In this article, you’ll learn the definition of index funds, how index funds work, and the various types of index funds.
Index Fund Definition
Index funds are mutual funds that are designed to track the returns of a market index. An index is a group of securities that represents a particular segment of the market (stock market, bond market, etc.). Among the most well-known companies that develop market indexes are Standard & Poor’s and Dow Jones. Index funds will hold almost all of the securities in the same proportion as the respective index. Index funds can be structured as a mutual fund, an exchange-traded fund, or a unit investment trust. Several well-known companies that offer index funds are Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price.
Passively Managed: What Does This Mean?
Index funds are considered to be passively managed because the portfolio manager of each index fund is replicating the index, rather than trading securities based on their view of the potential risk/reward characteristics of various securities. Conversely, an actively-managed fund has a portfolio manager who is buying and selling securities based on an opinion about which securities will accomplish the fund’s objectives. The fact that index funds are passively managed helps keep costs low, which in turn can boost returns in the long run. The passive nature of index funds also keeps the turnover of the holdings low, which also helps minimize taxes from capital gain distributions that apply to taxable accounts.
Fees
Index funds have expense structures that are similar to other mutual funds. As with other mutual funds, index funds have various share classes depending on the fund company (Class A, B, C, etc.) Generally, the total costs of owning an index fund are less than an actively-managed fund. However, those total costs depend largely on the fund company offering the funds and the index which the fund tracks. In other words, you can’t safely say that all index funds are cheaper than all actively-managed funds. If you want to invest in diversified U.S. large-cap index funds, you might buy the Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares (VFIAX). In doing so, your total ongoing expense ratio is a cheap 0.04% and it only takes a minimum $3,000 investment to get started. But don’t assume that all index funds are cheap. For example, there are many other index funds that track the S&P 500 Index that have expense ratios as high as 1.50% or more; that’s over 30 times more than the Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares. After you decide which index you want to buy, be sure to research the costs of the investment options.
They Come in Different Shapes and Sizes
Indexes come in many varieties. Some indexes may include nearly all of the stocks in the U.S. such as the Wilshire 5000 Index or profile a single country such as the MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ). Indexes may also be subsets of other indexes. Standard & Poor’s combines three indexes to create the S&P 1500 Composite Index (SPR) which covers about 90% of the U.S. market capitalization. The S&P 500 Pure Value Index (SPXPV) is a style-concentrated index that tracks stocks in the S&P 500 based on strong value characteristics. The S&P SmallCap 600 Growth (SMLG) includes the smallest stocks in the S&P 1500 that are considered growth stocks. In recent years, more obscure indexes have been created to allow investors the opportunity to take advantage of markets that are more specialized. Investors who want to invest in commodities, foreign currencies, or socially-responsible companies can now look to index funds.
