r/ETFInvesting

I keep seeing people say not to have overlapping etfs. I understand the redundancy but since I have a bunch of SPYM and VOO does it really matter if I consolidate into one or another? I have about 100 shares of both.....

Ok so i decided to start investing on Fidelity on ETFs, i currently have nothing but i wanted to seek advice on the fastest way to reach 25k/50 them 100k, i am looking to invest $200-$250 a month.

Appreciate the advice!

I've been reading up on leveraged and inverse ETFs and would like to hear from people who have actually traded them.

Some numbers that got me thinking (through Oct. 2, 2026):

• TQQQ (3x Nasdaq-100) is up about 53.66% YTD vs. 22.22% for the index
• UPRO (3x S&P 500) is up about 27.39% vs. 12.6% for the index
• SPXU (3x inverse S&P 500) is down about 30.24% YTD, but gained 81.49% during the Feb. 18 to Apr. 8, 2025 selloff

The upside looks great in a rising market. What worries me is the drawdown side. The S&P 500 fell 58.59% from Oct. 2007 to Mar. 2009 and took roughly five years to recover, and a 3x fund would have been hit much harder.

A few questions for those with experience:

1. Holding period: Do you treat these as short-term trades (days or weeks), or have you held them longer? How did that go?
2. Entry and exit: What triggers your entries? Do you use a fixed stop-loss, a moving average, or something else?
3. Inverse ETFs as a hedge: Has anyone used SH, SPXU, PSQ or SQQQ to hedge a core index position when the market is at all-time highs? Did the cost of carrying it eat into the benefit?
4. 2x vs. 3x: Do you prefer SSO/QLD over UPRO/TQQQ for risk reasons?
5. Biggest lesson: What mistake would you tell a beginner to avoid?

I'm not looking for hot takes on whether these are "good" or "bad." I'm more interested in how people actually manage the risk. Thanks in advance.