The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF offers investors broad exposure to roughly 500 large-cap U.S. companies, including Coca-Cola, Apple, Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, Walmart and Home Depot. In 2025 it delivered a 17% gain year-to-date as of December 26 and provides a current dividend yield of approximately 1%. Its rock-bottom expense ratio of 0.03% translates to just three cents in annual fees for every $100 invested, making it one of the cheapest ways to track the S&P 500 for a buy-and-hold horizon of 10 years or more.

During the third quarter Clune & Associates Ltd. raised its VOO stake by 4.7% to 17,947 shares, valued at $10.99 million, making it its eighth-largest holding. Fire Capital Management LLC boosted its position by 322.2% to 5,678 shares (worth $3.48 million), while Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake by 6.3% to 15,274 shares ($9.35 million). Meanwhile, Vanguard Group Inc. increased VOO ownership by 6.7% in Q2 to 36.76 million shares ($20.88 billion), California Public Employees’ Retirement System lifted its holdings by 17.9% to 25.88 million shares ($14.70 billion), Bank of America Corp. added 2.2% to reach 25.10 million shares ($14.26 billion), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew by 2.9% to 13.23 million shares ($6.80 billion) and Envestnet Asset Management Inc. expanded by 1.2% to 11.93 million shares ($6.77 billion).

VOO consistently ranks among the highest-volume ETFs, with daily trading volumes in the millions of shares, which supports a tight bid-ask spread and low transaction costs. The fund carries a market capitalization of approximately $790 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio near 25 and a beta of 1.00, reflecting full alignment with the broader market’s volatility. Its passive, index-tracking approach and minimal operating fees have driven competing managers to follow Vanguard’s lead in offering ultra-low-cost S&P 500 products.