Ether or altcoin or tokens that I think are the same, are has same risky. If you talk about the best coin recommendations for the long term HODL, the top 10 in coinmarketcap are the best including ether and bitcoin, for low risk nobody knows because depending on the price of bitcoin if the bitcoin price grows, all altcoin prices will also go up.
There is a big difference between ethereum and most other coins, most coins do not really have a lot of use but ethereum is a coin that is not only traded actively but it is used by a huge number of people around the world so if you are looking to keep a coin for the long term then ethereum is one of the best choices that you can make in this market.