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Exchange Traded Funds

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Definitions for: Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

index portfolios that you buy or sell just like stocks. The best of them are super-cheap-iShares S&P 500 Index (IVV) costs 0.09% a year, half the price of the Vanguard 500-and they can be traded instantly, sold short, or bought on margin. And ETFs track an astonishing variety of indexes, from biotech to Brazilian stocks.

Index Fund Expense Ratio Typical Commission
Vanguard 500 index 0.18% None
iShares S&P 500 index 0.09% $4 to $30 per trade*

*The commission on an automatic investment plan is $4; the top base rate for one national discount brokerage is $30.

Copyright © 2005, 2000, 1995, 1987 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc., Reprinted by arrangement with Publisher.

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Industry Associations

Industry Associations
Chicago Board Options Exchange
Individuals, institutions and firms engaged in the buying and selling of various products including stock options, cash-settled index options, options on HOLDRs, options on Exchange Traded Funds and Structured Products.

Founded: 1973