If I wanted to increase my wealth through simple investing I would definitely want to think about exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
ETFs allow us to buy a whole collection of shares in a single investment, bringing instant diversification to our portfolios.
I think we all need to look at increasing our exposure to overseas shares and earnings. Australia's economy has been rock solid over the past three decades but I don't think that's always going to be the case.
There are plenty of good growth opportunities outside of the ASX, which is why I like the idea of these two ETFs:
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
It would be quite easy to just in invest in this ETF and nothing else. It invests in shares listed across the world, with almost 1,600 holdings. There are all of the big US tech businesses in this ETF's holdings like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Visa and Mastercard.
But there are also plenty of compelling non-US shares like LVMH, Unilever, HSBC and SAP.
With this ETF we're essentially investing in the entire global share market, which will keep climbing higher over the long-term. Low interest rates have pushed valuations up and yields down, but the ETF still has a distribution yield of 2.4%.
One of the best things about this ETF is that its annual management fee is only 0.18%.
BetaShares FTSE 100 ETF (ASX: F100)
UK-listed shares have been punished over the past few years as investors fret what Brexit may mean for businesses on the London Stock Exchange.
But, the FTSE 100 has the biggest exposure to companies that generate their earnings from many countries, not just the UK. For example, HSBC, Royal Dutch Shell, Astrazeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Diageo British American Tobacco and Unilever are all large global businesses. Yet the underlying index has a price/earnings ratio of around 12.5x, which is low.
British shares are also known for having good dividend yields, the index has a current yield of around 5%.
If Brexit doesn't end in a no deal then this ETF could seem very cheap compared to other western share markets.
Foolish takeaway
The investor in me would pick the UK share ETF because of its lower valuation and higher dividend yield, but just investing in the MSCI ETF over the long-term could be a great strategy for plenty of regular investors.
