Best Investment Brokerage Platform for Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) 2024

An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a collective investment, like a unit fund. Investors also buy units in an ETF. But unlike unit funds, an ETF aims to track or replicate a particular index; for example, the Straits Times Index (STI) or the S&P 500. The returns of an ETF are meant to match the index that it tracks or replicates. That means the performance of the ETF will match the performance of the market in general, rather than the performance of a few specific companies in the market.

Let’s say I want to track the STI. I would buy a bunch of shares from many different companies, and create a basket of stocks. This basket would be a microcosm, or miniature, of the STI (not technically correct, but a close enough example). When the STI as a whole makes money, my miniature version should as well. And vice versa when it goes down. Now, remember that the STI is composed of many different companies. For it to slide, the majority of those companies would have to make a loss. That’s not impossible, but it’s improbable that so many companies go tumbling downhill at once.

The returns of an ETF are meant to match the index that it tracks or replicates. Hence, returns of the ETF should be similar to the index it tracks. However, this does not mean that returns are the same due to the possibility of ‘tracking error’.

Besides checking the index the ETF is tracking, you should also check exactly what the ETF is investing in. That means to check for exactly what stocks, bonds or REITs is it invested into as this will impact the performance of the ETF.

Even if the ETF does show decent returns in the past, you need to ensure that the ETF aligns with your investment objectives. For example, if you have a good outlook on the technology industry, you would not buy an ETF that invests in retail mall REITs even if it has shown good performance.