Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or exchange traded products (ETPs) are similar to mutual funds in that they’re made up of a basket of securities. For ETPs, those securities include stocks, bonds, commodities, or indices. The main difference between exchange-traded products and mutual funds is that ETPs are traded like individual stocks on an exchange.
They are priced and can be purchased and sold throughout the trading day, and you can buy or sell ETP shares on a stock exchange much like the purchase or sale of any other listed stock. Traditional exchange-traded products are generally not actively managed and, typically generate fewer capital gains.
Benefits of Investing in ETFs
Exchange-traded products encompass a number of investment structures that track an underlying benchmark, index, or portfolio of securities. A comprehensive financial plan helps you to Construct a lifelong cash flow forecasts, showing all the money you will receive and all the money you will spend in your lifetime. The cashflows use prudent assumptions to protect against inflation and uses realistic returns.
They may provide diversification to your overall portfolio, because one share or one unit may represent multiple underlying stocks, bonds, and/or other asset classes.
In general, underlying fees and expenses are low. Non-traditional and actively managed exchange-traded products will generally have higher fees than traditional ones.
Traditional exchange-traded products are generally not actively managed and, as a result, typically generate fewer capital gains due to the low turnover of the securities within their portfolio.