An index fund (also index tracker) is a collective investment scheme (usually a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund) that aims to replicate the movements of an index of a specific financial market, or a set of rules of ownership that are held constant, regardless of market conditions.
A type of mutual fund with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). An index mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses and low portfolio turnover.
Indexes, and the funds that track them, used to be simple. Now, picking a fund is like visiting Baskin-Robbins. It's a straightforward strategy: Track a broad swath of the market by buying shares in a low-cost index fund. But it's hardly the new, new thing; the country's first index mutual fund, Vanguard 500 Index, opened in 1976.
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If you follow the career of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, you likely have kept up on the succession chatter of late. After all, Buffet is 83 now. Sooner or later, someone will take the reins at his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, and that person will pick up the mantle of his amazing performance over the years.
Reasons to consider index funds Generally lower management fees Potentially more tax-efficient Reduced portfolio turnover For the most part, index funds do not attempt to outperform their benchmark, but rather match the benchmark's performance. Index funds generally have a lower fee structure than actively managed funds, because they're not as costly to manage.
Many stock investors turn to the letters Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and B), writes every year to Berkshire's shareholders for some of the most valuable stock investing lessons available anywhere.
60-Second Guides Wanna own shares of some of the best-known companies in America and beat the pants off of most mutual funds? It's shockingly easy with index investing. In the next 60 seconds, we'll show you how to do it. 0:60 What is an index?
An "index fund" describes a type of mutual fund or unit investment trust (UIT) whose investment objective typically is to achieve approximately the same return as a particular market index, such as the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index, the Russell 2000 Index or the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index.
The "Go-To" Handbook On Intelligent Investing Mark Hebner is on a mission to change the way the world invests - by replacing speculation with education. His new book is a condensed, updated and revised version of his original Index Funds book.
Fidelity Offers A Wide Array Of Index Funds. Compare Funds Now.
The truth about index investing must be told over and over again because lies are constantly being told about it. Many of those telling lies about index funds are financial advisors whose income depends on their client's use of high-cost active management strategies. They view simple, low-cost passive strategies through index funds as bad for their business.
The market is up over 150% since April 2009 and continues to hit alltime highs. Will this aging bull, which has now stomped bears for more than five years, keep moving higher? A lot of experts say it won't and warn of a correction of 10% to 15% or more within a few months.
For an extensive selection of index funds, look no further than Schwab. We provide experienced management and some of the lowest minimums and operating expense ratios available. Choose from our traditional cap-weighted funds or our exclusive Fundamental Index* funds. Why invest in equity index funds?
We offer a large selection of equity and bond index funds with some of the lowest expenses and minimums available. It's easy to get invested in a single fund or a diversified portfolio of index funds. Schwab index funds offer value, choice, and expertise.
Performance The fund has returned 20.24 percent over the past year, 13.65 percent over the past three years, 18.99 percent over the past five years, and 7.55 percent over the past decade. See more VFINX performance Summary The Vanguard 500 Index fund is a strong pick for investors looking to track the S&P 500 and not spend a lot of dough on fund expenses.
Index Fund Advisors is a fee-only independent financial advisor that specializes in risk-appropriate portfolios of index funds.
Breaking news about Index Funds. Find the latest articles, videos, photos and blogs about Index Funds.
With the best business schools in the country churning out a steady supply of expensively educated MBAs who go to work for fund companies, you'd think funds would have no trouble posting above-average returns. After all, fund shareholders (that's you) are paying fund managers big bucks to find the best stocks in the market.
Index funds allow average people to participate intelligently in the stock market, by offering diversification and low fees. The " why" of index investing is widely available. (In a nutshell, actively managed mutual funds do only about as well as index funds but charge higher fees; and individual stock investors can do even worse, mainly because they keep stumbling over bum advice - which is also widely available.)
Interview: John C. Bogle If you can't beat the market, be the market: That's the logic behind index funds. More than 30 years ago, John Bogle set up shop to help investors capture market returns at minimal cost. He had realized a quarter-century earlier that complex mutual fund investing strategies don't consistently outperform market returns.
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