I strongly believe that the best place for anyone's money over the ultra-long-term is shares. You don't need to take on debt to buy shares and shares have proven to deliver the strongest returns over time.
Most investors reading this article will have a good understanding of the businesses on the ASX, but it's much harder to be knowledgeable about the other 98% of the shares listed around the world.
The easiest way to get exposure to overseas investments could be through an exchanged-traded fund (ETF). These funds can give diversification to a whole range of good quality shares, with a low management fee.
Here are three top ETFs:
iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
The S&P 500 is what Warren Buffett recommends as the way to go for people who don't know what they're doing in the share market. A big part of the reason many investors underperform the market is due to management fees. This ETF's fees are a tiny 0.04% per year.
It has all of the top American/global businesses in its holdings such as Apple, Facebook, Alphabet (Google), Berkshire Hathaway and so on.
Although this ETF doesn't come with franking credits, it is likely to keep growing well over the long-term.
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
The S&P 500 is focused on US-listed shares whereas this Vanguard MSCI Index is invested in shares across the world in places like Europe, Asia and Canada too.
It's extremely diversified and it is the definition of 'international shares'. Its returns will be lowered by regions that underperform, such as Europe recently, however it's one of the shares you could confidently own forever without worry of it becoming obsolete.
I will probably add it to my portfolio in the future for additional international diversification.
Vanguard FTSE Asia Ex Japan Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAE)
Investors willing to go up the risk and volatility curve could go with this low-cost Vanguard ETF.
It invests in shares based in Asian countries like China, India and South Korea. The Asian region is growing at a faster pace than the rest of the world as its population quickly grows in wealth. Spending will likely increase in all industries which will help retail, banking and technology businesses.
This ETF has a lot of technology giants in its top holdings like Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu.
Foolish takeaway
These three ETFs may not generate gigantic returns year to year, but over the ultra-long-term they are all likely to produce very pleasing returns that you don't have to monitor.
