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Institution guides
Where to build it
The strategy does not change from one brokerage to the next. What changes is which funds implement it, what they cost, and what each place gets subtly wrong. Here is all of it in one table, then a full guide for each.
| Institution | U.S. stocks | International | Bonds | Blended ER | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard ETF share classes |
VTI | VXUS | BND | ~0.04% | 1 share |
| Vanguard Admiral mutual funds |
VTSAX | VTIAX | VBTLX | ~0.05% | $3,000 |
| Fidelity Index mutual funds |
FSKAX | FTIHX | FXNAX | ~0.03% | None |
| Fidelity ZERO funds — read the caveat |
FZROX | FZILX | FXNAX | ~0.005% | None |
| Schwab Index mutual funds |
SWTSX | SWISX no emerging markets | SWAGX | ~0.04% | None |
| Any broker iShares core ETFs |
ITOT | IXUS | AGG | ~0.04% | 1 share |
| Federal TSP Lettered funds |
C + S | I | G or F | ~0.06% | Payroll |
Blended expense ratio assumes a 60/20/20 mix and is rounded — it exists to show that the differences here are trivially small, not to rank the options. Every row above costs you between three and six dollars per year on a $10,000 balance. A single actively managed fund at 0.75% would cost $75.
Choosing
Which one should you use?
Mostly: whichever one already holds your money. The cost differences above are noise, and the tax cost of moving a taxable account usually swamps them.
You already have an account somewhere
Use it. Every institution on this page can build a perfectly good three-fund portfolio. Switching brokers to save two basis points is a rounding error dressed up as a decision.
You are a federal employee or in the military
Use the TSP for everything you can. It is among the cheapest retirement plans in existence and the G Fund has no equivalent in the private market.
You want maximum portability
Build with broad-market ETFs. They transfer between brokers in kind, without selling, so changing your mind later never triggers a tax bill.
You care about the corporate structure
Vanguard is owned by its own funds, which are owned by their shareholders. That is genuinely unusual, and it is the reason the whole industry's fees came down.
The full guides
The original
Where the idea started. Admiral funds or ETFs, and a mutual-fund-to-ETF conversion nobody else offers.
Read the guide → FidelityThe cheapest — with an asterisk
0.015% index funds, zero-fee funds, and one lock-in problem you should understand before using them.
Read the guide → SchwabGreat platform, one real gap
The obvious international fund silently omits emerging markets. Here is how to close that hole.
Read the guide → Any brokerThe portable ETF build
iShares, SPDR or Vanguard ETFs at Robinhood, M1, Merrill, E*Trade — anywhere at all.
Read the guide → Federal TSPDifferent rules entirely
Five lettered funds, no tickers, and the G Fund — a holding that structurally cannot lose value.
Read the guide →