Investing doesn't require a complex strategy or constant portfolio monitoring. Academic studies consistently show that one of the most effective ways to build wealth involves dollar-cost averaging into low-cost,

Vanguard's five birds of a feather for 2025 The five Vanguard ETFs I'm especially bullish about for next year are birds of a feather: Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: VB) Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VBR) Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 ETF (NYSEMKT: VIOO) Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (NASDAQ: VTWO) Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ: VTWG) You might have spotted the key common denominator for these funds: They all focus on small-cap stocks.

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF ( VIG 0.01%), Vanguard S&P 500 Value ETF ( VOOV -0.32%), and the Vanguard Energy ETF ( VDE -1.80%) have all underperformed the S&P 500 so far in 2024. But they all have combinations of quality top holdings and reasonable valuations that could position them to shine bright in 2025.

The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF has a solid track record of crushing the S&P 500, so its outperformance this year is nothing out of the ordinary. It has delivered a compound annual return of 16.4% since it was established in 2010, beating the 13.7% average annual return in the S&P 500 over the same period.