As April turns to May, market volatility remains the order of the day. A tentative ceasefire in the Middle East, a changing of the guard at the Federal Reserve, and ballooning AI capex spend are causing investors to lose sleep.
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In the face of all these uncertainties, retirement investors can be forgiven for looking for safer options in the equity market and beyond. One popular way to diversify risk is through ETFs, which combine multiple investments (sometimes numbering in the thousands) into a single holding.
The Vanguard family of ETFs has some of the biggest around, including the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) and the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI).
VOO is hard to ignore, and with over $915 billion in assets under management it’s easy to see why. The ETF is designed to track the S&P 500, which is comprised of the largest publicly-traded companies on U.S. equity markets and currently lists 507 holdings among its investments.
VOO is a passively managed, market-capitalization index fund (its expense ratio of 0.03% is as low as they come). As the tech valuations have soared, VOO has come to increasingly rely on these firms (the Magnificent 7 companies make up roughly one-third of its total portfolio).
Though that pushed VOO downward in the early months of 2026, recent risk-on sentiment throughout the market has propelled it into positive territory year-to-date.
The same can be said for VTI, its sister ETF. Its top 10 holdings are an exact match with VOO, though they comprise a slightly smaller percentage of its overall portfolio. Its expense ratio of 0.03% is also identical.
However, the market’s winning ways throughout the month of April have boosted VTI slightly further than VOO. The ETF counts almost 3,500 holdings, giving investors exposure to practically every corner of the U.S. stock market.
Indeed, VTI runs the gamut from large-cap leaders to growth stocks, sourcing its investments from industries far and wide. This additional level of diversification seemed to pay off when the tech firms took a nose-dive during large chunks of February and March.
Investor David Dierking admits that there is plenty of “short-term noise” mucking up the market’s gears. However, that doesn’t mean that 2026 needs to be a lost year for investors.
“If you can cut through that and focus on long-term wealth creation, a handful of high-quality ETFs make ideal choices when saving for retirement,” states the investor, who lists VOO and VTI among his chosen few.
When it comes to VOO, Dierking points out that it is already included in most retirement portfolios. Indeed, its stated focus of investing in the biggest corporate firms in the U.S. has turned VOO into “a no-brainer for long-term investing.”
For those looking for more exposure to different types of U.S. equities, the investor is happy to point to VTI. “It’s more diversified and could capture the potential of investing in smaller companies,” adds Dierking.
Plain and simple, the investor concludes that these Vanguard ETFs are a great fit when it comes to investing for retirement.
“They’re ultra-cheap to own, huge, highly liquid, broadly diversified, and don’t take any undue or unusual risks,” sums up Dierking. (To watch Dierking’s track record, click here)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured investor. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.