🇺🇸 S&P 500
Asset Guide · S&P 500 and ETFs
The 500 largest US companies in a single asset
In dollars. The showcase of American capitalism — and the index that has generated the most wealth in the world over decades.
What it really is
An index that pools the American giants
500
largest companies listed on US stock exchanges
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Nvidia
And other giants you use every day. Buying the index means buying a small piece of all of them at once.
Gateway · what an ETF is
A fund that copies the index, traded on the exchange
- Youbuy a share just like you buy a stock
- The ETFa fund with a ticker on the exchange (e.g., IVVB11)
- The indexthe fund holds the same companies as the S&P 500
- Your portfolioa small piece of all of them, in a single share
ETF stands for "exchange-traded fund". Instead of picking company by company, you buy the whole basket.
Bonus for Brazilian investors
Priced in dollars: you gain in two ways
It's equities + currency hedge in a single asset.
Today
An index concentrated in a few giants
The upside
turbocharged the rally
- A few tech giants drove the recent rally
The downside
more risk
- If those companies stumble, the index feels it hard
The risk
The danger isn't going bankrupt
It's buying expensive — at the peak, with stretched valuations — and waiting a long time.
With high valuations and the index at all-time highs, the risk of a strong correction increases, and you might spend years in the red before recovering. That's why the classic strategy is to invest gradually, every month, without trying to time the top.
Who it's for
Where it makes sense and where to avoid it
Makes sense
long term, gradually
- Global exposure, dollar-denominated and of the highest quality
- Monthly contributions, preferably outside peaks of euphoria
Avoid
peaks and haste
- Going all-in at the highs, with stretched valuations and euphoria
- Short-term money: equities need years
How to invest in practice
Three doors to the same index
Remember this
Three ideas from the guide
- An ETF is the whole basketOne share of IVVB11 puts the 500 largest US companies in your portfolio.
- The dollar is the bonusYou gain from the companies and from the dollar rising against the real.
- The risk is buying expensiveSmall monthly contributions, with a horizon of years.
Quick quiz · 1 of 2
What do you buy with one share of IVVB11?
?
IVVB11 is an S&P 500 ETF. It's a fund traded on B3 that holds the index's companies — with one share you own a small piece of all of them, in reais and already dollar-hedged.
Quick quiz · 2 of 2
What is the main risk of the S&P 500?
?
The risk is the entry price. These are the best companies in the world and, historically, the index has always recovered — but whoever buys at the peak, with stretched valuations, may wait years. That's why: gradually, every month.
Guide complete
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The asset in numbers
Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons