ETF Central (2024)

FAQs

What is the best ETF analysis tool? ›

Morningstar excels in its ability to provide a holistic analysis of ETFs. Investors can access detailed information on a fund's historical performance, risk metrics, and expense ratios.

Less Diversification

For some sectors or foreign stocks, ETF investors might be limited to large-cap stocks due to a narrow group of equities in the market index. A lack of exposure to mid- and small-cap companies could leave potential growth opportunities out of the reach of certain ETF investors.

The single biggest risk in ETFs is market risk.

Generally speaking, fewer than 10 ETFs are likely enough to diversify your portfolio, but this will vary depending on your financial goals, ranging from retirement savings to income generation.

But to be clear, Ramsey's all in favor of using ETFs when used properly. For investors who can use ETFs as part of a long-term, buy-and-hold investment program, rather than as trading vehicles, Ramsey has nothing bad to say about them.

In fact, 52% of all such funds have closed down compared with a closure rate of 31% for nonleveraged, noninverse ETFs, according to 2024 Morningstar data.

Commissions and Expenses

Every time you buy or sell a stock, you might pay a commission. This is also the case when it comes to buying and selling ETFs. Depending on how often you trade an ETF, trading fees can quickly add up and reduce your investment's performance.

ETFs are designed to track the market, not to beat it

But many ETFs track a benchmarking index, which means the fund often won't outperform the underlying assets in the index. Investors who are looking to beat the market (potentially a riskier approach) may choose to look at other products and services.

Can an ETF go to zero? ›

For most standard, unleveraged ETFs that track an index, the maximum you can theoretically lose is the amount you invested, driving your investment value to zero. However, it's rare for broad-market ETFs to go to zero unless the entire market or sector it tracks collapses entirely.

1. VanEck Semiconductor ETF. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks a market-cap-weighted index of 25 of the largest U.S.-listed semiconductors companies. Midcap companies and foreign companies listed in the U.S. can also be included in the index.

A Lazy Portfolio is a collection of investments that requires very little maintenance. It's the typical passive investing strategy, for long-term investors, with time horizons of more than 10 years. Choose your investment style (Classic or Alternative?), pick your Lazy Portfolios and implement them with ETFs.

Average Return

In the past year, QQQ returned a total of 30.38%, which is higher than VOO's 27.99% return. Over the past 10 years, QQQ has had annualized average returns of 18.30% , compared to 12.63% for VOO. These numbers are adjusted for stock splits and include dividends.

SPY, VOO and IVV are among the most popular S&P 500 ETFs. These three S&P 500 ETFs are quite similar, but may sometimes diverge in terms of costs or daily returns. Investors generally only need one S&P 500 ETF.

The appropriate benchmark for an ETF depends on what index or sector it tracks. The S&P 500 is a benchmark index for broad-based portfolios and ETFs like the SPY. Passive ETFs try to mimic the benchmark's performance, while actively managed ETFs attempt to beat it.

As these ETFs continue to play a significant role, understanding their trends is crucial for both investors and traders. Technical indicators are the perfect tools for this, offering insights into the movements of ETFs.