9 Blue-Chip Powerhouse ETFs to Buy

Blue-chip stocks to fuel your ETF.

Blue-chip stocks are the bedrock of most investment portfolios. Thing is, most investors would be hard-pressed to tell you what exactly a blue-chip stock is. And that's OK. Blue-chip stocks aren't defined by any strict criteria. But typically, they're large, financially stable and (often) well-known. For the most part, you'll know them when you see them. They might not be bulletproof, but they're usually going to be more secure than most other options. Every investor can use blue-chip exposure in their accounts. These nine exchange-traded funds allow you to do just that, and from a number of angles.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SPY)

The SPY tracks America's premier blue-chip index, the Standard & Poor's 500 -- a collection of 500 blue-chip stocks selected not just by size, but by several criteria, including liquidity and financial viability. The SPY is first and largest among all ETFs, coming to life in 1993, and amassing more than $190 billion in assets since then. This is, in short, the ultimate blue-chip ETF. Naturally, then, its holdings are a who's who of blue-chip stocks, including Apple (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM).

Expenses: 0.0945 percent, or $9.45 for every $10,000 invested.

Vanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF (VONV)

The Russell 1000 is another large-capitalization index that doesn't get as much publicity as the S&P 500, but it's still used as a benchmark for a number of ETFs. It's also spliced and diced in a few ways to create funds with a few specific flavors. The VONV is one of those ETFs, carving out those Russell 1000 stocks that exhibit "value characteristics," such as a low price-book ratio -- a trading price that's less than the per-share value of its assets minus liabilities, preferred shares and some intangible assets. Currently, VONV's top holdings are Exxon, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Expenses: 0.12 percent

Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG)

Value and growth are often at odds with one another. No, really. VONV's own description page states that the benchmark includes "those Russell 1000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower expected and historical growth rates." So investors who would prefer to chase growth instead would be wise to look at VONV's sister fund, the VONG. VONG targets stocks in the Russell 1000 that have superior growth metrics, both historically and per Wall Street analyst forecasts. No surprise, then, that the ETF's top five holdings are all tech companies, including Apple, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Facebook (FB).

Expenses: 0.12 percent

PowerShares QQQ ETF (QQQ)

The QQQ is one of the odder blue-chip funds out there in that it's so lopsided in tech that it can't be considered a broad index fund, but it's not so imbalanced that you could consider it a tech fund, either. It's a mutt, but it's a good one. The QQQ tracks the Nasdaq 100, which is made of the 100 largest companies listed on the Nasdaq composite that aren't in the financial sector. The result is a fund that's nearly 60 percent tech -- including top holdings Apple, Microsoft and Amazon.com (AMZN) -- another 20 percent-plus consumer discretionary, 11 percent health care and a smattering of three other sectors. It's a weird mix, but it's an outperforming mix, too.

Expenses: 0.2 percent

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL)

Arguably the gem of ProShares' extensive ETF lineup, the NOBL tracks that venerable group of dividend stocks, the S&P 500 dividend aristocrats. These 50 blue-chip stocks are a rare breed that not only have the characteristics allowing them to be part of the S&P 500, but have had the kind of financial stability that has allowed them to increase dividends annually for at least the past 25 years. Coincidentally, its top holding is S&P Global (SPGI) -- the majority owner of S&P 500 operator S&P Dow Jones Indices. Other holdings include the likes of Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), which has raised dividends for 60 consecutive years and paid dividends since 1860.

Expenses: 0.35 percent

PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio ETF (SPLV)

Another way to carve out a basket of blue-chip stocks is to identify stocks with low volatility. That's because typically, the types of stocks that can withstand large market fluctuations without a lot of ups and downs are large, financially stable companies that investors have confidence in through thick and thin. SPLV holds 100 such stocks, based on their realized volatility over a trailing 12-month period. The portfolio is heavy in utilities, consumer staples and industrials, boasting top holdings such as PepsiCo (PEP), P&G and Waste Management (WM).

Expenses: 0.25 percent

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA)

The EFA is one of the most popular ways to gain quick, broad exposure to the developed world's blue-chip stocks. From a broad standpoint, the fund is most heavily concentrated in Europe, with the continent making up more than half of EFA's holdings, but from a single-country standpoint, Japanese companies represent nearly a quarter of the fund. Australia also makes a solid impact at 7.4 percent of EFA's weight. Top holdings here include some of the developed world's largest multinationals, including consumer foods giant Nestle, health care goliath Roche Holding and longtime Japanese auto power Toyota Motor Corp. (TM).

Expenses: 0.33 percent

iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI)

Few emerging-market-focused funds have the blue-chip heft of iShares' FXI. But the world's second-largest country by GDP is bound to have a few gigantic companies. In fact, the average market cap of the FXI's 51 holdings is $75 billion -- much greater than the average of a number of prominent single-country ETFs from around the developed world. FXI's top holdings might not have much name cachet here, but Tencent Holdings is one of the world's largest internet companies, and China Construction Bank Corp. is perennially a top-five bank by assets. Just one note: This is a pricey international fund.

Expenses: 0.73 percent

ProShares Short S&P500 ETF (SH)

ProShares' SH ETF doesn't actually hold any blue-chip stocks. Instead, it uses derivatives in an attempt to achieve the inverse of the S&P 500's daily return. Basically, the SH is a way to short the market -- and it's the most popular one on the market, at nearly $3 billion in net assets. Because of its short nature, the SH would appear at first glance to be just a tool for experienced traders, but its lack of leverage and its tether to a big, blue-chip index make it a great fund for everyday investors to use as a market hedge against existing long positions.

Expenses: 0.89 percent

Kyle Woodley is managing editor of InvestorPlace.com. Investing is his second love, with Ohio sports teams as his first. Naturally, this has warped his general perception of love, sparking (among other things) an unnatural affection for the Haddaway hit, "What Is Love?" Follow him on Twitter @kylewoodley.