4 Massive ETFs With Ultra-Low Fees That Dominate the U.S. Stock Market

Low fees have become one of the most powerful advantages in modern investing. Some of the largest ETFs tracking the U.S. market now charge as little as 0.03% annually, giving investors extremely efficient exposure to hundreds or even thousands of companies. In this article, we take a closer look at four giant funds that combine enormous size, strong liquidity and minimal costs. For long-term investors, these ETFs often represent the simplest gateway to the entire American equity market.

At first glance, an expense ratio of 0.03% per year vs. 0.20% per year may seem like a negligible difference. A closer look at the numbers, however, reveals just how significant an impact the level of fees can have on a portfolio's total return over a 20- or 30-year horizon. That's why low-cost index ETFs from giants like Vanguard, BlackRock $BLK and State Street $STT have been one of the fastest growing investment products in the world since the early 2000s.

The entire global ETF industry attracted a…