The Best Long-Term Stocks to Buy: A Case for Owning 3,511 Companies

When seeking the best long-term stocks to buy, most investors focus on household names and mega-cap companies. But there’s a broader approach that may serve your portfolio even better. Rather than cherry-picking individual stocks or limiting yourself to the largest 500 companies, you could take a different path — one that gives you exposure to thousands of businesses across the entire U.S. market.

The challenge with traditional stock picking is finding the time and expertise to identify winning companies. This is where index funds come in, particularly in exchange-traded fund (ETF) format. An ETF trades like a stock, making it simple to buy and sell. If you’ve considered the S&P 500 as an investment vehicle, you know it offers broad exposure to America’s largest corporations with impressive historical returns averaging near 10% annually over decades.

Why Broad Market Exposure Matters for Long-Term Stock Growth

However, the S&P 500 has a significant blind spot: it largely ignores small and mid-sized companies. This is where the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (ticker: VTI) presents a compelling alternative for those seeking the best long-term stocks to buy. Rather than limiting your portfolio to 500 mega-cap firms, this ETF gives you ownership stakes in approximately 3,511 companies spanning the entire U.S. stock market landscape.

The composition is thoughtfully balanced. About 8% of the fund’s assets are deployed in small-cap stocks, while approximately 20% flow into mid-sized companies. The remaining holdings include the large-cap tech giants everyone knows, with Nvidia as the fund’s leading position. But you’re getting 3,510 additional companies beyond the obvious picks.

The Case for VTI: Small Caps and Mid-Caps Included

This diversified approach addresses a critical gap in traditional index investing. Small and mid-cap stocks have historically offered growth potential that larger, more mature companies cannot match. By capturing the entire market spectrum, you’re not just hedging against concentration risk — you’re positioning your portfolio to benefit from emerging winners that might not yet qualify for the S&P 500.

The fund’s track record supports this philosophy. Over the past 15 years, VTI has delivered average annual gains of 13.3%, outpacing the broader market’s historical average. More impressively, during the past three years through February 2026, the fund generated annual returns of 20.2%. (It’s worth noting these periods benefited from above-average market conditions, so results may vary going forward.)

Strong Performance With Minimal Fees

Beyond performance, VTI exemplifies why many investors favor Vanguard’s approach: it charges a minuscule annual expense ratio of just 0.03%. To put this in perspective, you’ll pay only $3 yearly for every $10,000 invested. This low-cost structure means more of your money stays invested and compounds over time, rather than flowing to fund managers.

The fund also provides dividend income, currently yielding around 1.1%, offering a modest stream of returns for those who prefer it.

Building Your Best Long-Term Portfolio

If you’re committed to buying and holding for the long term, VTI represents a compelling core holding. The combination of market-wide diversification, strong historical performance, minimal fees, and simplicity makes it an attractive option for building lasting wealth. You gain exposure to the large-cap tech stocks driving headlines, plus thousands of other businesses quietly growing their profits and shareholder value.

That said, the best long-term stocks to buy depend on your individual goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Some investors may prefer supplementing broad market index funds with dividend-focused ETFs or other strategic allocations. The key is recognizing that owning pieces of thousands of companies — not just a few household names — may be the most reliable path to long-term wealth accumulation.