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Americans are working longer these days, with the average retirement age rising from 57 in the early 1990s to 62 currently, according to the latest research from The Motley Fool. Some people need to work longer, of course, while others are choosing to extend their working years as some of the social and mental benefits of doing so come to light.
No matter what age you're aiming to begin your retirement, planning your investment strategy years ahead of time is the key to achieving your goals. But with so many stocks to choose from, it's difficult to choose the best ones to ensure you'll have a comfortable retirement.
Here are two no-brainer buys to help you get started.
Skip the guesswork and buy this S&P 500 ETF
One of the best investing strategies to retire comfortably is to put your money into an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC). Doing so allows you to take some of the guesswork out of investing, and instead own some of the biggest publicly traded companies in the U.S.
One of the best avenues to do this is with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Exchange-traded funds that track a popular index like the S&P 500 are a popular choice because they can be bought and sold like individual stocks and, over time, they tend to perform very well. For example, the S&P 500 has a historical annual rate of return of 10.1% since 1957, not accounting for inflation.
Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF comes with a very low expense ratio of just 0.03%. That means for every $10,000 you invest, you'll pay just $3 in fees.
It also comes highly recommended. Warren Buffett said at the 2020 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting: "In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is owning the S&P 500 index fund." And years before that, Buffett said that when he dies, his investment assets will go "into a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund," adding, "I suggest Vanguard's."
Will the ETF guarantee you'll earn 10.1% annually? Of course not. But if you want the easiest way to ensure you'll benefit from the S&P 500's potential returns in the coming years, it's hard to beat this Vanguard ETF.
Buy this tech stock and let it innovate for you
There are a lot of technology companies out there, with confusing business models betting on highly speculative trends. But one company that is an indisputable leader in several markets, while still tapping into future innovations, is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
We all know Amazon as the e-commerce giant, and the company is doing very well in this space with 34% market share in the U.S. (Walmart has just 7% for reference). In the third quarter (ended Sept. 30), Amazon's North American retail sales rose 11% to $95.5 billion, and its total operating income jumped 55% to $15.3 billion.