How much money should I have in ETFs?
You expose your portfolio to much higher risk with sector ETFs, so you should use them sparingly, but investing 5% to 10% of your total portfolio assets may be appropriate. If you want to be highly conservative, don't use these at all.
You expose your portfolio to much higher risk with sector ETFs, so you should use them sparingly, but investing 5% to 10% of your total portfolio assets may be appropriate. If you want to be highly conservative, don't use these at all.
The majority of individual investors should, however, seek to hold 5 to 10 ETFs that are diverse in terms of asset classes, regions, and other factors. Investors can diversify their investment portfolio across several industries and asset classes while maintaining simplicity by buying 5 to 10 ETFs.
Generally speaking, fewer than 10 ETFs are likely enough to diversify your portfolio, but this will vary depending on your financial goals, ranging from retirement savings to income generation.
Too many people are paid a lot of money to tell investors that yields like that are impossible. But the truth is you can get a 9.5% yield today--and even more. But even at 9.5%, we're talking about a middle-class income of $4,000 per month on an investment of just a touch over $500K.
A $1000 investment made in November 2013 would be worth $5,574.88, or a gain of 457.49%, as of November 16, 2023, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation. Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 150.41% and gold's return of 46.17% over the same time frame.
The truth is that most investors won't have the money to generate $1,000 per month in dividends; not at first, anyway. Even if you find a market-beating series of investments that average 3% annual yield, you would still need $400,000 in up-front capital to hit your targets.
If you buy substantially identical security within 30 days before or after a sale at a loss, you are subject to the wash sale rule. This prevents you from claiming the loss at this time.
You should therefore only keep as many funds in your portfolio as you're comfortable monitoring. For example, if you hold 10 or 20 different funds, you'll need to keep a close eye on the changing value of all these investments to make sure your asset allocation still matches your investment goals.
Because they trade like stocks, ETFs do not require a minimum initial investment and are purchased as whole shares. You can buy an ETF for the price of just one share, usually referred to as the ETF's "market price."
Can you become a millionaire with ETFs?
With enough time and consistency, you can earn well over $1 million with ETFs while still limiting your risk. Data source: Author's calculations via Investor.gov.
ETFs can be a great investment for long-term investors and those with shorter-term time horizons. They can be especially valuable to beginning investors. That's because they won't require the time, effort, and experience needed to research individual stocks.
For most standard, unleveraged ETFs that track an index, the maximum you can theoretically lose is the amount you invested, driving your investment value to zero. However, it's rare for broad-market ETFs to go to zero unless the entire market or sector it tracks collapses entirely.
If you were to invest $200 per month over the course of the next 30 years, that would equate to a total investment of $72,000. That's significant, but it's through the effects of compounding that would get your portfolio to a more than $1 million valuation.
Suppose you're starting from scratch and have no savings. You'd need to invest around $13,000 per month to save a million dollars in five years, assuming a 7% annual rate of return and 3% inflation rate. For a rate of return of 5%, you'd need to save around $14,700 per month.
$3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year. $36,000 / 6% dividend yield = $600,000. On the other hand, if you're more risk-averse and prefer a portfolio yielding 2%, you'd need to invest $1.8 million to reach the $3,000 per month target: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.
If you invested in the company 10 years ago, that decision could have paid off. According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment in Coca-Cola in 2009 would be worth more than $2,800 as of Feb. 15, 2019.
For example, if an investment scheme promises an 8% annual compounded rate of return, it will take approximately nine years (72 / 8 = 9) to double the invested money.
| Company (Ticker) | Forward P/E Ratio |
|---|---|
| Humana (HUM) | 13.9 |
| Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) | 13.4 |
| Citigroup (C) | 8.0 |
| Lear (LEA) | 7.7 |
Invest in Dividend Stocks
The average dividend yield for stocks in the S&P 500 index is around 2%. To generate $3,000 per month in dividends at a 2% yield, you would need a portfolio of dividend stocks worth $1.8 million. While this may seem out of reach for many, you can start small and build your portfolio over time.
How to make $2,500 a month in passive income?
- Idea 1: Invest in Dividend Stocks. ...
- Idea 2: Invest in Real Estate. ...
- Idea 3: Rent Out a Property. ...
- Idea 4: Invest in Peer to Peer Lending. ...
- Idea 5: Build an Online Business. ...
- Idea 6: Create an Online Course.
Dividend-paying Stocks
Shares of public companies that split profits with shareholders by paying cash dividends yield between 2% and 6% a year. With that in mind, putting $250,000 into low-yielding dividend stocks or $83,333 into high-yielding shares will get your $500 a month.
Nearly all leveraged ETFs come with a prominent warning in their prospectus: they are not designed for long-term holding. The combination of leverage, market volatility, and an unfavorable sequence of returns can lead to disastrous outcomes.
If you own shares of an exchange-traded fund (ETF), you may receive distributions in the form of dividends. These may be paid monthly or at some other interval, depending on the ETF.
For ETFs held more than a year, you'll owe long-term capital gains taxes at a rate up to 23.8%, once you include the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) on high earners. If you hold the ETF for less than a year, you'll be taxed at the ordinary income rate.
