In general, when I talk about investments here, I stick to generalities. And the reason is simple. There are a million ways that you can successfully invest and reach financial freedom using stocks. Invest passively, approximate the overall market, don't try to time the market, keep costs low. As long as you follow those principles, you will come out on top. But still I get a lot of questions asking about specific funds that I like. So, I'm going to get specific and share 11 of my favorite “all-weather,” all-market stock index funds and exchange traded funds.

The rules of the game

• Funds and ETFs will be categorized based on some key characteristics of my determination.
• These are investments meant to be bought and held and help you grow wealth regardless of what the market is doing now or later. That's what I mean by “all-weather.”
• This is in no way intended to be an exhaustive list.
• There will be some familiarity bias towards funds and ETFs that I use or know well. However, the reality is that many brokerages will have options that fit the principles I spoke about above. And those are fine too. In some cases, you may be limited in your investing options. For example, because I work for a state hospital, my 403b investment options are limited to TIAA. I probably wouldn't otherwise choose their funds but they work fine since it's what I have to work with.
• Some of the funds and ETFs that I talk about here will be ones that I don't invest in. That's simply because they don't align fully with my investment plan. But they may fit well within yours.
• I am using index funds and ETFs interchangeably because for broad purposes they are the same. If you want to get in the weeds on the differences, I do that here.
• There is no category for “tax efficient funds or ETFs” because these are all tax efficient.

My 7 favorite all-weather stock index funds and ETFs

Ok, let's go!

Core portfolio anchors

These funds will generally form the core of your investment portfolio.

1. VTSAX

Old tried and true. VTSAX is Vanguard's total stock market index fund. It approximates the entire US stock market passively. You can invest in it for a minimum of $3,000. Its expense ratio is 0.04% and its 2025 return was ~18%.

2. FXAIX

If Vanguard is the index fund king, then Fidelity is the prince. Maybe not the first to do it, but possibly does it even better. And I say that as someone who invests primarily at Vanguard. In any case, FXAIX is Fidelity's S&P 500 index fund. Not a total market fund but one that mirrors the S&P 500, ostensibly the best large swath of the total US market. Expense ratio is 0.015% and 2025 return was ~17%.

Expand your horizon stalwarts

Diversifying your investments outside of the US has proven to be a useful investing strategy.

3. VXUS

VXUS is Vanguard's total international stock market index fund that contains over 8000 individual funds from the developed and developing world. Expense ratio is 0.05%, slightly higher as maintenance of international funds is usually higher. 2025 return was around 33%, outperforming US stocks. And, as an ETF, you can buy VXUS for the price of just one share and you can trade it like a stock (not that would want to).

4. SCHF

The Schwab International Equity ETF mirrors the FTSE Developed ex US Index with a low expense ratio of 0.03%. 2025 year to date returns exceed 30%.

The only tilt that I use

Long term historical data shows that having a portion of your portfolio allocated to small value stocks increases performance and returns. That's why my investment plan calls for ~10% allocation to small value stock index funds.

5. VSIAX

This is the Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund. The idea here is that it captures companies that may be temporarily undervalued. The expense ratio is 0.07% and 2025 YTD returns is 8.41%, a good reminder that small value cannot be relied upon to always beat the overall market.

For those who want cash flow from their investments

Dividends are the cash flow that companies send to investors when they make profits. Some companies keep these profits more to grow their company long term and some are more prone to sending dividends. If you like the idea of dividends, here is an index fund that might work for you.

6. SPYD

SPYD is the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF. The idea here is that it is a fund that generally tries to mirror the S&P 500 but with a focus on stocks that provide investors with a strong dividend yield. Expense ratio is 0.07% which is very reasonable. 2025 YTD returns are at 4.86%, noticeably lower than that of the overall S&P 500 because this does not mirror the full S&P 500, just the most dividend producing parts of it. The current trailing 12 month dividend yield of SPYD is 4.5%

The one-size-fits-all fund

7. VFFVX

VFFVX is the Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Fund. This is just one example of a target date fund (TDF). And it happens to be the primary target date fund that I invest in. But there are TDFs that extend for every 5 or so years in most brokerages. The benefit of a target date funds is that it is a fund or funds containing total US market, total international market, and total bond market index funds. It's an all-in-one basket. And TDFs self titrate down risk (by decreasing stock exposure and increasing bond exposure) as you near your chosen retirement date. So you can increase or decrease your stock exposure by adjusting the “retirement date” you select. For example, I plan to largely retire way before 2055, but still want an aggressive portfolio so I chose a date further into the future.

TDFs are a key component of the two fund for life strategy that I now largely employ.

Wrapping it up

Picking out which funds to invest in seems like the most exciting and important part of your investment plan. But in reality, it's probably the easiest and least consequential as long as you follow these 4 basic principles:

• Invest passively (active investing does not work)
• Approximate the overall market
• Don't try to time the market
• Keep costs low

I could have found 5+ funds or ETFs that fit this bill to include in each section but stuck to my favorites and ones I have experience with. But all would do just fine.

The more important investment decisions come before this one. These are the decisions that will truly set you up for personalized success:

• Determine and create your savings rate (make it at least 20%)
• Set your asset allocation
• Figure out your asset location
• Create a plan for rebalancing
• Write out your actual investment plan (like mine here)

Then you can select your funds and automate your path to financial freedom!

What do you think? Which are your favorite favorite stock index funds or ETFs? What does your investment plan call for? Any big ones that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!