3 things people get wrong about ETFs
Listen and subscribe to Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a separate class of investment, unlike individual stocks. In this episode of "Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac," Ross Mac sits down with former Yahoo Finance writer and current etf.com Editor-in-Chief Kristin Myers to discuss her career journey, ETFs, and some lessons Myers has learned from her time working in finance. "Anything you want to invest in, you can invest in through an ETF," Myers notes. "ETFs can make up a hundred percent of your portfolio; it just depends on what you want to buy." Myers breaks down some lessons she has learned working in finance. "The first thing that I absolutely learned is that you need to start investing now because the amount of time that you have in the market is way more important than timing the market. And then the second lesson is do not get emotional about investing... And then the third thing that... I would want to kind of implore everyone is really check where you're getting your financial information." Myers adds that "wealth does not happen overnight. It is something that you build brick by brick by brick. And the more you learn and also the more money you get, those bricks get bigger... You start building it faster, but it happens one step at a time." Myers explains 3 things that people often get wrong when it comes to ETFs. "The main thing they get wrong is the cost... An ETF does have a cost associated with it, whether it's actively managed or if it's a passive ETF, there is going to be a cost... But the cost is super, super low... I would say that's like the number one thing that I think people get wrong. They think, 'oh, it's pretty expensive.' And then the other two things that I would say people get wrong, people think it's a mutual fund, and they hear mutual fund, and they think that's my grandfather's investment... but ETFs are actually way more fun and exciting than mutual funds, and they are not the same at all. You know, same, same but different... Then the other mistake I would say is that people don't really investigate enough what's in their ETF because ETFs can hold a lot of different things inside them." A couple of things Myers says to look at when it comes to ETFs are "definitely look at the holdings, definitely look at the cost... the P/E ratio, looking at the expenses. I would also take a look at the AUM and that's assets under management. That's not necessarily the biggest thing that you should look for, but I mean, if you look at one fund and it's got 20 billion assets under management, and another fund only has 10 million, clearly way more people are investing in one fund over another. And that can be a... pretty decent indicator." "Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac" on Yahoo Finance is dedicated to promoting economic prosperity for all. Through expert insights, practical advice, and inspiring success stories, we empower you to build and grow wealth. Join us on this transformative journey toward financial freedom and inclusive economic growth. Catch Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac every Monday at 12 p.m. EST. This post was written by Mariela Rosales.
