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Introduction
ОглавлениеEvery month, it seems, Wall Street comes up with some newfangled investment idea. The array of financial products (replete with 164-page prospectuses) is now so dizzying that the old lumpy mattress is starting to look like a more comfortable place to stash the cash. But there is one relatively new product out there definitely worth looking at. It’s something of a cross between an index mutual fund and a stock, and it’s called an exchange-traded fund, or ETF.
Just as computers and fax machines were used by big institutions before they caught on with individual consumers, so it was with ETFs. They were first embraced by institutional traders – investment banks, hedge funds, and insurance firms – because, among other things, they allow for the quick juggling of massive holdings. Big traders like that sort of thing. Personally, playing hot potato with my money is not my idea of fun. But all the same, over the past several years, I’ve invested most of my own savings in ETFs, and I’ve suggested to many of my clients that they do the same.
I’m not alone in my appreciation of ETFs. They have grown exponentially in the past few years, and they will surely continue to grow and gain influence. While I can’t claim that my purchases and my recommendations of ETFs account for much of the growing $2 trillion+ ETF market, I’m happy to be a (very) small part of it. After you’ve read this book, you may decide to become part of it as well, if you haven’t already.
About This Book
As with any other investment, you’re looking for a certain payoff in reading this book. In an abstract sense, the payoff will come in your achieving a thorough understanding and appreciation of a powerful financial tool called an exchange-traded fund. The more concrete payoff will come when you apply this understanding to improve your investment results.
What makes me think ETFs can help you make money?
✔ ETFs are intelligent. Most financial experts agree that playing with individual stocks can be hazardous to one’s wealth. Anything from an accounting scandal to the CEO’s sudden angina attack can send a single stock spiraling downward. That’s why it makes sense for the average investor to own lots of stocks – or bonds – through ETFs or mutual funds.
✔ ETFs are cheap. At least 250 ETFs charge annual management expenses of 0.20 percent or lower, and 60 of them charge 0.10 percent a year or less. The average actively managed mutual fund, in contrast, charges 1.25 percent a year. Index mutual funds generally cost a tad more than their ETF cousins. Such cost differences, while appearing small on paper, can make a huge impact on your returns over time.
✔ ETFs are tax-smart. Because of the clever way ETFs are structured, the taxes you pay on any growth are minimal.
✔ ETFs are open books. Quite unlike mutual funds, an nearly all ETFs’ holdings are readily visible. If this afternoon, for example, I were to buy 100 shares of the ETF called the SPDR (pronounced “spider”) S&P 500, I would know that exactly 4.02 percent of my money was invested in Apple, Inc, 2.07 percent in the Microsoft Corporation, and 1.94 percent in Exxon Mobil Corp. You don’t get that kind of detail when you buy most mutual funds. Mutual fund managers, like stage magicians, are often reluctant to reveal their secrets. In the investment game, the more you know, the lower the odds you will get sawed in half.
If the book you’re now reading were like some (but certainly not all) mutual funds, it would be largely unintelligible and expensive. (It might be doubly expensive if you tried to resell the book within 90 days!) Luckily, this book is more like an ETF. Here’s how:
✔ Investing in ETFs For Dummies is intelligent. I don’t try to convince you that ETFs are your best investment choice, and I certainly don’t tell you that ETFs will make you rich. Instead, I lay out facts and figures and summarize some hard academic findings, and I let you draw your own conclusions.
✔ Investing in ETFs For Dummies is cheap. Hey, top-notch investment advice for just the price of this one small book (plus or minus any discounts, shipping, and tax). Where else are you going to get that kind of deal? And should you come to the conclusion after reading this book that ETFs belong in your portfolio, you’ll likely get your money (plus any shipping costs and tax) back – in the form of lower fees and tax efficiency – in no time at all.
✔ Investing in ETFs For Dummies is tax-smart. Yes, the money you spent for this book, as all other outlays you make for investment advice, may be deducted from your federal income taxes (provided you itemize your deductions). Go for it!
✔ Investing in ETFs For Dummies is an open book. We’ve already established that!
If you’ve ever read a For Dummies book, you have an idea of what you’re about to embark on. This is not a book you need to read from front to back. Feel free to jump about and glean whatever information you think will be of most use. There is no quiz at the end. You don’t have to commit it all to memory.
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout the book, you find little globular pieces of art in the margins called icons. These admittedly cutesy but handy tools give you a heads-up that certain types of information are in the neighborhood.
Although this is a how-to book, you also find plenty of whys and wherefores. Any paragraph accompanied by this icon, however, is guaranteed pure, 100 percent, unadulterated how-to.
The world of investments offers pitfalls galore. Wherever you see the bomb, know that there is a risk of you losing money – maybe even Big Money – if you skip the passage.
Read twice! This icon indicates that something important is being said and is really worth putting to memory.
If you don’t really care about the difference between standard deviation and beta, or the historical correlation between U.S. value stocks and REITs, feel free to skip or skim the paragraphs with this icon.
The world of Wall Street is full of people who make money at other people’s expense. Where you see the pig face, know that I’m about to point out an instance where someone will likely be sticking a hand deep in your pocket.
Beyond the Book
In addition to all the material you find in the book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/investinginetfs for helpful insights and pointers on utilizing ETFs successfully. You also get some additional articles that would have kept this book from fitting into a portable size at www.dummies.com/extras/investinginetfs.
