The BEST 3 ETF Portfolio for F.I.R.E. (Hold FOREVER!)

Summary

Jacob Wade presents a simple, long-term ETF approach to pursuing financial independence, built around a core holding, a growth tilt, and a quality-focused stock fund. He emphasizes keeping the portfolio easy to maintain and sticking with it through market declines.

Portfolio Framework and Suggested Holdings

Core ETF: The Portfolio’s Foundation

Wade suggests allocating roughly 60–80% to a broad-market fund:

• VTI — Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, covering the U.S. market, including large-, mid-, and small-cap companies.
• VOO — Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, covering large U.S. companies.

He recommends choosing one rather than holding both, because their holdings overlap substantially. He also discusses VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock ETF) as an optional source of international diversification.

Growth ETF: A Higher-Risk Tilt

For younger, long-term investors, Wade suggests allocating roughly 10–20% to growth investments, while cautioning that growth funds can be more volatile:

• QQQM — Invesco Nasdaq-100 ETF, with concentrated exposure to major technology and related companies.
• VUG — Vanguard Growth ETF, which he describes as more broadly diversified than QQQM.

He also discusses Bitcoin as a possible, more volatile growth allocation. Options mentioned include FBTC (Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund) or holding Bitcoin directly.

Quality ETF: Intended to Add Some Stability

Wade favors VIG (Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF), which focuses on companies with records of raising dividends rather than simply the highest current yields. He stresses that VIG is still a stock fund—not cash or bonds—and can lose value in bear markets.

Short-Term Cash

For money needed in roughly 2–3 years, Wade generally favors a high-yield savings account. As an ETF alternative, he discusses SGOV (iShares 0–3 Month Treasury Bond ETF), which holds short-term U.S. Treasuries.

Sample Allocations

• “Simple and balanced” portfolio: The transcript gives 70% core, 50% growth, and 50% quality. These allocations total 170%, so they are internally inconsistent and should not be treated as a usable portfolio.
• Global portfolio: 55% VTI, 15% VXUS, 15% QQQM, and 15% VIG.
• Aggressive portfolio: 60% VTI, 20% QQQM, 10% VIG, and 10% Bitcoin. Wade frames this as an option for investors in their 20s or early 30s who can tolerate substantial volatility.

Numbers and Performance Claims Cited

Illustrative Investment Projections

For investing $750 per month for 30 years, Wade estimates:

• At an assumed 7% annual return: about $850,000.
• At an assumed 10.5% annual return: roughly $1.62 million.

He cautions that these are illustrative assumptions, not forecasts, and that past performance does not guarantee future results.

Historical Annualized Returns

Wade cites the following returns over the prior 10 years:

• VOO: 15.21%
• VTI: 14.73%
• QQQM: 21.10%
• VUG: 17.77%

He says these results are unusually strong and should not be assumed to continue.

Other Fund Details

• VOO: 504 stocks, about $1.4 trillion in assets, and a 0.03% expense ratio.
• VTI: 3,507 stocks, about $2 trillion in assets, and a 0.03% expense ratio.
• QQQM: About 103 stocks, roughly $90 billion in assets, and a 0.15% expense ratio.
• VUG: About 153 stocks, roughly $317 billion in assets, and a 0.03% expense ratio.

Risk Examples

Wade notes that:

• The Nasdaq-100 fell more than 70% during the dot-com bust. QQQM did not exist then, but he says a fund tracking that index would have faced that exposure.
• VUG declined 33% in 2022, compared with a market decline of less than 20%.
• Stock funds can fall 20%, 30%, 40%, or more.

He recommends maintaining a long-term outlook and continuing to invest through downturns, provided the investor can tolerate the risk.

Cash and Treasury Figures

• SGOV: Approximately 3.54% yield at the time of the video, with a 0.09% expense ratio. Wade says it had earned 4–5% over the preceding couple of years.
• He says leading high-yield savings accounts were paying around 4% APY at the time.

These rates are time-sensitive.

Other Recommendations and Cautions

• Wade favors regular investing through dollar-cost averaging, including weekly or monthly purchases. He also describes daily Bitcoin investing as an option.
• He cautions against chasing high dividend yields, arguing that an unusually high yield can reflect a falling share price or a struggling business.
• He notes that bonds may be more appropriate for some investors, particularly those within five years of retirement or already retired, but prefers stock exposure for many investors still building wealth.
• He says U.S. stocks have substantially outperformed international markets over the past two to three decades, while acknowledging that future relative performance is unknown.
• The Coinbase discussion is sponsored. Wade promotes Coinbase and Coinbase One, stating that its basic tier costs $5 per month and permits up to $500 in investments without the fee. These are promotional claims presented in the video.

Disclosure

Wade states that the video is not financial advice, that he is not the viewer’s financial advisor, and that it is for educational purposes only. He also notes that past performance does not guarantee future results.

Presenter and Sources

• Presenter: Jacob Wade, financial coach and former enrolled agent.
• Funds, providers, and platforms discussed: Vanguard (VTI, VOO, VXUS, VUG, VIG, BND); Invesco (QQQM); iShares (SGOV); Fidelity (FBTC); Coinbase (including Coinbase One).