There are so many different businesses out there that it's hard to know which ones to invest in.
Instead of succumbing to analysis paralysis it might be better to invest in the whole market via an exchange-traded fund (ETF). There are hundreds to choose from, so it might be best to start by looking at these three:
Vanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU)
Vanguard is one of the world's leading providers of ultra low-cost funds. It has such huge funds under management (FUM) that it can share the costs of investing on a much larger scale than most providers.
Vanguard offers Australian investors a number of different ETFs to choose from. All of them aim to provide exposure to a different asset class or region.
One of the most popular ETFs is the Vanguard fund that offers exposure to many companies around the world except for the USA.
Australia, Canada, Europe and Asian are all represented in the list of holdings. Some of its biggest holdings include Nestle, Royal Dutch Shell, Samsung, Tencent, HSBC, Unilever and Toyota.
Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS)
This is another major ETF run by Vanguard. It includes all of the US businesses that were excluded in the above ETF.
The US stock exchanges are home to some of the biggest and best global companies. You can't go too far wrong with top holdings like Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.
BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS (ASX: NDQ)
Investors may want to leave out some of the non-tech shares like Procter & Gamble, Exxon Mobil and Bank of America from their ETF investing.
The technology index of the NASDAQ offers investors a much more concentrated opportunity to invest in Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook.
The last year or two have been very good years for NASDAQ investors and it's hard to see this stopping any time soon with some of the valuations still being very reasonable for shares like Alphabet and Apple.
Foolish takeaway
I think it's very important for investors to invest in shares in some way. These ETFs offer a very easy way to do it and should generate good returns over the long-term.
