Exchange-traded funds have been one of fastest growing fund structures created for investors in recent years.
An ETF is a basket of securities that you can buy or sell through a trading platform on a stock exchange. ETFs are normally offered on a wide range of asset classes from traditional investments to so called alternative assets like commodities or currencies. In addition, they sometimes allow investors to short markets, to gain leverage, and increasingly access to active management rather than just passive strategies. Increasingly active ETF strategies are used (active strategies are QuotedData’s raison d’etre), where a person/manager picks the portfolio, typically with the aim to outperform and index/benchmark. More information on active ETFs will be announced soon.