ETFs debuted in 1993 and their combination of diversification, tax efficiency, and low transaction costs have made them popular since the start. From 1993 to 2015 over $2 trillion USD has been invested in ETFs in the United States alone.

So what is an ETF? How does it work?

ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. These types of funds are considered marketable securities – they are very liquid and can be converted into cash quickly and at a reasonable price. An ETF fund owns underlying assets such as bonds, stock shares, gold bars, foreign currencies, oil futures, etc. ETFs take a bunch of profitable goodies and put them all into one basket.

You as the shareholder own an indirect portion of the fund, equivalent to your investment. Pretty much you lay claim to a piece of all the ingredients that make up this glorious money pie. You as shareholder are then entitled to a corresponding piece of the profits. Profits appear as earned interest, dividends paid, and/or residual value if the fund is liquidated.

Because ETFs are traded on public stock exchanges, they are easy to buy, sell, or transfer – just like stocks.

Here’s a list of some of the more widely traded ETFs:

string(4501) "
ETFs debuted in 1993 and their combination of diversification, tax efficiency, and low transaction costs have made them popular since the start. From 1993 to 2015 over $2 trillion USD has been invested in ETFs in the United States alone.
So what is an ETF? How does it work?
         ETF stands for Exchange Traded Fund. These types of funds are considered marketable securities - they are very liquid and can be converted into cash quickly and at a reasonable price. An ETF fund owns underlying assets such as bonds, stock shares, gold bars, foreign currencies, oil futures, etc. ETFs take a bunch of profitable goodies and put them all into one basket.
You as the shareholder own an indirect portion of the fund, equivalent to your investment. Pretty much you lay claim to a piece of all the ingredients that make up this glorious money pie. You as shareholder are then entitled to a corresponding piece of the profits. Profits appear as earned interest, dividends paid, and/or residual value if the fund is liquidated.
Because ETFs are traded on public stock exchanges, they are easy to buy, sell, or transfer - just like stocks.
         Here's a list of some of the more widely traded ETFs:
One of the most widely known and traded ETFs tracks the S&P 500 Index, and is called the Spider (SPDR), and trades under the ticker SPY.
The IWM tracks the Russell 2000 Index.
The QQQ tracks the Nasdaq 100, and the DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Sector ETFs exist which track individual industries such as oil companies (OIH), energy companies (XLE), financial companies (XLF), REITs (IYR), the biotech sector (BBH), and so on.
Commodity ETFs exist to track commodity prices including crude oil (USO), gold (GLD), silver (SLV), and natural gas (UNG) among others.
ETFs that track foreign stock market indices exist for most developed and many emerging markets, as well as other ETFs which track currency movements worldwide. - Investopedia
"

Most parents welcome visits from their grown-up children. But what happens when the kids head back home when life gets rough and then never leave? This scenario is playing out more and more frequently as 20-something adults try to cope with – or hide from – skyrocketing costs in an increasingly expensive world. Lou Carloza

In this month’s Money Journal, Celia is organized and disciplined yet enjoys her life “to the Max” Welcome to Money Journal, a monthly Paypath series that examines how Americans really handle their finances. Our participants keep a journal of their earnings, spending, and savings (if any), then share what it’s like to live in their

Trying to cancel your gym membership can be more tiring than actually attending that kickboxing class you keep skipping. Getting out of your gym contract can be so tough that people are going to great lengths to avoid paying any penalties. After going into debt living a lifestyle she couldn’t afford, this woman forged fake

Everyone says the economy’s healthier than ever, but some of us still find it necessary to make that paycheck stretch…and stretch…and stretch. The better we understand our spending habits, the better we can manage them. Living frugally can benefit you in many ways. You’ll grow more self-reliant, creative, and resourceful as you learn to make

If your business offers corporate credit cards or expense accounts to employees, there’s a good chance there is unethical spending going on. 33% of corporate credit card holders admit to blatantly defrauding the companies they work for, and twice that amount confess to making “risky purchases.” But a thread on AskReddit reveals some of the

You Lose $20K Each Year Just For Being a Mom You may not know this, but there was a time when smoking was considered “liberated” behavior for women. There was a cigarette company Virginia Slims that was created specifically to attract female smokers during the bad old 1970s. The slogan was “You’ve come a long

We’ve all heard it before. Takeaway is way more tempting than cooking at home night after night after night. But although ordering-in might save you precious time, at the end of the day I’ll bet your wallet takes the hit. Everyone on the planet resorts to takeout after a long day’s work — and I’m

Experts agree: it’s time to clean your workspace for your most creative era yet Spring cleaning is overrated. In the Spring, I want to go-go-go! Not get bogged down in the minutiae of tidying. But once I get started, I’m one of those people who can’t stop decluttering. So I carve out designated days for

Despite the fact that late-stage capitalism is an amoral hellhole driven by a borderline religious belief in the sanctity of brands, we would never, ever suggest that anyone should shoplift from big-box stores, or even imply that doing so is morally okay or a victimless crime. But hypothetically, if we were to give any tidbit

Oh, how far we’ve come! Recently, it was revealed that — finally! — women CEOs at Fortune 500 companies outnumber male CEOs named John. A dubious milestone, but it’s something to celebrate. Though women have come pretty far in society, the progress we’ve made is far from enough. From the pay gap to daily microaggressions,