Investing Winner has a good article about the advantages of investing in index ETFs.
The benefits of index ETFs include:
You can also find a list of all the U.S. index ETFs in the article.
Read more at InvestingWinner.com: Benefits of Investing in Index ETFs
Important reminder that on Friday, April 22, 2011 the U.S. trading markets will be closed for holiday to celebrate Good Friday.
For a complete list of U.S. market holidays in 2011 see this post: List of U.S. Trading Holidays for 2011.
Important reminder that on Monday, February 21, 2011 the U.S. stock market equities and options markets will be closed for holiday to celebrate President’s Day (sometimes known as George Washington’s birthday).
For a complete list of U.S. market holidays during 2011 see this post: List of U.S. Trading Holidays for 2011.
A list of dates the U.S. stock and options markets are closed.
U.S. Equity and Options Markets Holiday Schedule
| Date | Holiday | U.S Equity Markets | U.S Options Markets |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 17 | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day | Closed | Closed |
| February 21 | Presidents’ Day | Closed | Closed |
| April 22 | Good Friday | Closed | Closed |
| May 30 | Memorial Day | Closed | Closed |
| July 4 | Independence Day | Closed | Closed |
| September 5 | Labor Day | Closed | Closed |
| November 24 | Thanksgiving Day | Closed | Closed |
| November 25 | Early Market Close* | TBA | Equity Options (Narrow Based) Closes at 1:00 p.m. World Currency Options Closes at 1:00 p.m. Broad Based Index Options Closes at 1:15 p.m. |
| December 26 | Christmas Day (observed) | Closed | Closed |
The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (Ticker: VTI) has been added to my Watch List.
VTI tracks about 95% of the top U.S. common stocks, totalling over 1,200 different US stocks. The stocks VTI tracks cover all U.S. markets: NYSE, AMEX, Nasdaq and OTCBB stocks.
VTI is very diversified and when you buy the VTI ETF, you’re buying a small piece of over 1,200 different stocks in the US stock markets. VTI offers a long term, low volatility play for investing. When the markets go up, VTI will go up.
Being very diversified, you may miss out on gains from investing in invidual stocks. VTI holding are very spread out, which means your total return on VTI will be about the market average. You shouldn’t expect to sigificantly “beat the market” with VTI. When the markets go down, VTI will also go down.
