Robinhood’s ‘100 Most Popular’ leaderboard reveals the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) as the sixth most-held security among retail accounts for 2026. With exposure to 500 leading U.S. companies and a net expense ratio of just 0.03%, VOO offers everyday investors instant diversification across sectors. Over the past 30 years, the underlying S&P 500 index has delivered average annual returns of approximately 10.5%, underscoring the ETF’s appeal as a core portfolio holding.

Recent 13F filings highlight large institutional buying in VOO. Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake by 7.7% in Q3, adding 23,541 shares to reach a total holding of 329,789 shares, representing 12.2% of its portfolio and valued at $201.96 million. Meanwhile, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC amassed over 4.1 million shares in Q2, and CalPERS upped its position by nearly 18%, bringing its total to 25.9 million shares. These shifts reflect growing confidence among professional allocators in passive S&P 500 exposure.

VOO’s market-cap weighting ensures that the index’s largest innovators—such as major technology and AI leaders—drive performance, while weights in financials (13%), communication services (10.7%), consumer discretionary (10.4%) and healthcare (9.8%) provide balance. Historical data shows the S&P 500 has never generated a negative total return over any rolling 20-year period, making VOO a favored vehicle for dollar-cost averaging. A hypothetical $375 monthly investment over 30 years could amass nearly $800,000, illustrating the ETF’s capacity to build wealth and generate sustainable dividend income.