Level 1 — The Foundation
The S&P 500 Index ETF
A single fund of the 500 biggest companies in America. Held for the medium to long term. The foundation of your portfolio.
This is the simplest way to invest, and for most people it is the only one they will ever need.
You put your money into a single fund. That one fund owns a small piece of the 500 biggest companies in America — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and 497 others. You don’t choose the companies, you don’t follow the news, and you never trade. You own a slice of the whole American market and leave it to grow.
It costs very little to run, and over time it has quietly beaten almost everyone who tried to do something cleverer. That is why we call it the foundation: it is the first thing to get right, and everything else is built on top of it.
Below you will find exactly what we hold, what it has done since we bought it, and how the American market has behaved over the last hundred years. The honest summary is that it falls hard from time to time, and so far it has always recovered.
Quick answers
What is the S&P 500?
An index of the 500 biggest companies in America — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and 497 others. One fund buys you a slice of the whole American market.
How do I invest in the S&P 500 from the UK?
Buy a low-cost S&P 500 index ETF inside a Stocks & Shares ISA or SIPP with a UK broker. I hold Vanguard's accumulating version — it costs 0.07% a year.
Is the S&P 500 safe?
It falls hard from time to time, and so far it has always recovered. That's why it's held for the medium to long term — not money you'll need next year.
Do I need a financial adviser to do this?
No. One fund, no trading, no news to follow — and around 85% of professional fund managers underperform a simple S&P 500 tracker anyway.