Why put a lot of work into trying to beat the market year after year when you can match the market's return with almost no effort? That's the core reasoning behind making exchange-traded funds (ETFs) a big part of your investing strategy.

There are many ETFs that replicate the returns of large indexes like the S 500, essentially allowing you to outperform most professional fund managers with just one simple investment.

You might be surprised at the long-term gains that are possible when you commit to steadily adding cash to an ETF like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NYSEMKT: VTI) over many years. A few hundred dollars per month of savings placed into this fund could grow into over $1 million in a few decades.

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Source Fool.com