After several years of overwhelming optimism, the tide may be turning on the economy. Recession fears are growing, with around 42% of Americans fearing an “economic collapse” within the next 10 years, according to a March 2026 YouGov poll.
To be clear, there’s no way to know for certain what the market or economy will do in the near term. But it doesn’t hurt to prepare your investment portfolio anyway, and there are three ultrareliable Vanguard ETFs to stock up on if we’re headed toward a recession.
1. Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI +1.20%) aims to capture a snapshot of the entire U.S. equities market in a single investment. It holds just over 3,500 stocks from all corners of the market — ranging from up-and-coming small-cap stocks to megacap industry giants and everything in between.
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
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