can someone give me the short version of what an ETf is any why it deserves attention?

Answer 1

Short version, ETFs are Exchange Traded Funds. They trade like stocks have advantages of stock (including being able to trade options on them), but are diversified.

They are like Mutual Funds but are a whole lot better. They can represent indexes, parts of indexes, sectors, or just a group of stocks.

Some examples include:

QQQQ - Nasdaq 100
DIA - Diamonds is the Dow 30
EWJ - Japan ETF
OIH - Oil holder

and so on. Check out amex.com, ishares.com and holders.com for listings of the many possibilities.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I believe you may be talking about Exchange Traded Funds as an investment. Each ETF is a small basket of stocks following a small slice of the market. They used to mainly follow indexes, but they can also follow a small group of stocks in a specific niche.

They trade just like stocks, so a fee is involved. You should only invest larger amounts/shares - so your fees for trading do not add up. I think they are worth investing in - because they allow you to get in and out fairly quickly, like a stock. They also have low expenses.

Yet, you are spreading your risk because they each contain a group of stocks like mutual funds do.

I have about four and like monitoring their progress each day.

Answer 3

Without a little more specific info, I'd venture to guess your ETF stands for Early Termination Fee. Sometimes financial contracts require you to keep money in a particular place for a set amount of time, if you decide to move it before this time is up you'd be penalized what they call an ETF. Without more specefics or context, this is the best answer I can give.