History shows that midterm election years aren’t always great years for the S&P 500. Are you properly protected against the full blow of a 2026 market crash?
Probably not, but there are action steps you can take today to brace for the impact of a potential market collapse. Fortunately, there are safety-first exchange traded funds (ETFs) that won’t necessarily offer full protection but could at least reduce the overall effect on your portfolio.
To set you in the right direction, I’m ready to reveal three excellent ETFs to help shield your wealth against a possibly imminent S&P 500 crash. The market will have its rough patches, but owning one or more of these funds might get you through to the other side.
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
The classical approach to crash-proofing a portfolio is to mix stocks with U.S. government bonds. If it’s impractical to directly add bonds to your portfolio, or if you just want the ease of buying an ETF, you might consider the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (NASDAQ:BND).
While it might not sound impressive that the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF is up 3% over the past 12 months, let’s not miss the point here. With the BND ETF, we’re seeking portfolio diversification and yield, not huge share-price gains.
U.S. government bonds have tended to hold up relatively well during previous stock market crashes. Knowing this, you can feel comfortable holding the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF as it invests in an array of bonds with good ratings (BBB or higher).
Furthermore, 69.07% of the fund consists of U.S. government bonds. The fund’s manager, Vanguard, observes that the BND ETF’s “share value tends to rise and fall modestly.”
Thus, we’re discovering an important theme for crash-protective ETFs: de-risking through reduced volatility. Another theme is income generation as this can soften the blow of a broad-market crash.
On that topic, Vanguard proclaims that its Total Bond Market ETF offers “relatively high potential for investment income.” Specifically, it features a robust 30-day SEC dividend yield of 4.17% and only deducts an annualized expense ratio of 0.03% from the share price. For those reasons, the BND ETF is easily my best pick for stock market turbulence in 2026.
iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV)
We veered away from S&P 500 exposure with Vanguard’s Total Bond Market ETF, but now we’ll wade carefully back into the stock market. It’s possible to participate in some S&P 500 stocks as long as you do it in a targeted way — and one strategy is to own the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV).
It has a long name, but the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF is based on the simple premise that some stocks don’t typically move as fast as the overall stock market. To be more specific, the USMV ETF has 175 holdings including blue-chip names like Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).
Those stocks aren’t known to be fast movers, but that’s the whole point. Check the chart, and you’ll find that the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF rose 3.5% over the past 12 months and rapidly recovered from April 2025’s tariff scare.
Moreover, the USMV ETF won’t crush you with excessive operating fees. Currently, the fund’s annualized expense ratio is 0.15%, which you probably won’t even notice or complain about.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF advertises a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a nice bonus to go along with the USMV ETF’s low-fee exposure to some of the market’s steadiest stocks.
State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU)
Topping off this list of crash-resistant funds for 2026 is the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLU). This one has 31 stocks in its holdings list and as you probably surmised, the XLU ETF concentrates on the utilities sector.
Remember, people won’t want to stop using electricity even if there’s a stock market crash and a recession in 2026. That’s why it’s a fairly safe bet to own the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF with industry-leading names like The Southern Company (NYSE:SO), Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), and American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP).
Impressively, the XLU ETF is up 18% over the past 12 months, so it’s a possible growth vehicle as well as a relative safe haven. It’s also an income generator as the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF sports a 2.48% annualized distribution yield.
Not only that, but the XLU ETF keeps its costs low with an annualized expense ratio of 0.08%. So, unless you really think that a market crash would knock out America’s electric power grid, you can fortify your portfolio’s safety net with the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.
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