To ETF or Not To ETF?
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are all the rage. They come large and small, long and short, ultra and supersized, and track just about any sector, geography, investing style or commodity you can think of. The great thing is they trade like stocks yet share some of the characteristics of mutual funds (without the massive overhead some mutual funds carry). ETFs are baskets of like stocks in a particular industry or region or index, and so, if you think for example high tech is going to take off, rather than study and research for which particular stocks to buy, jump on a high tech ETF and enjoy the benefits of spreading out your bet. You might not get as high a return as you could have with that one perfect stock pick, but then again, you have to be a really good stock picker while also bearing the risks of a less-diverse portfolio. Some say ETFs have lower overhead than mutual funds and perform just as well, because of the reduced fees. Some even say during down markets ETFs fair better t