5 ETFs to Buy and Hold Forever

If you want to protect your portfolio and generate passive income, consider yielding exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Not only do ETFs offer a good deal of diversification, but they can also help lower your overall risk compared to investing in an average security.

Look at the Vanguard Real Estate ETF  

With an expense ratio of 0.13%, a yield of about 3.7%, and 155 holdings, including a great deal of real estate investment trusts (REITs), the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA: VNQ) is a safe, long-term real estate opportunity.

In fact, some of the ETF’s top holdings include Welltower, Prologis, American Tower Corp., Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and Simon Property Group. Plus, it just paid a quarterly dividend of just over 86 cents on June 30. Before that, it paid a dividend of just over 93 cents on March 27.

Making it even more attractive is the recovery in commercial real estate. According to analysts at Deloitte, the CRE market is showing signs of recovery in 2025, with some predicting a generational opportunity, as noted in Deloitte’s 2025 Commercial Real Estate Outlook.

Since bottoming out at around $76 in April, the ETF is now up to $92.81. From here, we’d like to see it rally back to $96 a share. While we wait, we can collect its quarterly payouts.

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF 

One of the best ways to generate a reliable income is by investing in dividend aristocrats because they’re among the most reliable dividend payers.

Not only have these stocks paid out dividends for more than 25 years, but they’re also some of the most reliable companies on the planet, even in the worst of times. And while you could always buy a basket of aristocrats, you can instead pick up the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (BATS: NOBL), which holds 69 of them and yields 2.54%. Its expense ratio is 0.35%.

NOBL also paid out a dividend of just over 55 cents on July 1. Before that, it paid a dividend of just over 46 cents on April 1. Some of its top holdings include AbbVie, Lowe’s, Archer Daniels Midland, and Pentair.

Since bottoming out at around $90 in April, the ETF is now up to $104.25. From here, we’d like to see the ETF retest $107 initially.

Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF  

There’s also the Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: SCHD).

With an expense ratio of 0.06%, the ETF tracks the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend Index. It also yields 3.93%, and has holdings in Amgen, AbbVie, Home Depot, Cisco Systems, Broadcom, Chevron, UPS, and Coca-Cola, to name just a few.

The ETF includes a total of 103 dividend stocks.

The SCHD ETF just paid a dividend of just over 26 cents on June 30. Before that, it paid a dividend of just over 24 cents on March 31. Also, since bottoming out at around $23.75 in April, the ETF is now up to $27.50. From here, we’d like to see it initially retest $28.75.

Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF  

With a yield of 7.84%, the Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (NASDAQ: KBWY) invests at least 90% of its total assets in the securities of small and mid-cap equity REITs that trade in the U.S. and carry respectable yields.

Some of its top holdings include Global Net Lease (GNL), Service Properties Trust (SVC), Global Medical REIT (GMRE), Gladstone Commercial (GOOD), EPR Properties (EPR), and Omega Healthcare (OHI), to name a few.

The ETF just paid out a dividend of just over 12 cents on August 22. Before that, it paid out a dividend of just over 12 cents on July 25. Also, technically, after a brief pullback to $13.50, the ETF is now up to $16.34. From here, we’d like to see it test $19 a share.

Global X Super Dividend U.S. ETF  

With a yield of 7.32%, the Global X Super Dividend U.S. ETF (NYSEARCA: DIV) invests in some of the highest dividend-yielding stocks in the U.S. Some of those top holdings include Spire (SR), Kinder Morgan. (KMI), Omega Healthcare (OHI), Philip Morris (PM), Duke Energy (DUK), AT&T (T), and Dominion Energy (D), to name just a few.

The DIV ETF just paid out a dividend of just over 10 cents on August 12. Before that, it paid out a dividend of 11 cents per share on July 11. Its next dividend will be paid on September 11. Technically, since bottoming out at around $15.80 in April, the DIV ETF rallied to $17.96. From here, we’d like to see the ETF rally to $20 a share, near term.