According to the National Financial Educators Council, a lack of financial literacy cost Americans an average of $1,015 per person and over $243 billion collectively in 2024. On a separate note, research from Gallup found that 62% of Americans own stocks. While investing is becoming more popular, it’s evident that there’s plenty of confusion surrounding the topic. If you’re a regular retail investor with a middle-class income, you likely want to take investing seriously but may not be sure about where to ...

Core Insights - Investing in ETFs provides instant diversification and simplifies the investment process, especially during uncertain market conditions [1][2] Group 1: Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) - SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, focusing on companies with consistent cash flow and a strong balance sheet, requiring at least 10 years of dividend payouts [4][5] - The ETF offers a dividend yield of over 3.7%, which is above its decade average and nearly three times that of the S&P 500 [5] - SCHD has increased its dividend payout by over 160% in the past decade, enhancing the compounding effect through reinvested dividends [7] - Consistent dividends provide dual benefits: they boost returns during upward trends and cushion losses during downturns [8] Group 2: Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) - VXUS offers geographic diversification by providing exposure to companies from both developed and emerging markets, covering thousands of companies globally [9][10] - The ETF's regional allocation includes 39% in Europe, 27.2% in emerging markets, 25.4% in the Pacific, 7.7% in North America, and 0.7% in the Middle East [11] - Although VXUS has underperformed the S&P 500 over the past decade, it has nearly doubled the S&P 500's returns this year [12] - With the S&P 500 at historically high levels, VXUS serves as a hedge against potential market pullbacks, suggesting a target allocation of around 10% in international stocks for many investors [14]

Core Insights - The iShares International Equity Factor ETF (INTF) is a smart beta ETF launched on April 28, 2015, providing broad exposure to the Foreign Large Blend ETF category [1] Group 1: Smart Beta ETFs - Smart beta ETFs track non-cap weighted strategies, appealing to investors seeking to outperform the market by selecting stocks based on specific fundamental characteristics [3] - Traditional ETFs are based on market cap weighted indexes, which replicate market returns in a low-cost and transparent manner [2] Group 2: Fund Details - Managed by Blackrock, INTF has assets exceeding $2.41 billion, positioning it as an average-sized ETF in its category [5] - The fund aims to match the performance of the MSCI World ex USA Diversified Multi-Factor Index [5] - INTF has an annual operating expense of 0.16%, making it one of the cheaper options in the market [6] - The fund offers a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.75% [6] Group 3: Holdings and Performance - Novartis Ag (NOVN) is the largest holding at approximately 1.85%, followed by Asml Holding Nv (ASML) and Sap (SAP) [7] - The top 10 holdings constitute about 10.59% of INTF's total assets [8] - The ETF has gained approximately 27.02% year-to-date and 20.65% over the past year, with a trading range of $27.60 to $36.07 in the last 52 weeks [9] - INTF has a beta of 0.80 and a standard deviation of 15.75% over the trailing three-year period, indicating medium risk [10] Group 4: Alternatives - Other ETFs in the Foreign Large Blend segment include Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) and Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA), with VXUS having $105.43 billion in assets and VEA $175.94 billion [12] - VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.05% and VEA charges 0.03% [12]

Core Insights - The Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIGI) is designed to provide broad exposure to the Foreign Large Blend ETF category and was launched on March 3, 2016 [1] - VIGI is managed by Vanguard and has accumulated over $8.4 billion in assets, making it one of the larger ETFs in its category [5] - The ETF seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ International Dividend Achievers Select Index [5] Investment Strategy - Smart beta ETFs, like VIGI, track non-cap weighted strategies and aim to select stocks based on specific fundamental characteristics to enhance risk-return performance [3] - The S&P Global Ex-U.S. Dividend Growers Index focuses on high-quality companies in developed and emerging markets that are committed to growing dividends over time [6] Cost and Performance - VIGI has an annual operating expense ratio of 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive options in the ETF space [7] - The ETF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.84% [7] - As of August 14, 2025, VIGI has gained approximately 12.51% year-to-date and 8.08% over the past year, with a trading range between $75.29 and $91.16 in the last 52 weeks [9] Holdings and Diversification - The ETF holds about 341 different stocks, effectively diversifying company-specific risk [9] - Major holdings include SAP Se (4.02% of total assets), Novartis Ag, and Royal Bank Of Canada [8] Alternatives - Other ETFs in the same space include Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) and Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA), which have larger asset bases and lower expense ratios [11]

Group 1: ETF Inflows and Performance - ETFs across various categories attracted $34.1 billion in capital last week, with U.S. equity ETFs leading at $11.9 billion in inflows [1] - International equity ETFs received $8 billion, while U.S. fixed income ETFs saw $7.7 billion in inflows [1] - Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation ETF (DYNF) were the top asset creators [2] Group 2: Market Trends and Economic Indicators - Wall Street experienced an upward trend, with the S&P 500 achieving its fifth consecutive record close, driven by solid corporate earnings and resilient economic data [3] - Optimism regarding easing trade tensions and the booming AI sector contributed to market strength [3] - The second-quarter earnings season showed robust results, with total earnings for 117 S&P 500 companies up 8.3% year-over-year on 5.3% higher revenues, and 87.2% of companies beating EPS estimates [4] Group 3: Investor Sentiment and Fed Expectations - Investor sentiment improved with growing confidence that the Federal Reserve may start cutting interest rates by the end of 2025 [5] Group 4: ETF Details - **Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)**: Top asset creator with $2.4 billion in capital, AUM of $711.7 billion, and charges 3 bps in annual fees [6] - **Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS)**: Attracted $1.5 billion, AUM of $100.4 billion, and charges 5 bps in fees [7] - **SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)**: Gained $1.5 billion, AUM of $103 billion, and charges 40 bps in fees [8] - **SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)**: Pulled in $1.4 billion, AUM of $655.9 billion, and charges 9 bps in annual fees [9] - **BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation ETF (DYNF)**: Accumulated $1.4 billion, AUM of $21.3 billion, and charges 27 bps in fees [11]