Written by: The Smartin Team

What’s the Deal with VTI?

So, I’m looking at these stock pickers. They’ve got the charts, they’ve got the three monitors, they’ve got the high-speed internet. They’re sweating over a hot keyboard trying to find the one company that will make them rich. It’s like trying to find the one clean taxi in the entire city at 5:00 PM on a Friday. Good luck with that!

Then you have VTI. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. This is the investment for people who have officially given up on the search. You’re not looking for the needle anymore; you’re buying the whole haystack. You’re buying the farmer, the tractor, the barn, and the little overalls the farmer wears.

VTI is everything. It’s the tech giants, it’s the guy making paperclips in Ohio, it’s the company that makes those little plastic bits on the end of your shoelaces. If it’s public and it’s in the U.S., you own a tiny slice of it. It’s the most aggressive form of indecision I’ve ever seen. It’s saying, “I have no idea who’s going to win, so I’m just going to root for the concept of commerce.”

And the cost? It’s basically free. The expense ratio is so low, I’m surprised they don’t ask you to help out with the filing once a year just to break even. They’re basically saying, “Please, just take the stocks. We have too many. We’re drowning in mid-cap industrials over here!”

Why do people do anything else? Because they want the thrill! They want to be the guy at the party who says, “I got in early on the company that makes Bluetooth-enabled toothbrushes.” But usually, the “next big thing” is just the “old big thing” with a different logo and a higher marketing budget.

With VTI, you don’t have to be right. You don’t have to be a genius. You just have to be present. It’s the participation trophy of investing, except this trophy actually pays you a dividend and grows over time. You just sit there, do nothing, and own everything. It’s the dream!

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