I'll get right to it. For new investors, there's simply no better way to start a portfolio than with a low-cost S&P 500 index fund like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO).

As the name implies, the fund invests your assets into all 500 companies that make up the benchmark large-cap stock index, with the goal of matching the long-term performance of the S&P 500.

Why am I suggesting Vanguard's version in particular? The answer is cost. All ETFs have investment fees, known as expense ratios, which are expressed as a percentage of the fund's assets on an annual basis. For example, a 1% expense ratio means that $10 out of every $1,000 you have in the fund will go toward management and other expenses this year.

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Source Fool.com