An Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is similar to a mutual fund — a diversified basket of securities — but trades on stock exchanges throughout the day like an individual stock. ETFs typically have lower expense ratios than equivalent mutual funds, are more tax-efficient (due to in-kind redemption mechanism), and allow intraday pricing. Vanguard VTI, iShares ITOT, and SPDR SPY are popular total-market and S&P 500 ETFs. ETFs revolutionized retail investing by making cheap, diversified, easily traded portfolios accessible. Sector ETFs, bond ETFs, international ETFs, and leveraged ETFs cover virtually every investment niche.
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401(k)
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan where employees contribute pre-tax salary that grows tax-deferred until withdrawal. The…
Active Management
Active management is the attempt to outperform a benchmark through stock selection, sector rotation, market timing, or any…
Alpha
Alpha is excess return relative to a benchmark, adjusted for risk (beta). Positive alpha means an investment outperformed…
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is the percentage split of your portfolio across asset classes — typically stocks, bonds, and cash,…
Backdoor Roth
The Backdoor Roth is a strategy for high earners (above the Roth IRA income limit) to contribute to…
Beta
Beta measures a stock's volatility relative to the overall market (S&P 500 = beta of 1). Stocks with…
ETF
August 22, 2026 · Aditya Gupta
Investing
Related terms
401(k)
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan where employees contribute pre-tax salary that grows tax-deferred until withdrawal. The…
Active Management
Active management is the attempt to outperform a benchmark through stock selection, sector rotation, market timing, or any…
Alpha
Alpha is excess return relative to a benchmark, adjusted for risk (beta). Positive alpha means an investment outperformed…
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is the percentage split of your portfolio across asset classes — typically stocks, bonds, and cash,…
Backdoor Roth
The Backdoor Roth is a strategy for high earners (above the Roth IRA income limit) to contribute to…
Beta
Beta measures a stock's volatility relative to the overall market (S&P 500 = beta of 1). Stocks with…
