For the 74-Year-Old Still 90% in Stocks: 3 ETFs That Lower the Stakes Without Giving Up Growth

You’re 74, and 90% of your portfolio is still in stocks. That mix may have served you well. Some retirees your age invest partly for family, which can stretch the time horizon past their own. The real question is whether that much stock exposure still fits a shorter horizon and a lower tolerance for a deep decline.

Three funds can help you dial it back in steps: Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (NYSEARCA:SPLV), ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (CBOE:NOBL) and Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ:VGIT).

Why a Deep Decline Costs More at 74

A big drop at 50 leaves years to recover. A big drop now leaves less time. If you draw on the portfolio for living expenses, a slump can also force you to sell shares at low prices to pay the bills, and those shares can’t benefit from any later rebound. Planners call this sequence-of-returns risk, and we built a free guide around defending the first years of retirement from exactly that problem (here).

Reducing risk generally means accepting less expected growth. No version of this comes free. What this lineup offers is a smaller trade-off: you keep real stock exposure weighted toward steadier companies, and you add a bond fund that reduces the share of your money tied to the stock market.

SPLV Keeps You Invested While Trimming the Swings

SPLV tracks the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. It holds the 100 S&P 500 stocks with the lowest realized volatility over the trailing 12 months and rebalances every quarter. That screen tends to pull the fund toward utilities, consumer staples, and healthcare.

Low volatility only describes how much these stocks have moved in the past. They still fall in sell-offs, and the fund can lag when the market rallies hard. As of October 27, 2026, the adjusted price was up 6.18% over one year and 131.3% over 10 years.

NOBL Owns Companies With Long Dividend-Raising Records

NOBL holds the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. ProShares describes these as companies that have paid and grown their dividends for 25+ years. Holdings are weighted close to equally, so no single stock dominates. In the fund’s May 31, 2026 portfolio filing, its biggest position made up under 1.8% of assets, and net assets were about $11.07 billion.

Dividends are paid quarterly, and the fund paid about $1.76 per share over the trailing 12 months. Payments vary from quarter to quarter. The September 2026 payment was $0.28 per share, smaller than each 2025 payment. A long record of increases tells you about the past and guarantees nothing about the future. NOBL is still a stock fund. The adjusted price rose 14.97% over the past year.

VGIT Is the Fund That Actually Cuts Your Stock Exposure

SPLV and NOBL both hold stocks. Of the three, only VGIT reduces your portfolio’s share in stocks. It tracks U.S. Treasuries that mature in about 3 to 10 years. Because the U.S. government backs those bonds, credit risk is essentially zero. Its expense ratio is 0.03% per its June 30, 2026 prospectus, so fees take very little of your return.

Two warnings apply. A single Treasury pays back its face value when it comes due. A bond fund never comes due. The fund rolls into new bonds, so no date guarantees you get your money back.

Intermediate-term bond funds also lose value when interest rates rise. VGIT’s adjusted price slipped 1.35% over the past year. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 5.00% on October 23, 2026.

How to Shift Without a Surprise Tax Bill

Consider starting inside your IRA. The IRS states in Publication 554 that “generally, amounts in your IRA, including earnings and gains, aren’t taxed until distributed.” That means you can rebalance there without owing tax on the trades when you make them.

Taxable accounts work differently, because selling appreciated holdings can create a taxable gain. Your family matters here too. Under 26 U.S.C. § 1014(a)(1), inherited property generally takes a basis equal to its fair market value at the date of death. For some readers, that makes it worth de-risking inside retirement accounts first instead of selling heavily appreciated taxable shares. Treat it as one factor to consider, since it won’t apply the same way to everyone.

You also don’t have to make the shift all at once. Moving in stages spreads out your timing risk.

What You Give Up, and Why These Funds Still Fit

You’ll likely trail a roaring bull market. SPLV can lag, NOBL’s payouts can decrease, and VGIT can lose money when yields rise. Over the five years through October 27, 2026, VGIT’s adjusted price barely moved, at -0.06%.

That’s the trade a 74-year-old with 90% in stocks is considering. This lineup keeps growth working through steadier companies and dividend payers, and it adds government bonds so less of your spending money depends on how the stock market does.

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