Ballentine Partners’ Senior Investment Advisor, Kyle Schaffer, was recently quoted in a CNN Money article, “ETFs you do (and don’t) want to own”. In this article, Kyle touts the benefits of using broadly diversified, low-cost, indexed ETFs.
Buy: The best bets for ETF newbies are those that have broad stock market exposure, said Kyle Schaffer, managing director and senior investment advisor at Ballentine Partners.
In general he likes Vanguard products because the brokerage firm offers low-cost and commission-free ETFs. Schaffer suggests investors try Vanguard’s Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), the Europe Pacific ETF (VEA), and the Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). Other brokerage firms also offer similar products, including Charles Schwab’s U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB), International Equity ETF (SCHF), and Emerging Markets Equity ETF (SCHE).
To play a little bit of defense, Schaffer advises to also buy Vanguard’s Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG), which invests in companies that have consistently raised their dividend payouts, such as McDonald’s (MCD), IBM (IBM) and Wal-Mart (WMT).
