E ETF Popularity Is Booming, And You Should Be A Part Of It

I’ve always been an avid stock-picker. I love security analysis, annual reports, balance sheets. It’s a hobby for me. But for some, the task can be too daunting. They either run to their fund advisor and pay them an exorbitant amount of fees or leave their money in a high-interest savings account earning less than 1 percent. But there is a solution for those who don’t have the knowledge or time to make their own investment decisions. The Exchange Traded Fund, or ETF, is a great way to be given instant market diversity and the ability to trade an entire market as if it were an individual stock.

ETF Popularity is skyrocketing

Every single year, the money invested into ETFs is not only beating previous years records, it’s shattering them. More and more investors are buying into the trend. Bring in Robo-advisors like Wealthsimple, who literally make investing your money as easy as answering a simple questionnaire, and it doesn’t feel like the popularity is going to fade anytime soon.

People are tired of paying high fees. It’s the main reason I pulled all my money out of my mutual funds and instead moved to Questrade to manage my own investments for simply the cost of commissions. Mutual fund popularity is fading fast, and I think we can attribute it to the ETF boom.

Why You Should Invest In ETFs 

The price 

Whether you are a seasoned investor or someone just looking to get into the markets, ETFs should be on your radar. If you are currently invested in a mutual fund, you’re probably paying upwards of 2.4% for the pleasure. An ETF, on the other hand, could only cost you 0.45%. Now I don’t know about you, but if I had a $100 000 investment portfolio, $450 a year sounds a whole lot better than $2400.

This isn’t to say that fees are the be all end all when it comes to choosing an investment strategy. There are some mutual funds that have consistently crushed the market. After it’s all said and done, take away the fees you are paying to the fund and you still may end up with an excellent yearly return. But in most situations, this isn’t the case.