Funds: ETFs and Russian BPIFs
How an exchange-traded fund differs from a mutual fund, where the fee comes from, and what tracking error means in practice.
7 articles
How to choose a fund: five checks in orderThe name and last year's return are the worst criteria. What to look at instead.
Gold funds: how they differ from the metalAn exchange-traded fund, an unallocated metal account and a bar carry different risks and different taxes.
Active and passive management: what the fee buysOne approach tries to beat the index, the other to replicate it more cheaply. The difference in fees is known in advance; the difference in results is not.
Money market funds: where cash waits between decisionsAn instrument with little price movement, used as a temporary home for cash. Not risk-free, but close to it.
What is actually inside a fundA fund's name describes the intention; its holdings describe reality. They do not always agree.
Tracking error: how far a fund trails its indexA fund is not obliged to replicate an index exactly, and the gap accumulates. Where it comes from.
BPIF, ETF and mutual fund: three forms of one ideaA basket of securities bought in a single trade. They differ in legal form, in how they trade, and in who keeps them tracking the index.