Is the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF a Buy Now?

With the stock market crashing at the end of last week, many investors are wondering if now is the time to invest in an exchange traded fund (ETF) like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). The ETF is now down about 15% year to date, as of this writing. Note, the market has been extremely volatile with stocks making big moves quickly, so by the time you read this the year-to-date return could be completely different.I think this is a good time to add some shares of the Vanguard S&P 500, but with two caveats. First, let's look at why the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a solid investment option.The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index, which consists of about the 500 largest companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges. The index is market capitalization (market cap) weighted, meaning that the larger a company is, the more weight it holds within the index. The index makes a slight adjustment for shares closely controlled by insiders, but market cap is generally calculated using a stock's shares outstanding multiplied by its share price.Continue reading

Apr 9, 2025 - 09:15

Is the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF a Buy Now?

With the stock market crashing at the end of last week, many investors are wondering if now is the time to invest in an exchange traded fund (ETF) like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). The ETF is now down about 15% year to date, as of this writing. Note, the market has been extremely volatile with stocks making big moves quickly, so by the time you read this the year-to-date return could be completely different.

I think this is a good time to add some shares of the Vanguard S&P 500, but with two caveats. First, let's look at why the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a solid investment option.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks the performance of the S&P 500 index, which consists of about the 500 largest companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges. The index is market capitalization (market cap) weighted, meaning that the larger a company is, the more weight it holds within the index. The index makes a slight adjustment for shares closely controlled by insiders, but market cap is generally calculated using a stock's shares outstanding multiplied by its share price.