ETFs are secure and cheap alternatives to mutual funds.
ETFs are portfolios of stocks, bonds or in some cases other investments that trade on a stock exchange much the same way as a regular stock does. At the moment, all ETFs are essentially index funds, which is to say they track the performance of a specific stock or bond market index or other benchmark.
The first ETFs to hit the market back in 1993 were SPDRs, or "Spiders," which track the Standard and Poor's 500 index of large-company stocks. Today you'll come across ETFs that track everything from the entire U.S. stock market to various slices of it: large stocks, small stocks, value, growth, energy, tech, utilities, REITs -- virtually any industry or sector of the market.
Unlike many mutual funds, you don't have to pay fees to own ETF. Some ETFs even pay dividend which makes them an even more appealing investment.
The days of mutual fund's dominance are numbered. ETFs are now the best way to invest!
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