Money WondersPlay

Funds & IndicesFunds

ETFs and Mutual Funds

Two wrappers for the same basket

Buy a mutual fund in the morning and you won't know your price until the market has closed. Why would anyone wait?

You'll find out

  • What a mutual fund and an ETF share
  • Why one has a single price a day
  • How old each one is

Why it matters

Most funds you'll meet come in one of these two wrappers. Knowing the difference makes every order less mysterious.

About 3 min6 interactive slides · 5 questionsLesson 107 · Zone 12

Play this lesson

Free to play in your browser or on iPhone

More in this zone

  1. 100FundsA Basket Instead of One EggA fund holds many investments at once
  2. 101IndicesWhat an Index IsA list that stands in for the whole market
  3. 102IndicesThe Dow Started With 12Only one original member lasted into this century
  4. 103FundsActive and Passive FundsPicking stocks or buying the whole list
  5. 104FeesWhat 1% Costs Over a LifetimeA small fee can take a big slice of the result
  6. 105Active ManagementMost Pros Beat the MarketOver 15 years, most US stock funds trailed the S&P 500
  7. 106SimplicityBuffett's Million-Dollar BetA plain index fund beat a hand-picked set of hedge funds over ten years
  8. 108Investor BehaviorDoing Nothing Is HardPeople who traded the most earned the least