One of the most successful investors is Warren Buffett.
At the age of 95, he’s now worth about $142.1 billion after investing in companies that have a wide economic moat, dividends, proven earnings, and companies that are easy to understand.
While many of us may never see $142.1 billion, we can still build wealth with Buffett strategies. In fact, here are just a few of the top exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that may be able to help you do just that.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
“Over the years, I’ve often been asked for investment advice,” Buffett wrote in a 2016 shareholder letter. “My regular recommendation has been a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.”
With that, Buffett has named the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) as one way to invest.
What makes the VOO ETF the most attractive is that it measures the performance of the S&P 500 and includes value stocks and growth stocks from multiple market sectors. In fact, it holds Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Berkshire, to name a few.
It offers a low-cost way to safely diversify by tracking the biggest companies, making it an ideal set it and forget it trade. In addition, with an expense ratio of 0.03%, the ETF also pays a quarterly yield. On December 24, it paid a dividend of just over $1.771. Before that, it paid a dividend of $1.74 on October 1. Before that, it paid a dividend of just over $1.7447 on July 2.
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
If you follow Warren Buffett, you know he likes companies with a wide economic moat.
In fact, if you want to invest in companies attractive to the billionaire, make sure they are:
- Simple companies that are easy to understand
- Companies with predictable and proven earnings
- Companies that can be bought at a reasonable price
- Companies with “economic moat,” or a unique advantage over their competition.
With an expense ratio of 0.47%, the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (MOAT) tracks the performance of companies with sustainable competitive advantages. At the moment, that includes Estee Lauder, Teradyne, Boring, Alphabet, Nike, and NXP Semiconductors, to name a few.
The MOAT ETF also yields 1.29% and pays a yearly dividend. On December 24, it paid out a dividend of $1.2675. On December 22, 2023, it paid out a dividend of $0.7285.
VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF
With an expense ratio of 0.95%, the VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select income ETF (OMAH) “offers investors a core equity portfolio that generally mirrors the 20 largest holdings of Berkshire Hathaway as well as providing exposure to BRK.B directly, while generating monthly income,” as noted by VistaShares.
Some of its top holdings include Berkshire Hathaway, Apple, American Express, Bank of America, and Chevron, to name just a few. It also yields 0.79% and pays its dividends monthly. Its last dividend for just over 23 cents was paid on February 24. Before that, it paid just over 23 cents on January 27. And before that, it paid out just over 23 cents on December 30.
Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF
There’s also the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), which tracks the performance of 100 high-yielding dividend stocks chosen by yield and five-year dividend growth rates.
With an expense ratio of 0.06%, the ETF tracks the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend Index. It also yields 3.37%, which is about three times the S&P 500’s dividend yield, and has holdings in Amgen, AbbVie, Home Depot, Cisco Systems, Broadcom, Chevron, UPS, and Coca-Cola, to name just a few. Since January, the ETF rallied from about $27.50 to $31.65.
Its last dividend of just over 27 cents was paid on December 15. Before that, it paid just over 26 cents on September 29. And before that, it paid just over 26 cents per share on June 30.
Since 2026 began, the ETF has run from about $27.40 to $31.60.
Schwab U.S. Large Cap Value ETF
With an expense ratio of 0.04% and a yield of 1.93%, the Schwab U.S. Large Cap Value ETF (SCHV) holds a portfolio of large-cap value stocks, including Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Exxon Mobil (XOM), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Home Depot (HD), AbbVie (ABBV), Pfizer (PFE), and Merck (MRK), to name a few.
It pays a quarterly dividend. Its last dividend for just over 16 cents per share was paid on December 10. Before that, it paid just over 14 cents on September 29. And before that, it paid just over 14 cents per share on June 30.
Since 2026 began, the ETF has run from about $29.50 to $32.