searching for an ETF’s ticker symbol. For example, if you search for SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF, you’ll look up the fund with its ticker, SPY. 

The next step is to figure out how many shares you intend to buy. You might determine this by the percentage of assets allocated to a particular investment theme. For example, maybe you only want to invest 20% of your $10,000 in a large-cap ETF. Then, you’ll buy the number of shares that are proportionate to that allocation.

And one extra step. before you hit “buy” or “trade.” You’ll need to specify the type of order for the purchase. For example, a “market order” allows you to buy shares at the current market price. A “limit order” allows you to specify the maximum price that you’re willing to pay on that trade day. 

5. Monitor Your Investment Portfolio

After you invest in a portfolio of ETFs, you’ll need to review your holdings and monitor their performance.

Even if you employ a “set it and forget it” strategy, you’ll want to review your holdings at least once or twice a year. An annual or biannual review allows you to catch drifts in portfolio allocations, so you can stay on course with your investment goals.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)