Exchange-Traded Fund; an investment fund traded on stock exchanges like individual stocks, typically tracking an index, commodity, bonds, or basket of assets. Combines features of mutual funds and stocks.
Acronym formed from 'Exchange-Traded Fund'. The concept emerged in the 1990s, with the first ETF launched in 1993. The term reflects the fund's key feature of being tradeable on exchanges like stocks.
ETFs revolutionized investing by democratizing access to diversified portfolios - you can now own a piece of the entire S&P 500 or gold market for the price of a single share, something that would have required massive capital before!
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