The Smartest S&P 500 ETF to Buy With $1,000 in April 2026

It hasn't been the best three-month start for the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), down more than 7% at one point in March before partially recovering to a -4% performance by April 1. That has been the trend across many major indexes, especially those with a large tech presence.

The current slump can make investors hesitant to continue putting money into the market, but that's not usually a productive approach. The S&P 500 has always experienced ups and downs, so this isn't completely out of left field.

Investors should continue to trust the S&P 500, but it could be helpful to approach the index from a different angle. That's why in April, the smartest S&P 500 ETF to invest in is an equal-weight S&P 500 like the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEMKT: RSP).

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The S&P 500 tends to go as tech goes, for better or worse

Since the standard S&P 500 gives more weight to larger companies, it has become extremely top- and tech-heavy.

Nine of the top 10 holdings are tech companies (including both Alphabet classes), and the "Magnificent Seven" stocks -- Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Tesla -- account for nearly 33% of the index. In the equal-weight S&P 500, they account for a combined 1.3%.

The S&P 500's concentration has worked in its favor over the past decade (it has outperformed RSP 212% to 143%), mainly due to the growth of big tech stocks. With the tech sector accounting for nearly a third of the S&P 500 and just over 13% of the RSP, the gap in their performance will come down to how well the tech sector does.

When tech is flourishing, the standard S&P 500 will flourish. When it's slumping, the equal-weight S&P 500 tends to hold its value better, as we've seen to start this year, as well as during the 2022 bear market. RSP still dropped by 13% in 2022, but that was much less than the S&P 500's roughly 19% drop.

Don't completely jump ship on the standard S&P 500

I still prefer the S&P 500 for the long term and think it's one of the best investments most investors should make. I like the hedge that the equal-weight S&P 500 provides, but I wouldn't want it to be a large portion of my portfolio because I think there are advantages to the S&P 500 being weighted by market cap.

That said, if you have $1,000 available to put toward an S&P 500 ETF, now could be a good time to begin a stake in RSP. It's less reliant on tech, has a more attractive valuation, and is a good way to get S&P 500 exposure without worrying about your portfolio becoming too concentrated.

Stefon Walters has positions in Apple and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla and is short shares of Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.