Vanguard has a bit of something for just about every passive investor, whether you’re a conservative retiree who’s looking to play it safe with fixed-income securities or you still wish to grow your wealth well into your later years. In this piece, we’ll focus on a handful of Vanguard ETFs for retirees who are comfortable with an asset allocation more heavily weighted towards equities over bonds.

Of course, investing like you’re half your age accompanies its own fair share of risks. But just because you have less ability to take risks (compared to a younger investor) doesn’t mean your willingness to take risks is in alignment. If growth remains a priority for you in your later years, so be it. Of course, do consult a financial advisor who knows you and your risk tolerance at a personal level.

Without further ado, here are three of my favorite equity ETFs for passive investors seeking high-quality growth.

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (VUG)

The Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:VUG) is the most aggressive growth ETF on this list. Though it’s not a traditional retiree staple, I do find it can help diversified portfolios get the most out of bull markets. Over the past two years, the VUG gained close to 75%, outpacing the S&P 500’s 46% gain and even the Nasdaq 100’s 73% gain.

The VUG shines bright as an option for growth-minded passive investors with its incredibly low 0.04% expense ratio and a “large-cap growth” investment style implemented by the ETF. As you may know, the large-cap tech companies (think the Magnificent Seven) have been where the huge gains have been in the earlier innings of this AI boom.

With close to 60% of the ETF allocated to technology stocks, you’re pretty much getting a “double dose” of tech compared to the S&P 500. Of course, for retirees, the big risk is the potential for outsized losses should this AI boom rhyme with the internet boom experienced in the late 1990s. The last thing a retiree needs is to be caught in the blast zone of the next market meltdown.

Just because history doesn’t repeat itself doesn’t mean it can’t rhyme (think a painful AI correction rather than a crash). As such, retirees should proceed with caution and ensure the rest of their portfolio is sufficiently diversified. Also, they should be comfortable with an outsized bet on a cohort (the Mag Seven) that I believe is already well-represented (if not overly so) in the S&P 500.

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)

A better equity option for retired stock investors, I believe, is the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEARCA:VTI). It’s one of Vanguard’s most popular funds for a reason: it’s dirt-cheap (0.03% expense ratio) and provides exposure to more than 3,600 names across the U.S. stock market. Of course, the main attraction to this fund is its breadth of exposure to corporate America.

You’ll get a tiny sliver of the mid-cap names you’ve never heard of in addition to the mega-caps we all know and love. When it comes to the VTI, the mega-cap tech exposure is quite muted, even compared to the S&P 500. It’s slightly underweight in the top Mag Seven names compared to the S&P 500. If you can’t get enough of mega-cap tech, though, and don’t care for the thousands of smaller firms out there, the S&P 500 could prove a far better bet.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

The Vanguard S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:VOO) is my favorite Vanguard ETF. It’s simple, popular, cheap (0.03% expense ratio), and it just gets the job done. There are really no surprises with this ETF. And if you’re a traditionalist when it comes to passive investing, I believe there are no better ways to bet on the growth of America.

Of course, the VTI may be a preferred option by some, but if you want a greater chunk of capital allocated to proven blue chips rather than the numerous smaller-cap names out there, it’s tough to top the VOO. At the end of the day, it’s the S&P 500 that funds strive to but oftentimes struggle to beat. For a passive retiree looking for more equity exposure, the VOO is my preferred pick. You’ll receive market growth, nothing more, nothing less.

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