Is it better to hold mutual funds or ETFs?
The choice comes down to what you value most. If you prefer the flexibility of trading intraday and favor lower expense ratios in most instances, go with ETFs. If you worry about the impact of commissions and spreads, go with mutual funds.
ETFs and index mutual funds tend to be generally more tax efficient than actively managed funds. And, in general, ETFs tend to be more tax efficient than index mutual funds. You want niche exposure. Specific ETFs focused on particular industries or commodities can give you exposure to market niches.
ETFs have several advantages for investors considering this vehicle. The 4 most prominent advantages are trading flexibility, portfolio diversification and risk management, lower costs versus like mutual funds, and potential tax benefits.
For instance, some ETFs may come with fees, others might stray from the value of the underlying asset, ETFs are not always optimized for taxes, and of course — like any investment — ETFs also come with risk.
Nearly all leveraged ETFs come with a prominent warning in their prospectus: they are not designed for long-term holding. The combination of leverage, market volatility, and an unfavorable sequence of returns can lead to disastrous outcomes.
If you're paying fees for a fund with a high expense ratio or paying too much in taxes each year because of undesired capital gains distributions, switching to ETFs is likely the right choice. If your current investment is in an indexed mutual fund, you can usually find an ETF that accomplishes the same thing.
At least once a year, funds must pass on any net gains they've realized. As a fund shareholder, you could be on the hook for taxes on gains even if you haven't sold any of your shares.
Both are less risky than investing in individual stocks & bonds. ETFs and mutual funds both come with built-in diversification. One fund could include tens, hundreds, or even thousands of individual stocks or bonds in a single fund. So if 1 stock or bond is doing poorly, there's a chance that another is doing well.
The administrative costs of managing ETFs are commonly lower than those for mutual funds. ETFs keep their administrative and operational expenses down through market-based trading. Because ETFs are bought and sold on the open market, the sale of shares from one investor to another does not affect the fund.
ETFs don't often have large fees that are associated with some mutual funds. But because ETFs are traded like stocks, you may pay a commission to buy and sell them, although there are commission-free ETFs in the market. To be fair, mutual funds do offer a low cost alternative: the no-load fund.
Why I don't invest in ETFs?
Low Liquidity
If an ETF is thinly traded, there can be problems getting out of the investment, depending on the size of your position relative to the average trading volume. The biggest sign of an illiquid investment is large spreads between the bid and the ask.
Leveraged ETF prices tend to decay over time, and triple leverage will tend to decay at a faster rate than 2x leverage. As a result, they can tend toward zero.
ETFs may close due to lack of investor interest or poor returns. For investors, the easiest way to exit an ETF investment is to sell it on the open market. Liquidation of ETFs is strictly regulated; when an ETF closes, any remaining shareholders will receive a payout based on what they had invested in the ETF.
Hold ETFs throughout your working life. Hold ETFs as long as you can, give compound interest time to work for you. Sell ETFs to fund your retirement. Don't sell ETFs during a market crash.
Similarly, you should consider holding those ETFs with gains past their first anniversary to take advantage of the lower long-term capital gains tax rates. ETFs that invest in currencies, metals, and futures do not follow the general tax rules.
Symbol | Name | 10 Year Total Returns (As of March 31, 2024) |
---|---|---|
PSI | Invesco Semiconductors ETF | 765.02% |
XSD | SPDR® S&P Semiconductor ETF | 610.79% |
XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR® ETF | 554.92% |
IYW | iShares US Technology ETF | 542.45% |
Market Volatility and Risk Management
Assess how the fund fares compared to its category peers and relevant benchmark indices to determine if it consistently lags. If a fund consistently underperforms over multiple periods and fails to deliver satisfactory returns, consider exiting the investment.
However, if you have noticed significantly poor performance over the last two or more years, it may be time to cut your losses and move on. To help your decision, compare the fund's performance to a suitable benchmark or to similar funds. Exceptionally poor comparative performance should be a signal to sell the fund.
You expose your portfolio to much higher risk with sector ETFs, so you should use them sparingly, but investing 5% to 10% of your total portfolio assets may be appropriate. If you want to be highly conservative, don't use these at all.
If you buy substantially identical security within 30 days before or after a sale at a loss, you are subject to the wash sale rule. This prevents you from claiming the loss at this time.
How do I avoid taxes on my ETF?
If you hold these investments in a tax-deferred account, you generally won't be taxed until you make a withdrawal, and the withdrawal will be taxed at your current ordinary income tax rate. If you invest in stocks and bonds via ETFs, you probably won't be in for many surprises.
It's rare for an index-based ETF to pay out a capital gain; when it does occur it's usually due to some special unforeseen circ*mstance. Of course, investors who realize a capital gain after selling an ETF are subject to the capital gains tax. Currently, the tax rates on long-term capital gains are 0%, 15%, and 20%.
While there is no precise answer for the number of funds one should hold in a portfolio, 8 funds (+/-2) across asset classes may be considered optimal depending on the financial objectives and goals of the investor. Further, higher allocation of portfolio to the right fund is of crucial importance.
Index investing pioneer Vanguard's S&P 500 Index Fund was the first index mutual fund for individual investors.
Ticker | Fund name | 5-year return |
---|---|---|
SOXX | iShares Semiconductor ETF | 30.70% |
XLK | Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund | 24.57% |
IYW | iShares U.S. Technology ETF | 24.09% |
FTEC | Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF | 22.79% |
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