3 ETFs to Buy if You Only Have $10,000 to Spare

Came across $10,000? It is a sum that feels weighty enough to matter yet fragile enough to lose. A lot of people would go ahead and bet it on crypto moonshots or spend it away. However, it’s a smart idea to look into exchange-traded funds instead. They have quietly become the workhorses of modern portfolios for exactly this moment.

They let you own slices of hundreds or thousands of companies in a single trade, charge very low fees, and trade like any normal stock. More importantly, they remove the temptation to bet everything on just one or two companies.

Before we look into the ETFs, remember why you are investing. If the goal is a house down payment in five years or you’re a retiree, the mix should look different than if you are 25 and hoping to retire early. You should put more weight on dividends and safety if the former applies, whereas you can be more aggressive with growth if you are in the latter category.

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG)

Schwab US Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHG) is an ETF that focuses on the large-cap growth segment of the U.S. market. The goal is to track as closely as possible the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses.

The portfolio mainly consists of tech-related stocks, with consumer cyclical and communication services having double-digit weightings, too.

Here are its holdings.

I prefer this ETF if you have $10,000 to invest and you are looking for more growth without taking on too much risk. It gives you optimal exposure to where the “action” is in the market. The coming decades are likely to be just as tech-focused as the previous two, if not more. But in the case that the AI rally fails, this ETF has half of its portfolio in non-tech holdings to add ballast for such a scenario.

The expense ratio is 0.04%, or just $4 per $10,000. This is one of the cheapest growth ETFs you can buy.

Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV)

Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:AVUV) is actively managed and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. It buys up small-cap companies at what they believe are low valuations with higher profitability ratios. Currently, small-cap companies don’t have the best rap. Higher interest rates have caused startups to struggle, and the broader Russell 2000 index has been trounced by the SPY.

Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be a good idea to ignore small caps entirely. Interest rate cuts are expected to start in September. This is great for small caps, as they have historically outperformed during a rate-cutting cycle. Buying AVAV before it is a good idea, as it has investments in the kind of companies that will benefit from lower interest rates.

This is an actively managed ETF, so you do pay more. The expense ratio is 0.25%, or $25 per $10,000. AVUV also sprinkles in a 1.83% dividend yield for you, which is surprisingly high for a small-cap ETF.

Global X MLP ETF (MLPA)

Global X MLP ETF (NYSEARCA:MLPA) can be one of the smartest investments you can make in the current environment. It gives you exposure to Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) in the U.S. energy infrastructure sector by tracking the Solactive MLP Infrastructure Index. These Master Limited Partnerships are companies that transport, store, and process natural resources. Very often, these are midstream companies. This means they operate oil and gas pipelines.

What makes it smart in this environment is that you are sidestepping volatility in the energy markets while getting exposure. Midstream companies operate on long-term fee-based contracts, so volume matters more than the price of oil and gas. On top of that, you are also avoiding any tariff issues, since these pipeline companies operate domestically.

MLPA is up 89.18% over the past five years, and that’s without counting the dividends. There has been a surge in demand for North American energy from European countries. Ukraine in 2022 and then the Red Sea crisis starting in 2023 have made it difficult for Europe to import from the East.

Here are its holdings.

MLPs pay very good dividends. As such, MLPA comes with a 7.55% dividend yield. The net expense ratio is 0.45%, or $45 per $10,000.

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