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. Tony also provides independent content and marketing consulting services to various Canadian and U.S. ETF issuers. His editorial opinions for The Motley Fool remain independent and objective.

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.