Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 2 of 11 index funds by recommenders
Recommended as a simple, broad core holding that covers the whole US stock market instead of a few large companies, and that people have held for years.
Recommended as a simple, broad core holding that covers the whole US stock market instead of a few large companies, and that people have held for years.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Covers whole market, not few giants
“It's based on the total market and not artificially limited to a small number of large companies.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Danish Pension Blacklists SpaceX over 'Catastrophic Governance'” “But for those decrying the shenanigans crsp and vti are the example to go with.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “SpaceX bond worth 10% less than issue price – heading for junk bond status” “You can sidestep this entirely with a total-market fund like VTSAX/VTI”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Danish Pension Blacklists SpaceX over 'Catastrophic Governance'” Simple core position people hold
“Hold a cap weighted index as the core position.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Ask HN: What is your opinion on index rule changes to accommodate Mega-Cap IPOs?” “Same thing I've been doing for 15 years”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Google boss says AI investment boom has 'elements of irrationality'” “A Vanguard total market fund is fine.”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “From MIT: AI financial advice is surprisingly good” Easy and efficient to buy
“ETF's make this easy and efficient.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Retirement Is Dead” “Participation is not rigged with eg VTI/ITOT and VXUS/IXUS and a long enough time horizon.”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Nvidia projects $673B in sales as AI demand widens” Blended to reduce volatility
“I also blend in VTI to cut the volatility a bit”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Robinhood now lets your AI agents trade stocks” “is a safer bet than being too much in tech”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Anthropic confidentially submits draft S-1 to the SEC”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Index rule changes may hurt it
“VTI lists fast even before these recent changes as I recall. So it's more vulnerable, not less.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Danish Pension Blacklists SpaceX over 'Catastrophic Governance'” “The index they use is altering the rules.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Danish Pension Blacklists SpaceX over 'Catastrophic Governance'” Some say it should be dropped
“it might be finally time to call it quits and leave VTI behind”
Comment from 24 Jun 2026 in “Let's say you're hungry for a sandwich” “One of the things that makes the system broken these days is no one has time to do what he did.”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades”
Other index funds people recommend
The four most recommended other index funds, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 index fund | 28 | 13 | 68% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market ETFThis page | 11 | 4 | 73% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Invesco QQQ Trust | 11 | 10 | 52% | 7 | — | — |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 10 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 9 | 2 | 82% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
15 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“ETF's make this easy and efficient.”
“Participation is not rigged with eg VTI/ITOT and VXUS/IXUS and a long enough time horizon.”
“A Vanguard total market fund is fine.”
“But for those decrying the shenanigans crsp and vti are the example to go with.”
“it might be finally time to call it quits and leave VTI behind”
“OK, then put your money in VTI/VTSAX instead of a S&P 500 fund. I own some VTI”
“Hold a cap weighted index as the core position.”
“is a safer bet than being too much in tech”
“I also blend in VTI to cut the volatility a bit”
“The index they use is altering the rules.”
“It's based on the total market and not artificially limited to a small number of large companies.”
“VTI lists fast even before these recent changes as I recall. So it's more vulnerable, not less.”
“You can sidestep this entirely with a total-market fund like VTSAX/VTI”
“One of the things that makes the system broken these days is no one has time to do what he did.”
“Same thing I've been doing for 15 years”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.