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Welcome to Episode #325 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.
Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.
This week, Tracey is going solo to talk about how small amounts of cash can really add up in stock investing. And now, more than ever, there are investing apps which allow you to start investing with little money down.
Acorns is one of those. It’s the investing app which helps you save and invest your spare change. They have a feature called “round-ups” which automatically invests spare change into a diversified ETF portfolio. If you buy a coffee that is $3.35, you can direct the app to round it up to $4.00 and invest the spare change that is the difference.
But if that’s not enough for you, and you feel like you can do more, there is a recurring investment feature starting at just $5 a day, or you can also do weekly or monthly.
$5 a day may not seem like much, but the little amounts really can add up if you stick with it especially through stock market ups and downs.
Investing in a Basket of ETFs
Acorns uses ETFs to create portfolios based on what your investing goals and tolerance are. The stock ETFs are basic index ETFs with low fees. Below are some of the ETFs that investors can use to create their own basket.
The Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is one of the most popular ETFs on the market. Tracey owns it in her own personal portfolio as it has a low expense ratio of just 0.03%.
Year-to-date the Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is down 12.4% but it has a 5-year annualized return of 12.79%.
It pays a dividend, yielding 1.6%.
You don’t have to have an Acorn account to invest in it. The Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is available through most of the big brokerages.
The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF is similar to the Small Cap ETF above in that it is a basic fund with an expense ratio of 0.05%.
It has 405 mid-cap holdings and a forward P/E of 14.6. The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF has a dividend yielding 1.6%.
The ETF has fallen 10.5% year-to-date.
The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF also covers the basics. You don’t have to get fancy in stock investing.
4. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS - Free Report)
Looking for international stocks? The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF has 4,312 holdings including some of the world’s largest companies like Taiwan Semiconductor, Nestle, Tencent, Shell and LVMH.
The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF has a nice dividend, currently yielding 2.7%.
Shares are down 15.8% year-to-date. It has a P/E of 12.5.
Should investors add international exposure by using the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF?
One of the most famous ETFs has to be Invesco’s NASDAQ 100 ETF, known simply as “the QQQ.” But did you know that Invesco launched a “mini” version with the same holdings but a lower share price?
The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, the QQQM, has 104 holdings. You will pay an expense ratio of 0.15%.
Year-to-date, it’s down 20.3% but it now has a P/E of just 21.5.
Should you be dollar cost averaging into the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF?
What Else Should You Know About Investing Small Amounts of Cash?
Tune into this week’s podcast to find out.
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Small Investments Can Pay Off Big
Welcome to Episode #325 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.
Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.
This week, Tracey is going solo to talk about how small amounts of cash can really add up in stock investing. And now, more than ever, there are investing apps which allow you to start investing with little money down.
Acorns is one of those. It’s the investing app which helps you save and invest your spare change. They have a feature called “round-ups” which automatically invests spare change into a diversified ETF portfolio. If you buy a coffee that is $3.35, you can direct the app to round it up to $4.00 and invest the spare change that is the difference.
But if that’s not enough for you, and you feel like you can do more, there is a recurring investment feature starting at just $5 a day, or you can also do weekly or monthly.
$5 a day may not seem like much, but the little amounts really can add up if you stick with it especially through stock market ups and downs.
Investing in a Basket of ETFs
Acorns uses ETFs to create portfolios based on what your investing goals and tolerance are. The stock ETFs are basic index ETFs with low fees. Below are some of the ETFs that investors can use to create their own basket.
1. Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF (VOO - Free Report)
The Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is one of the most popular ETFs on the market. Tracey owns it in her own personal portfolio as it has a low expense ratio of just 0.03%.
Year-to-date the Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is down 12.4% but it has a 5-year annualized return of 12.79%.
It pays a dividend, yielding 1.6%.
You don’t have to have an Acorn account to invest in it. The Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF is available through most of the big brokerages.
2. iShares S&P Small Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report)
The iShares S&P Small Cap ETF is a basic small cap fund with 679 holdings. While it’s not a value fund, it has an average P/E of 13.6.
The iShares S&P Small Cap ETF has fallen 10.3% year-to-date but has a 5-year annualized return of 7.2%.
It’s expense ratio is just 0.06%.
If you’re looking for exposure to small caps, the iShares S&P Small Cap ETF covers the basics.
3. iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report)
The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF is similar to the Small Cap ETF above in that it is a basic fund with an expense ratio of 0.05%.
It has 405 mid-cap holdings and a forward P/E of 14.6. The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF has a dividend yielding 1.6%.
The ETF has fallen 10.5% year-to-date.
The iShares S&P Mid Cap ETF also covers the basics. You don’t have to get fancy in stock investing.
4. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS - Free Report)
Looking for international stocks? The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF has 4,312 holdings including some of the world’s largest companies like Taiwan Semiconductor, Nestle, Tencent, Shell and LVMH.
The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF has a nice dividend, currently yielding 2.7%.
Shares are down 15.8% year-to-date. It has a P/E of 12.5.
Should investors add international exposure by using the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF?
5. Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM - Free Report)
One of the most famous ETFs has to be Invesco’s NASDAQ 100 ETF, known simply as “the QQQ.” But did you know that Invesco launched a “mini” version with the same holdings but a lower share price?
The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF, the QQQM, has 104 holdings. You will pay an expense ratio of 0.15%.
Year-to-date, it’s down 20.3% but it now has a P/E of just 21.5.
Should you be dollar cost averaging into the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF?
What Else Should You Know About Investing Small Amounts of Cash?
Tune into this week’s podcast to find out.