Let's face it, investing may not be for everyone. Although some of us (this writer included) love the thrill of stock picking and trying to beat the market, for many people the idea of looking at numbers and quotes may seem like the worst way to spend your weekend.
But I firmly believe that everyone should get into investing whether they like it or not because it's the best way to compound your hard-earned money and save for retirement.
Luckily, there's a way of investing when you don't like investing. It involves buying ETFs or exchange-traded-funds. ETFs trade on the stock exchange, just like shares. But they represent a list of pre-determined shares that follows a set of rules. Rather than trying to beat the market, the best ETFs for non-investors follow the market.
Take the Vanguard Australian Share ETF (ASX: VAS). This ETF is managed by Vanguard, a US-based company that is famous for its low-cost funds. VAS tracks the ASX 300 (the top 300 public companies on the ASX), which gives you an instantly-diversified exposure to some (if not most) of the best companies in Australia in one stock. The top five companies that you will be investing in with VAS are the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ).
VAS has a very competitive management fee of 0.14%, which means for every $1,000 you have invested, you will pay around $1.40 a year in fees. As a bonus, VAS pays a dividend of 4.25% (before franking), which is a great way to earn passive income.
Another great option is the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) managed by BlackRock. IVV follows the S&P 500 index, which is composed of the largest 500 public companies in the US. Warren Buffett himself has recommended this index for anyone who doesn't like investing. IVV is a more diversified index than the ASX 300, with names such as Microsoft, the FAANG stocks and Warren Buffett's own Berkshire Hathaway.
Another huge advantage is its super-low 0.04% management fee, which is about the cheapest you can get when it comes to managed investments. Currency exposure is something to keep in mind with IVV though. This ETF is not hedged, which means that currency fluctuations between the Australian and US dollars will impact the value of your investments.
Foolish Takeaway
Either of these two ETFs is a great way to invest if you don't like investing. Buying a single share in VAS or IVV lets you invest in hundreds of high-quality companies for a very low price. These ETFs are a fantastic and easy way to invest for the long-term and are a great option if stock picking just isn't your thing.
For other shares that you can invest in for the long-term, check out our top 3 ASX blue-chip shares to buy in 2019 below.
