Best long term ETF

Screening Filters

1. year_price_change_pct ≥ 5%

   • Purpose: Ensure the ETF has delivered at least a modest positive return over the last year.
   • Rationale: For “best long‑term” ETFs, you generally want funds that are at least keeping up with, or modestly beating, inflation and market benchmarks in the recent period. A minimum 5% annual price gain doesn’t guarantee future performance, but it:
     • Screens out chronically underperforming or struggling funds.
     • Focuses on ETFs that have shown some positive momentum and resilience in the current environment.

2. themes: Large Cap Blend Equities

   • Purpose: Limit results to broadly diversified, large‑cap, core equity ETFs.
   • Rationale: For long‑term investing, “core” holdings are usually:
     • Large, established companies (large cap) with more stability than small/mid caps.
     • Blend style (both growth and value), which avoids over-concentration in one investing style.
     • These are typically used as long‑term portfolio anchors, making them very appropriate when someone asks for “best long‑term ETFs” rather than niche or speculative themes.

3. stock_position_pct: MoreThan90Pct

   • Purpose: Require that more than 90% of the fund is invested in stocks.
   • Rationale: The user asked about ETFs (typically equity-focused in this context), not mixed asset or bond-heavy funds. This filter:
     • Excludes balanced, target-date, or bond-heavy ETFs.
     • Ensures the fund behaves like an equity ETF, which is usually what investors mean when they say “long-term ETFs” for growth.

4. expense_ratio ≤ 0.0007 (≈ 0.07%)

   • Purpose: Restrict to ultra‑low‑cost ETFs.
   • Rationale: Over long horizons, fees are one of the most reliable drivers of net returns. For long‑term investing:
     • Lower fees mean more of the return compounds for the investor.
     • 0.07% or lower is extremely competitive, focusing on major index trackers and highly efficient funds, which are often considered “best in class” for long‑term, buy‑and‑hold strategies.

5. inception_date between 2010‑01‑01 and 2017‑01‑01

   • Purpose: Include ETFs with a meaningful operating history (roughly 7–15 years).
   • Rationale: For long‑term suitability, you want:
     • A track record across multiple market conditions (bull, bear, corrections).
     • Enough history to analyze performance, volatility, tracking error, and how the fund behaves in stress periods.
     • Exclude very new ETFs (unproven) and extremely old funds with potentially outdated structures or higher fees that survived from an earlier era.

Why Results Match the User’s Request

• The screen focuses on core, diversified large‑cap equity ETFs, which are commonly used as long-term portfolio building blocks.
• By imposing a strongly low expense ratio, it ensures the ETFs are structurally well-suited to long-term compounding.
• The performance and long track record filters help avoid untested or chronically weak funds, favoring ETFs that have historically held up over time.
• Requiring >90% stock exposure keeps the results aligned with equity growth vehicles, which is typically what investors seek when asking for “best long‑term ETFs” rather than cash-like or bond funds.