Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies [Paperback]

Russell Wild (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2006

It seems like every week Wall Street comes up with some new, exotic investment idea that puts your money at risk. Thankfully, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are less volatile than individual stocks, cheaper than most mutual funds, and subject to minimal taxation. But how do you use this wonderful product to diversify your investments in today’s fast-growing and ever-changing market?

Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies shows you in plain English how to weigh your options and pick the exchange-traded fund that’s right for you. It tells you everything you need to know about building a lean, mean portfolio and optimizing your profits. This hands-on guide will give you the power to use ETFs to:

• Create the stock (equity) side of your portfolio
• Handle risk control, diversification, and modern portfolio theory
• Manage small, large, sector, and international investments
• Add bonds, REITs, and other ETFs
• Invest smartly in precious metals
• Work non-ETFs into your investment mix
• Revamp your portfolio to fit life changes
• Fund your retirement years

In addition, this book covers commonly asked questions about ETFs and mistakes that many investors, even the experienced ones, make. It provides forecasts of the future for ETFs and personal spending and also provides a complete list of ETFs and Web resources to assist your investment. With Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies, you’ll soon discover what makes ETFs the hottest investment on the market!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Find out what makes ETFs the hottest investment on the market

Weigh the options and pick an ETF that's right for you

Looking for a new and rewarding way to invest? Exchange-traded funds may be for you! ETFs are less volatile than individual stocks, cheaper than most mutual funds, and subject to minimal taxation. Start profiting today — with the friendly guide that tells you everything you need to know about this increasingly popular investment.

Discover how to

• Diversify your portfolio with ETFs
• Lower your investment costs
• Decrease your tax burden
• Improve your long-term investment performance
• Invest in stocks, bonds, REITs, or commodities

About the Author

Russell Wild is a Certified Financial Planner and a Registered Investment Advisor. He is one of only a handful of wealth managers in the nation who is both fee-only (takes no commissions) and welcomes clients of both substantial and modest means. He calls his firm Global Portfolios to reflect his ardent belief in international diversification — using exchange-traded funds to build well-diversified, low-expense, tax-efficient portfolios.
Wild, in addition to the fun he has with his financial calculator, is also an accomplished writer who helps readers understand and make wise choices about their money. His articles have appeared in many national publications, including AARP The Magazine, Consumer Reports, Details, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Cosmopolitan, Reader’s Digest, and Real Simple. He also contributes regularly to professional financial journals, such as Wealth Manager and Financial Planning.
The author or coauthor of two dozen nonfiction books, Wild’s last work (prior to the one you’re holding in your hand) was The Unofficial Guide to Getting a Divorce, coauthored with attorney Susan Ellis Wild, his ex-wife—yeah, you read that right—and published by Wiley. No stranger to the mass media, Wild has shared his wit and wisdom on such shows as Oprah, The View, CBS Morning News, and Good Day New York, and in hundreds of radio interviews.
Wild holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in international management and finance from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management, in Glendale, Arizona (consistently ranked the #1 school for international business by both U.S. News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal); a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in business/economics magna cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C.; and a graduate certificate in personal financial planning from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (America’s sixth oldest college). A member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) since 2002, Wild is also a long-time member and board member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (November 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470045809
• ISBN-13: 978-0470045800
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Russell Wild is the principal of Global Portfolios, an investment advisory firm based in eastern Pennsylvania. He is one of few wealth managers in the nation who is both fee-only (takes no commissions) and welcomes clients of both substantial and modest means. In addition to the fun he has with his financial calculator, Wild is also an accomplished writer who helps readers understand, and make wise choices about their money. His articles have appeared in many national publications, including AARP The Magazine; Consumer Reports, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, The Saturday Evening Post, and Reader's Digest. He also contributes regularly to professional financial journals, such as Wealth Manager and Financial Planning.

The author or co-author of two dozen nonfiction books, Wild's latest works include One Year to An Organized Financial Life (co-authored with Regina Leeds, Perseus, 2010), Index Investing for Dummies (Wiley, December, 2008), Bond Investing for Dummies (2007), and Exchange-Traded Funds for Dummies (2007). Before those, he wrote The Unofficial Guide to Getting a Divorce, along with attorney Susan Ellis Wild, his ex-wife - yeah, you read that right (Wiley, 2005). No stranger to the mass media, Wild has shared his wit and wisdom on such shows as Oprah, The View, CBS Morning News, Good Day New York, and in hundreds of radio interviews.

