Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (AMEX:VTI)

Very closely follows the market. Lower fees than SPY.

This ETF, which closely replicates the SPY on a more broad perspective, will almost always outperform due to a significantly lower expenses. It should also be mildly less volatile due to greater exposure in small cap markets.

Carry trade using USD will continue propelling emerging markets upwards

Broad stock picks across various popular sectors and companies well managed by Vanguard with low expense ratio. This ETF gives you all the best of Exxon, J&J, heath care and others w/o having to purchase individual stocks. While performing low now, it's YTD numbers are impressive and the ETF is still a bargain.

grow

It is always important to have an index fund in your portfolio. I chose this one as it attempts to mirror the investment return of the overall US stock market. Some wiser than me have said, that if you can't beat em, join em. In other word, if you can't beat the market, be the market, and the best way to do that is through a low priced index fund. In this case the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF fits the bill with a measly expense ratio of 0.09%.

Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI) is exactly what the name says. It is the total of the US market.
Now all the stocks in it are weighted evenly with larger companies holding larger swing in this ETF, but that makes sense because these companies also have more swing on the market itself. The highest weights are given to companies that everyone knows of: XOM, GE, MSFT and the list goes on.
So here is the deal, right now the market is awful but every company in America will not fail. So by that logic right there, this ETF can't fail either. If you are willing to hold this ETF for a long amount of time you are guaranteed to make money. I believe that in about two years this stock will reach around the $75 mark that it was at before this economic crisis.
Now, I realize that a two year window is a long time and many people may not be interested in holding an ETF that long, but its sure money...no doubt about it.
For real money this would be a great pick up for a retirement fund especially now since its’ so low relative to historic prices. So if you had a 50 year horizon to work with just think that this would be a great long term investment.
With the economic uncertainty of today, it’s not all that great for anything shorter than at least a year. Unless you are day trading it and in that case there are tons of better stocks today trade anyways.

The S&P 500 will recover eventually, and so VTI will as well.

Be the market.

cheap right now and possibly could get a little more cheaper...i think it's a buy

We won't be in the toilet forever. That's all I can say for VTI right now. Probably will go lower before it reverses course, but once it does this is a great vehicle to enjoy the ride. LOW cost too, which means more bread in your product when it happens.

A great time to buy into VTI --- at a 12-year low in the DJIA and S&P :D

This would be a good ETF to come back to each month and dollar cost average out. Along with its dividend, it tracks the total stock market which reduces risk.

Sell at strengh. (>46+)

Buy at weakness (<42)

This is the market, so by definition it can't outperform, but it can't underperform either, so it's a safe bet that the market will rebound and with no "drag" (fees etc.) should produce a near market return.

Unless you think we'll soon all be gathering nuts to horde in a post apocalyptic world, buying the market at these levels will pay off in the long term. Now, as the worst seems near, is when you 'buy low' to later 'sell high'. This is a great way to diversify your portfolio. While you get some poor performers, you get all the top performers. When someone says they own 'such and such' stock and made a killing, you can say you own it too, because you own them all! This ETF also has an ultra low expense ratio of .07%. You don't buy low at 52wk highs. Expect modest returns with this ETF, but overall long term gains. Be patient.

place holder - need 7 active picks at all times

What can I say? Buffett, Boggle, can they be wrong? Value is the investing style that's applied by all the top guns in the field. If you know what I'm talking about, you'll know to keep a large long position here.

I think that the whole stock market is more powerful than all the large cap stocks in the s&p 500.