At Successful Portfolios we consider ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) to be one the most useful, investor friendly, financial innovations of the past twenty years.  For a quick primer on ETF investing,  I recommend the Vanguard ETF Strategies Brochure.  Here are Successful Portfolios’ six reasons to love ETFs:

1. ETF expense ratios are typically much lower than expense ratios on traditional mutual funds.  Internal trading costs are lower for ETFs as well.
2. ETFs are completely transparent as to what securities they hold.  Traditional mutual funds reveal securities holdings with a long delay.
3. ETFs are more tax efficient than actively managed mutual funds.
4. ETFs trade continuously.  Traditional mutual funds are priced only once per day.
5. Most ETFs have available listed options.  Traditional mutual funds do not.
6. ETFs can be traded in single share increments.  Traditional mutual funds have higher minimum investment requirements and other restrictions.