Investing
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)
A basket of assets that trades on an exchange like a single stock.
Also known as: exchange-traded fund
Updated June 2026
An ETF is a fund whose shares trade on a stock exchange throughout the day. It can hold stocks, bonds, commodities or a mix, and most ETFs passively track an index.
Key traits
- Intraday liquidity — buy and sell any time the market is open.
- Transparency — most disclose holdings daily.
- Tax efficiency — the creation/redemption mechanism limits taxable events in many jurisdictions.
Watch for
The market price can drift slightly from the fund’s net asset value (NAV); for thinly traded ETFs, mind the bid-ask spread.