Why These 3 Most Popular ETFs on Robinhood Keep Winning With Serious Investors

When the world’s greatest investor puts his money where his mouth is, retail traders tend to notice. And right now, there’s an interesting overlap happening: two of Robinhood’s most-held ETFs are also core holdings in Warren Buffett’s legendary Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. That’s not a coincidence—it’s a signal worth paying attention to.

Following the Money: What Robinhood Data Actually Reveals

The explosive growth of ETF adoption tells you everything about how investing has evolved. In 2003, there were just 276 ETFs worldwide. Today? Over 8,500. That’s more than the total number of stocks listed on major U.S. exchanges combined. So what are actual retail investors putting their money into? Robinhood’s platform provides clear visibility into this question through its most-held ETFs list.

The top three positions paint a telling picture of investor priorities: broad market exposure, low costs, and simplicity.

The Big Three and Their Track Records

The Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (VOO) sits at the top of Robinhood’s holdings. This isn’t surprising given its credentials. It’s the third-largest ETF globally by assets under management, tracking the S&P 500—500 of America’s largest publicly traded companies. The real appeal? An expense ratio of just 0.03%, among the lowest you’ll find anywhere. Vanguard’s reputation for fee discipline has made this a default choice for cost-conscious investors.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) claims the #2 spot with over $380 billion in assets, making it the largest ETF on the planet. Managed by State Street and launched way back in 1993 as America’s first listed ETF, SPY also tracks the S&P 500. Its 0.0945% expense ratio is slightly higher than VOO, but the massive scale and historical credibility keep it popular.

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI) rounds out the trio at #3. This one casts a wider net—literally. Rather than just the S&P 500’s mega-caps, VTI tracks nearly 4,000 U.S. stocks, from large-cap down to small-cap and micro-cap territory. With a 0.03% expense ratio matching VOO, it appeals to investors who want maximum market diversification without the fee burden.

The Buffett Connection: Evidence Over Words

Here’s where it gets interesting. Buffett has been remarkably consistent about his philosophy: retail investors should own low-cost S&P 500 index funds. He wrote this to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders nearly a decade ago. But philosophy isn’t proof of conviction—holdings are.

His will explicitly instructs trustees to invest 90% of inherited cash into “a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund.” He’s also specifically mentioned Vanguard funds in his shareholder letters. And the smoking gun? VOO and SPY are the only two index fund ETFs currently held in Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. These positions may be small percentages of the total holdings, but their mere existence confirms something crucial: these most popular ETFs on Robinhood aren’t just retail fads—they’re trusted by one of history’s greatest capital allocators.

The Crowd Isn’t Always Wrong

Your instinct might be to avoid doing what everyone else does. But investing offers an exception to that rule. The concentration of retail capital into VOO, SPY, and VTI reflects a deeper truth: when thousands of independent investors converge on the same choices, they’re often responding to objective quality metrics—low fees, broad diversification, historical performance.

This wasn’t always obvious. In 2003, the ETF space was fragmented and expensive. Two decades later, the most popular ETFs on Robinhood have become vehicles for what Buffett calls a “bound to do well” strategy. Ownership of a genuine cross-section of American business, with minimal friction costs, compounds into serious wealth over time.

The wisdom here isn’t contrarian. It’s just sound. Whether you’re following the crowd or Buffett’s lead, you’re following the same path.