Wild holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in international management and finance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona (consistently ranked the #1 school for international business by both U.S. News and World Report and the Wall Street Journal); a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in business/economics magna cum laude from American University in Washington, D.C.; and a graduate certificate in personal financial planning from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (America's sixth oldest college). A member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) since 2002, Wild is also a long-time member and a past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

The author grew up on Long Island, and after living in various places both in the United States and abroad (including France and Morocco), settled in Allentown, Pennsylvania where he lives with his two children, Adrienne and Clayton, along with Norman, the killer poodle.

Wild's website is Russellwild.com. His email is [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Introductory Guide to ETFs, March 17, 2007

By 

L. Masonson (Monroe, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies (Paperback)

Reading this 338-page book will make you a very intelligent ETF investor. Whether or not you will be successful depends on you. Russell Wild, the author, provides a solid, entertaining, and comprehensive analysis of ETFs - the latest Wall Street craze. ETFs have grown to over $400 billion in assets with over 438 ETFs in existence.

Wild begins with the history of ETFs. Then he compares ETFs to stocks and mutual funds including the tax implications of selling ETFs, and the differences in annual expense ratios. A comparison to closed-end funds would have also been helpful, since many investors are not familiar with that useful investment category.

One chapter introduces the need to open a brokerage account to buy and sell ETFs, and then focuses on the major firms offering them. Next, the author delves into the riskiness of ETFs, how risk is measured, and discusses beta and correlation. Many investors will learn a great deal about risk in this chapter, which they often neglect in making investment decisions.

The author has multiple chapters on the basic ETFs, including large and small caps focusing separately on value and growth, and then reviews sector ETFs, REIT ETFs, and commodity ETFs.

In one of the closing chapters, Wild provides sample ETFs portfolios for different risk levels, suggest that buy-and-hold is the way to go, and then provides a few exceptions to that approach. He also includes a chapter on using ETFs in retirement plans, as well as has chapters on the 10 most common questions about ETFs, and the 10 biggest mistakes investors make.

Wild includes a 12-page appendix from www.etfguide.com that contains a listing of 300 ETFs by broad categories, their name, ticker symbol, expense ratio and exchange. Since there are now 438 ETFs, this appendix is out-of-date and useless, wasting twelve pages. The reader can go directly to the website to get the latest listings.

Another appendix contains a cross section of ETF and other useful websites. Another excellent website to add to his list is www.etfscreen.com, which provides current short-term performance data after each day's market close on all the ETFs. The 6-page glossary of terms and the 14-page index all provide helpful information

In conclusion, this is simply the best introductory book on ETFs. The author provides many useful tables, charts and diagrams to bring home his key points. For those investors looking to actively trade or invest in ETFs, or are searching for profitable back-tested strategies the next book they should buy after this one is Marvin Appel's Investing With Exchange-Traded Funds Made Easy (see my review of this book on AMAZON). If investors/traders want to use a simple relative strength approach, then they should consider David Vomund's ETF Trading Strategies Revealed paperback recently released.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just ETFs, January 13, 2007

By 

Gene Retske - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies (Paperback)

Even though this book is focused on ETFs, it is far more than just that. It actually covers investment strategy in an easy-to-understand manner. It compares ETFs to other investment vehicles, and demonstrates how to balance a portfolio to meet specific investment goals. What I found particularly valuable was Chapter 16 - Sample EFT Portfolio Menus. It is broken down by investment goals (i.e. - "Racing toward riches: a portfolio that may require a crash helmet.") and has specific ETFs and the proportions to meet the stated goal.

This is the best book I have ever seen for intermediate level investors. It informs without lecturing and provides specific, actionable recommendations.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent intermediate level read, April 5, 2007

By 

W. Shang (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies (Paperback)

Mr. Wild is an entertaining writer, who breaks down what is appropriate for small, medium and wealth investors. My only wish is his chapter on sample portfolios were more detailed. I would have liked to see sample portfolios optimized for cost, risk tolerance, equity only and for those nearing and in retirement. Vanguard should consider giving away this book out to anyone opening an account with them, given how much he repeatedly triumphs Vanguard's nearly universal low fees!