How to Build a $15,000 Portfolio With Long-Term Potential

This investment portfolio idea uses just two low-cost index ETFs.

Tony Dong, MSc, CETF®

Tony turned a series of 2017 marijuana stock losses into a freelance career advocating for ETF investing. He currently holds a Master’s in Risk Management from Columbia University and is a Certified ETF Advisor (CETF®). Tony is the founder of ETF Portfolio Blueprint (etfportfolioblueprint.com) and the Lead ETF Analyst for ETF Central, a partnership between Trackinsight and the NYSE. His analysis has also been featured in publications like Kiplinger, 24/7 Wall St., U.S. News & World Report, TheStreet, and Benzinga.

Published June 25, 2025 4:00 pm EDT

A solid long-term investment portfolio doesn’t need to be flashy or complicated. All you really need are a few core traits: broad diversification, low costs, and consistency. With just $15,000, you can check all those boxes by using just two simple exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The best part? These ETFs are widely available across Canadian brokerages, including commission-free platforms like Wealthsimple, so you can build this portfolio with no trading fees and minimal ongoing costs.

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$10,000 in the S&P 500

Put two-thirds, or $10,000, into the S&P 500, the world’s most-followed index. It includes 500 of the largest publicly traded U.S. companies, selected based on market capitalization and financial health.

It’s a market-cap-weighted index, meaning bigger companies get larger allocations. As winners rise and losers fall, the index naturally cleanses itself, keeping your portfolio full of top-performing names.

For this, consider iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETF (TSX: XUS).

It charges just a 0.09% management expense ratio (MER), which means for every $10,000 invested, you’re only paying $9 per year in fund fees. That’s a small price to pay for low-cost, diversified access to the U.S. stock market.

$5,000 in the S&P/TSX Capped Composite

For the remaining $5,000, stick with Canada. The S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index is the broadest benchmark of Canadian stocks, covering the largest and most traded companies across sectors.

Unlike the S&P 500, which is tech-heavy, this index has larger weights in financials, energy, and materials. The “capped” part means no single stock can exceed a 10% allocation, helping manage concentration risk.

For this, consider iShares Core S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF (TSX: XIC), which tracks this index at an ultra-low 0.06% MER.

On $5,000 invested, that’s just $3 per year in costs. It also offers a 2.56% dividend yield, much of which comes in the form of tax-efficient eligible Canadian dividends.

The Foolish takeaway

You don’t need to overthink it. With two ETFs—XUS and XIC—you’ve got U.S. and Canadian stock exposure in one simple portfolio. Allocate $10,000 to XUS and $5,000 to XIC, reinvest your dividends, and rebalance once a year. Then sit back and let compounding do the heavy lifting. There’s nothing wrong with picking single stocks, but make sure the backbone of your portfolio is something diversified and low-cost like this combo.