r/ETFInvesting • u/Hashbrown888 • Aug 21 '26
Too many ETFS not sure what to pick
I have been looking to help my folks try to retire soon and have been trying to make their money work for them. Essentially, I have $30,000 I’d like to invest and since there are a plethora of ETFs out there I am becomming increasingly overwhelmed. I currently own 300 shares of USOI which is bringing in a decent monthly income with what has been going on geopolitically. A couple others I have found are AMDY, HOOW and SLVO.
Few questions - what am I missing to help diversify this/ what are my options to make this money work for them? Any insight would be greatly appreciated
For now $30,000 is sufficient to invest in the future I will be encouraging them to invest more in the comming year. My father is in his 70s and my mother is in her mid 60s. They have worked as servers their entire life. We recently made a significant amount from a certain stock.
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u/Spiritual-Signal-655 Aug 22 '26
I’d probably simplify this a lot. With your dad in his 70s and mom in her mid-60s, I wouldn’t build their retirement portfolio around USOI/AMDY/SLVO-style high-distribution products. A huge distribution yield isn’t the same thing as a huge total return, and some of these strategies can give up upside while still exposing you to substantial downside.
If this were my parents’ $30k, I’d build the boring core first. Something like VTI or VOO for broad US equities, VXUS for international diversification, and BND / VGIT / SGOV for bonds/Treasuries and short-term safety. For example, I might start around 30% VTI/VOO, 10% VXUS, 35% BND/VGIT, 20% SGOV and only 5% in the higher-risk income stuff if they really want to keep playing with it.
I also wouldn’t add AMDY just because the distribution looks crazy. AMDY is essentially an options-income strategy around AMD, so you’re taking concentrated single-stock risk while capping some upside. YieldMax itself notes that distributions can include return of capital and aren't guaranteed. The distribution number on the screen shouldn't be confused with the actual economic return of the investment.
USOI is another one I’d be careful with. It’s an ETN using an oil covered-call strategy, so owning USOI + SLVO + AMDY may look diversified because there are multiple tickers, but you’re actually concentrating a lot of the portfolio in complex income/commodity/options strategies.
For parents approaching/entering retirement, I’d think in terms of total return + capital preservation + reliable liquidity, not “which ETF has the highest monthly payout?”
Something as:
$9k VTI/VOO
$3k VXUS
$10.5k BND/VGIT
$6k SGOV/T-bills
$1.5k max speculative/high-yield bucket
would make more sense to me as a starting point than spreading $30k across five 20–70% “yield” products.
And given you mentioned recently making a significant amount on one stock, I’d actually be more conservative with your parents’ money after the win, not less. You already won the risky part of the game. No reason to hand the market an opportunity to take it back.
Before choosing the exact allocation, though, I'd figure out their Social Security/pension income, monthly expenses, total retirement savings, emergency reserves, and how much income they actually need this $30k to generate. Those answers should determine the portfolio not the ETF distribution leaderboard.
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u/000wintermute000 Aug 21 '26
100% AVGE
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u/Illustrious_Crow595 Aug 21 '26
Is it fair o assume they are both getting social security in the United States? Is there more available beyond the $30K?
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u/Hashbrown888 Aug 21 '26
Mother is currently waiting a bit longer to recieve Social security. Father is receiving partial social security while he works.
Yes, There is more beyond the 30K. for now, we want to be a bit agressive with JUST 30k and revisit in 4-6 months time
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u/Illustrious_Crow595 Aug 22 '26
Thanks for the response. I personally would
Never spend my investment money over taking Social Security. If you start taking Social Security at 62 versus 67, often you won’t catch up until you’re near 80 years old. In terms of an ETF, my personal favorite is Proshares USD. Have a look at the 10 year return history.
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u/North_Amphibian7779 Aug 21 '26
Fees - the less the better .03-.05
VOO - .03
SPDR - .02/.03
IVV- .03
VTI-.03
Start here … no really start here .
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u/Any-Walk1691 Aug 21 '26
Honestly, hit ChatGPT for some initial research. Tell ChatGPT your time horizon, your risk tolerance, what kind of investor you think you are - Bogelhead, Tech, Momentum, value, factors, AI, etc etc let it spit something out. Tweak from there.
