When a headline says a “top investor” has named the best Vanguard ETFs to buy for 2026 and VOO is not included, the implication is that the expert has moved on and so should you. TipRanks ran that story in March 2026. The headline frames expert preference; the real story is how affiliate and platform incentives push investors toward non-VOO products. Lists of “best” ETFs generate clicks and sign-ups. Omitting the single most obvious low-cost S&P 500 option creates a reason to read, compare, and consider alternatives. Skipping VOO in 2026 is less about timing and more about selling something else.
Best-ETF Lists That Exclude VOO Create a Need for the List
TipRanks published an article in 2026 titled “Top Investor Names the Best Vanguard ETFs to Buy for 2026 (and VOO Isn’t Included).” VOO is Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF: roughly 507 stocks, about $871 billion in assets, an expense ratio of 0.03%, and a structure that has made it a default choice for many long-term investors. As The Motley Fool and AAII have reported, VOO and SPY track the same index with nearly identical returns; VOO’s lower fee compounds over time. Leaving VOO out of a “best” list is a deliberate hook. It suggests the expert knows something the crowd does not and that 2026 is the year to switch. The reader is invited to see what made the cut instead.
Platforms like TipRanks monetise attention and subscriptions. TipRanks offers tiered memberships and promotes premium access to “hedge fund-level” data and tools; it also runs an affiliate program. Articles that name specific ETFs and frame them as smarter picks for the year drive traffic and engagement. A headline that says “best Vanguard ETFs” and explicitly excludes VOO is more newsworthy than one that says “consider VOO and a few others.” The narrative becomes: the boring default is not enough, so here are the alternatives. That narrative benefits anyone selling research, screens, or premium content. It does not follow that VOO is a bad hold; it follows that listing alternatives is the product.
Some of the reasoning in 2026 lists is market-based. The Motley Fool reported that in early 2026, VOO was down 0.2% year-to-date and ranked 51st out of 65 Vanguard equity ETFs, while mid-caps, small-caps, value, and international names outperformed. Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI) and sector or thematic ETFs got more favourable coverage. That rotation is real. But “VOO is not in my top picks this year” is different from “VOO is not included” in a headline. The first is a tactical view; the second is a framing device. The device creates curiosity and clicks. The incentive to use it is structural.
None of this means that VOO is a bad holding or that 2026-specific lists are useless. Investors who want broad U.S. large-cap exposure at minimal cost can still choose VOO and hold it for the long term; AAII and others have long noted that for buy-and-hold S&P 500 exposure, low fees matter more than short-term ranking. The point is that when a “best” list deliberately leaves out the most obvious choice, the omission is often an editorial and commercial decision to highlight alternatives. Readers should ask who benefits from the list and whether the narrative of “2026 is different” is driving the picks. Skipping VOO in 2026 is less about timing and more about selling something else. That framing is worth keeping in mind whenever a headline announces that a top pick “isn’t included.”
What This Actually Means
Investors should treat “best ETF” lists that conspicuously drop VOO as content designed to generate interest in alternatives. That does not make the alternatives wrong, and it does not make VOO sacred. It means the reason VOO is missing is often editorial and commercial as much as analytical. If the goal is a low-cost, diversified S&P 500 fund, VOO remains one of the most efficient options. If the goal is to tilt toward other factors or sectors, other ETFs may be appropriate. The headline is selling the idea that 2026 is different and that you need a list to navigate it. The real story is who benefits when you click.
What Is VOO?
VOO is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. It holds roughly 507 large-cap U.S. stocks that mirror the S&P 500 index. The fund charges a 0.03% expense ratio and has grown to over $800 billion in assets. Major holdings include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet. VOO is often compared to SPY (SPDR S&P 500); both track the same index, but VOO has lower fees and a modern fund structure that allows dividend reinvestment and securities lending. For many long-term investors, VOO or a similar low-cost S&P 500 ETF is the core holding. “Best” lists that omit it are making a deliberate editorial choice to highlight other products.