Why ETFs are better than mutual funds?
Less paperwork equals lower costs. Most of the time. Transparency: ETF holdings are generally disclosed on a regular and frequent basis, so investors know what they are investing in and where their money is parked. Mutual funds, by contrast, are required to disclose their holdings only quarterly, with a 30-day lag.
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. You want niche exposure. Specific ETFs focused on particular industries or commodities can give you exposure to market niches.
ETFs have several advantages for investors considering this vehicle. The 4 most prominent advantages are trading flexibility, portfolio diversification and risk management, lower costs versus like mutual funds, and potential tax benefits.
For instance, some ETFs may come with fees, others might stray from the value of the underlying asset, ETFs are not always optimized for taxes, and of course — like any investment — ETFs also come with risk.
If you're paying fees for a fund with a high expense ratio or paying too much in taxes each year because of undesired capital gains distributions, switching to ETFs is likely the right choice. If your current investment is in an indexed mutual fund, you can usually find an ETF that accomplishes the same thing.
The choice comes down to what you value most. If you prefer the flexibility of trading intraday and favor lower expense ratios in most instances, go with ETFs. If you worry about the impact of commissions and spreads, go with mutual funds.
In terms of safety, neither the mutual fund nor the ETF is safer than the other due to its structure. Safety is determined by what the fund itself owns. Stocks are usually riskier than bonds, and corporate bonds come with somewhat more risk than U.S. government bonds.
Key Takeaways. ETFs are considered to be low-risk investments because they are low-cost and hold a basket of stocks or other securities, increasing diversification. For most individual investors, ETFs represent an ideal type of asset with which to build a diversified portfolio.
While these securities track a given index, using debt without shareholder equity makes leveraged and inverse ETFs risky investments over the long term due to leveraged returns and day-to-day market volatility. Mutual funds are strictly limited regarding the amount of leverage they can use.
| Symbol | Name | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|
| SPYG | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF | 14.43% |
| VOOG | Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF | 14.38% |
| IWL | iShares Russell Top 200 ETF | 14.36% |
| LRGE | ClearBridge Large Cap Growth ESG ETF | 14.29% |
Why I don't invest in ETFs?
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.
Leveraged ETF prices tend to decay over time, and triple leverage will tend to decay at a faster rate than 2x leverage. As a result, they can tend toward zero.
An ETF with a low risk rating can still lose money. ETFs do not provide any guarantees of future performance. As with any investment, you might not get back the money you invested.
At least once a year, funds must pass on any net gains they've realized. As a fund shareholder, you could be on the hook for taxes on gains even if you haven't sold any of your shares.
Mutual fund shareholders pay income taxes on those distributions, and the fund company handles transactions, increasing its operating expenses. Since the sale of ETF shares does not require the fund to liquidate its holdings, its costs are lower.
Some experts recommend at least 15% of your income. Setting clear investment goals can help you determine if you're investing the right amount.
Stock-picking offers an advantage over exchange-traded funds (ETFs) when there is a wide dispersion of returns from the mean. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer advantages over stocks when the return from stocks in the sector has a narrow dispersion around the mean.
| Ticker | Fund name | 5-year return |
|---|---|---|
| SOXX | iShares Semiconductor ETF | 30.70% |
| XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | 24.57% |
| IYW | iShares U.S. Technology ETF | 24.09% |
| FTEC | Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF | 22.79% |
ETFs are generally lower than those that are charged by actively managed mutual funds because their managers are merely mimicking the contents of an index rather than making regular buy and sell decisions, For some investors, the design of a passive ETF is a negative.
Index investing pioneer Vanguard's S&P 500 Index Fund was the first index mutual fund for individual investors.
Is my money safe in an ETF?
ETFs can be safe investments if used correctly, offering diversification and flexibility. Indexed ETFs, tracking specific indexes like the S&P 500, are generally safe and tend to gain value over time. Leveraged ETFs can be used to amplify returns, but they can be riskier due to increased volatility.
- BMO Monthly Income ETF (ZMI)
- TD Q Canadian Dividend ETF (TQCD)
- iShares Core MSCI Canadian Quality Dividend Index ETF (XDIV)
- Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index ETF (VGAB)
- iShares Core Canadian Universe Bond ETF (XBB)
- TD Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (TDB)
Hold ETFs throughout your working life. Hold ETFs as long as you can, give compound interest time to work for you. Sell ETFs to fund your retirement. Don't sell ETFs during a market crash.
| ETF | Assets Under Management | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) | $70 billion | 0.10% |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) | $16.3 billion | 0.35% |
| Invesco S&P MidCap Momentum ETF (XMMO) | $1.6 billion | 0.34% |
| SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) | $1.8 billion | 0.35% |
Holding too many ETFs in your portfolio introduces inefficiencies that in the long term will have a detrimental impact on the risk/reward profile of your portfolio.
