2 Unstoppable ETFs for Growth Investors to Buy and Hold for Years

Whether you're a dividend investor or a growth investor, there can be an exchange-traded fund (ETF) out there to meet your specific investment goals. There are many ETFs to choose from these days, which can allow you to focus on a certain strategy. For example, there are even thematic ETFs that invest in stocks based on what sector or industry they are in, and if they align with an overall theme.

For growth investors, there are many options to consider. Two particularly popular ETFs for investors to hold over the long haul are the iShares Exponential Technologies ETF (NASDAQ: XT) and Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ). Here's why these funds are promising investments you can buy and forget about for a long while.

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iShares Exponential Technologies ETF

This iShares ETF invests in companies that are innovation leaders all over the world. These are potential disrupters whose new technology can replace older technologies. While the growth-focused ETF has an expense ratio of 0.46%, that's a fairly modest fee given that in return, you'll gain exposure to a great mix of growth stocks.

There are around 200 stocks in the ETF with a broad mix of large and small companies. Some of the notable stocks within its top-10 holdings are Palantir Technologies, Cloudflare, and Zscaler. But the largest stock doesn't account for more than 1% of the ETF's overall portfolio, which means investors don't have to worry about having too much exposure to any single company.

Outside of tech, which accounts for the bulk of the portfolio at 54% of all holdings, healthcare (15%), industrials (7%), and financials (5%) make up considerable portions of the ETF's portfolio.

With a focus on growth, there isn't much dividend income you'll earn from this ETF -- its yield is around just 0.7%. But it has made for a solid fund to invest in, rising more than 40% over the past five years. And with many top up-and-coming growth stocks in its portfolio, the iShares Exponential Technologies ETF can continue to be a great long-term investment to hang on to for years.

Invesco QQQ Trust

The Invesco QQQ Trust is not as diversified as the Exponential Technologies ETF, and that has worked in its favor and allowed it to generate even better returns for investors over the past five years. It has also soundly outperformed the broad S&P 500.

QQQ data by YCharts

Since the ETF tracks the top 100 non-financial stocks on the Nasdaq exchange, there will be more exposure to individual stocks with this fund. And that means high performers will weigh more heavily on its overall returns. In the Invesco QQQ Trust, close to 25% of its position is in just three stocks -- Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple.

These stocks have taken off in the past couple of years, a key reason the ETF has performed so well. If you remain bullish on these stocks then you may continue to prefer to hold the Invesco QQQ Fund versus a more diversified option such as the Exponential Technologies ETF.

In total, tech stocks represent just over 57% of the ETF's overall holdings, as this is yet another tech-heavy fund. The next-largest sectors are consumer discretionary stocks, which make up 20% of the portfolio, followed by healthcare stocks, which represent just under 6% of all holdings.

At 0.2%, the expense ratio in this ETF is relatively light, and that can help ensure that you are keeping the bulk of the gains in your portfolio, rather than having fees chip away at them. It also yields a modest 0.6%.

The Invesco Fund is one of the more popular ETFs to invest in, and for good reason. With it always containing the best and most valuable stocks on the Nasdaq, you can ensure you have a position in the best and brightest growth investments in the world. This is the type of ETF you can easily buy and forget about, and it can help you generate market-beating returns.

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David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Cloudflare, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Zscaler. The Motley Fool recommends Nasdaq and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.