. Invesco QQQ ETF

With the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF as the core holding to anchor a portfolio, the Invesco QQQ fits nicely alongside it to generate long-term growth. This is one of the largest and most popular ETFs in the world, which stems from its excellent performance over the years.

Unlike the broadly diversified Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, the Invesco QQQ is focused on the Nasdaq 100, which includes the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. So roughly half of the stocks are from the information technology (IT) sector and about two-thirds are from IT and communication services. Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon are the top three holdings, but they represent much more of the portfolio than in the Vanguard ETF, as the top 10 holdings account for 52% of the portfolio.

This fund has been around since 1999 and has a stellar performance record. Over the past five- and 10-year periods through June 30, it has an average annual return of 16.1% and 17%, respectively. Year to date as of Aug 31, it is down about 24%. But over the past 20 years, through Aug. 31, it has an average annual return of 13.7%.