How are exchange traded funds ETFs as compared to mutual funds?
Mutual funds are priced once a day at the net asset value and they're traded after market hours. ETFs are traded throughout the day on stock exchanges just as individual stocks are. ETFs often have lower expense ratios and are generally more tax-efficient due to their more passive nature.
Mutual funds are usually actively managed, although passively-managed index funds have become more popular. ETFs are usually passively managed and track a market index or sector sub-index. ETFs can be bought and sold just like stocks, while mutual funds can only be purchased at the end of each trading day.
Positive aspects of ETFs
The 4 most prominent advantages are trading flexibility, portfolio diversification and risk management, lower costs versus like mutual funds, and potential tax benefits.
Exchange-traded funds can be traded during the day, just as the stocks they represent. They are most tax effective, in that they do not have as many distributions. They have much lower transaction costs. They also do not require load charges, management fees, and minimum investment amounts.
ETFs can be more tax-efficient than actively managed funds due to their lower turnover and fewer transactions that produce capital gains. ETFs are bought and sold on an exchange throughout the day while mutual funds can be bought or sold only once a day at the latest closing price.
Unlike mutual funds, an ETF trades like a common stock on a stock exchange. ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold. *ETFs typically have higher daily liquidity and lower fees than mutual fund shares, making them an attractive alternative for individual investors.
ETF shares trade exactly like stocks. Unlike index funds, which are priced only after market closings, ETFs are priced and traded continuously throughout the trading day. They can be bought on margin, sold short, or held for the long-term, exactly like common stock.
Although ETFs are generally cheaper than other lower-risk investment options (such as mutual funds) they are not free. ETFs are traded on the stock exchange like an individual stock, which means that investors may have to pay a real or virtual broker in order to facilitate the trade.
In addition, ETFs tend to have much lower expense ratios compared to actively managed funds, can be more tax-efficient, and offer the option to immediately reinvest dividends. Still, unique risks can arise from holding ETFs as well as tax considerations, depending on the type of ETF.
1. An ETF provider considers the universe of assets, including stocks, bonds, commodities or currencies, and creates a basket of them, with a unique ticker. 2. Investors can buy a share of that basket, just like buying shares of a company.
Why would you choose ETFs over mutual funds?
You're tax sensitive
ETFs and index mutual funds tend to be generally more tax efficient than actively managed funds. And, in general, ETFs tend to be more tax efficient than index mutual funds.
ETFs have lower costs on average than passively managed mutual funds and don't charge 12b-1 fees. The expense ratio is the cost of the mutual fund, including any management fees, fees for expenses, and 12b-1 fees, and expressed as a percentage of the total assets under management.
There are many ways an ETF can stray from its intended index. That tracking error can be a cost to investors. Indexes do not hold cash but ETFs do, so a certain amount of tracking error in an ETF is expected. Fund managers generally hold some cash in a fund to pay administrative expenses and management fees.
Mutual funds are priced once a day at the net asset value and they're traded after market hours. ETFs are traded throughout the day on stock exchanges just as individual stocks are. ETFs often have lower expense ratios and are generally more tax-efficient due to their more passive nature.
With a mutual fund, you buy and sell based on dollars, not market price or shares. And you can specify any dollar amount you want—down to the penny or as a nice round figure, like $3,000. With an ETF, you buy and sell based on market price—and you can only trade full shares.
ETFs offer advantages over stocks in two situations. First, when the return from stocks in the sector has a narrow dispersion around the mean, an ETF might be the best choice. Second, if you are unable to gain an advantage through knowledge of the company, an ETF is your best choice.
An ETF can only be traded at the end of the day, whereas a mutual fund can be bought or sold throughout the trading day.
Market risk
The single biggest risk in ETFs is market risk. Like a mutual fund or a closed-end fund, ETFs are only an investment vehicle—a wrapper for their underlying investment. So if you buy an S&P 500 ETF and the S&P 500 goes down 50%, nothing about how cheap, tax efficient, or transparent an ETF is will help you.
Unlike with mutual fund shares, retail investors can only purchase and sell ETF shares in market transactions. That is, unlike mutual funds, ETFs do not sell individual shares directly to, or redeem their individual shares directly from, retail investors.
ETFs are more tax efficient than actively managed mutual funds because they generate less capital gain distributions. Trading transactions - Since they are traded like stocks, investors can place order types (e.g., limit orders or stop-loss orders) that mutual funds cannot.
How do ETFs pay investors?
ETF issuers collect any dividends paid by the companies whose stocks are held in the fund, and they then pay those dividends to their shareholders. They may pay the money directly to the shareholders, or reinvest it in the fund.
The single biggest risk in ETFs is market risk.
ETFs are most often linked to a benchmarking index, meaning that they are often not designed to outperform that index. Investors looking for this type of outperformance (which also, of course, carries added risks) should perhaps look to other opportunities.
ETF trading generally occurs in-kind, meaning they are not redeemed for cash. Mutual fund shares can be redeemed for money at the fund's net asset value for that day. Stocks are bought and sold using cash.
ETFs are less risky than individual stocks because they are diversified funds. Their investors also benefit from very low fees. Still, there are unique risks to some ETFs, including a lack of diversification and tax exposure.
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