A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds

by Joanne M. Hill, Dave Nadig, Matt Hougan

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become in their 25-year history one of the fastest growing segments of the investment management business. These funds provide liquid access to virtually every financial market and allow large and small investors to build institutional-caliber portfolios. Yet, their management fees are significantly lower than those typical of mutual funds. High levels of transparency in ETFs for holdings and investment strategy help investors evaluate an ETF’s potential returns and risks. This book covers the evolution of ETFs as products and in their uses in investment strategies. It details how ETFs work, their unique investment and trading features, their regulatory structure, how they are used in tactical and strategic portfolio management in a broad range of asset classes, and how to evaluate them individually.

Genres: Finance, Business, Money, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2015

Reviews

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got what I wanted out of this... a basic overview of how ETFs fit together from a regulatory and market standpoint. ETFs often appear very simple from a retail investor perspective but there are a lot of little quirks that are worth understanding.

[3thn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the jargon flew over my head..

[JDK1962 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my "work book" for March, and it served its purpose well: I am now much better informed about ETFs, both how they work, and the financial landscape they reside in. Since my present occupation is index design (and many ETFs track indices), having a better understanding is useful.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

very engaging. took lots of notes.

ETFs are valuable for price discovery and seem to provide a resilient price signal in challenging times e.g. global financial crisis, etc. Thinking about premiums/discounts as price discovery rather than mispricing.

With respect to sector classification, it was interesting to learn how the GICS and ICB systems differ (e.g. number of companies considered, the philosophy around consumer analysis: discretionary/staples vs goods/services) and how a test point clarifies the impact of these differences - is Amazon comparable to eBay or Walmart for the purposes of your portfolio?

[André Pinto · Rating 3 out of 5]

In depth technical overview of ETFs: their origins, legal structure (US), internal processes, asset classes, risks, market analysis...
Can be a bit overwhelming with all the data referenced throughout the book and the omnipresent financial terminology.
It contains an appendix with ETFs across the globe, but the main focus is the US market and legislation.

[Kirk G. Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

His book is a must read for anyone who wants to invest in exchange traded funds. It provides the ins and outs of what makes an ETF work so efficiently. For the most part it is written in plain English and just about anyone will be able to understand it.

[Sergey Kochergan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read to those, who involved into corporate finance and investments.