3 Top Index Funds to Keep You in the Investing Game

While we Fools love to pick our own stocks, we recognize that using index funds to gain equity exposure can be the right choice for many investors. With that in mind, we asked three of our writers to highlight index funds that they would recommend as smart choices to hold for the long term. Below, they explain why they named Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHA), SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY), and Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (NYSEMKT: VEU).

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John Rosevear (Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF): A lot of older or more conservative investors tend to underweight small-cap stocks in their portfolios. That's understandable: Small caps are typically more volatile than (for instance) big blue-chip dividend stocks. But those investors miss out on the outsize growth that the stocks of smaller companies can contribute to a portfolio.

Source: Fool.com