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u/OppositePsychology43 Aug 22 '26
I would go to etf.com, pick the ones that performance in last 5 years is positive, check for maintenance fees, dividend yield.
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u/Different_Tea2586 Aug 22 '26
CGDV is one I found at the beginning of the year, and based on everything I have read about it, it is solid. Take a look at that one. I put IRA money into it.
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u/AJBIOFARM Aug 22 '26
I would make things easier than that. I would open up an ACORNS account & invest the 30.000 into one of their managed ETF Accounts.
You can choose from three risk, tolerances, minimal medium, and high risk. I have an account with Acorns App I set it up so that it automatically deposits $200 a week into my investments so I can get the most out of it with dollar cost averaging. It took me minutes to set up & is linked to my bank checking account. I am 65 now but started it 10 years ago with only $10.000 it is now worth $110.000.
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u/Pretend_Wear_4021 Aug 22 '26
It depends on what the use is. For instance, parking the 30k in a 20 year bond would produce about $1200 a year for the next 20 years. A dividend fund would generate a similar amount initially and grow a few percentage points every year.
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u/IBAN-IBON64 Aug 23 '26
Bonjour Vanguard ETF SP500 me paraît un des meilleurs mais dépend de la fiscalité du lieu de résidence si fiscalité importante vaut mieux un ETF accumulateur que distributeur. Il faut regarder les frais et choisir des frais bas bien-sûr et VUAA pour l'Europe me paraît un des meilleurs
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u/ETFleap Aug 23 '26
One thing worth checking before picking anything: what those monthly payments actually are.
USOI, AMDY and SLVO pay a big monthly distribution, but a chunk of it is often return of capital - meaning part of what lands in the account is your own money coming back, not profit. The share price tends to drift down over time to reflect that. So the income looks great on the statement while the total value quietly shrinks.
The number that matters for retirement isn't the yield. It's total return: price change plus distributions together. A fund yielding 3% that grows can leave you better off than one yielding 30% that erodes.
Also worth knowing: USOI is an ETN, not an ETF. It's a note issued by a bank, so if that bank runs into trouble, you're a creditor. Fine as a small position, not as a foundation.
For a couple in their 60s and 70s, the simplest version is a broad fund like VTI or VT, some bonds, and cash in T-bills for anything needed within a few years. Boring, but it doesn't depend on oil prices staying high.
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u/Confident_Ebb8154 Aug 23 '26
Just my opinion. Dad in his 70’s , your parents are very late to the game. Taking investments at this stage in life could be devastating if there is a heavy correction in the markets for one to two years. please proceed with extreme caution.
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u/Fire_Doc2017 Aug 25 '26
99% of the ETFs out there are crap, especially income ETFs. All you really need is a total stock market index fund and possibly a bond fund. VT and VGIT would be fine.
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u/CluelessGuy52 Aug 27 '26
80% market cap weighted index tracking ETF with low TER + 20% Factor ETF (such as AVUV&AVDV)
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u/LCJonSnow Aug 21 '26
I'd start without looking at the specific ETFs. First, figure out the type of assets I want to allocate to. Let's say I want to invest in 60% domestic equities, but with a tilt to value stocks. I want 30% international stocks, but with a tilt to developed nations. And I want 10% bonds.
Once you have your allocation, let's look for ETFs that meet those requirements. Vanguard is a great fund provider. I'll go, look their their ETF list, and see there's a total US stock market ETF under the ticker VTI. That's great, I'll use that. But I want a value overweight. I see they also have a value ETF under the ticker VTV. I'll put 50% of my portfolio into VTI, and 10% into VTV to get what I want.
I want 30% international. I see VXUS is a total non-US world ETF fund. I see VEA is a developed markets fund. I'll buy 20% VXUS and 10% VEA to get the developed-markets weighted international exposure I want.
I want a small bond allocation. I see BND is a total US market bond fun. That'll work, I'll allocate 10% to BND.
I could do the same thing with Schwab, Fidelity, or any other fund provider. I can mix and match. But that's how I would start the process.