index investing
Stock market talk is everywhere, from TV and radio, to the newspapers and the web. But what does it mean when people say that the market turned in a great performance today? What is the market anyway? As it turns out, when most people talk about the market, they are actually referring to an index. With the growing importance of the stock market in our society, the names of indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), SP 500 and Nasdaq composite have become part of our everyday vocabulary. This tutorial will define what an index is, discuss some of the major stock indexes and explain how you can invest in the stock market using index funds. Home | Dictionary | Articles | Tutorials | Exam Prep | Ask Us | Stock Simulator | Stock Community | Stock Ideas | Free Tools | Contact UsCopyright 2008 Investopedia ULC. All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertise on InvestopediaWanna own shares of some of the best-known companies in America and beat the pants off of most mutual funds? It's shockingly easy with index investing. In the next 60 seconds, we'll show you how to do it.The Dow, the SP 500, the Nasdaq 100, the Wilshire 5000, the finger next to your thumb -- they're all indexes. Each is a group of stocks chosen to represent portions of the stock market (except for your index finger, of course). Most index investments are based on the Standard Poor's 500 (the stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries) and the Wilshire 5000 (all the publicly traded companies in America). Heard of General Electric, Tupperware, and Microsoft? If you invest in the SP 500 or the Wilshire 5000, you are a part owner of these companies.A broad-market index matches as closely as possible the return of the overall stock market. What's so great about that? Most mutual funds find it hard to do. In fact, of actively managed diversified large-cap mutual funds (in plain English: big funds managed by guys and gals in fancy suits) have outperformed the SP 500 over the last 10 years. Pretty dismal.One of the reasons index investing kicks butt is because it's so cost-efficient. Index funds just invest in whatever companies are in the index. No MBA-toting analysts needed! This significantly reduces the operating fees the fund must charge shareholders, leaving more of your money to grow, grow, grow.There are two main ways to invest in indexes: through mutual funds and through "exchange-traded funds" (ETFs), which trade like regular stocks on the American Stock Exchange. ETFs that track the SP 500 include Which are better, mutual funds or ETFs? Performance-wise, i
Video index investing
News index investing
US Foreclosures Index Shows More Than 107500 Homes Lost in September
MarketWatch -
... president of ForeclosureS.com and author of The ForeclosureS.com Guide to Advanced Investing Techniques You Won't Learn Anywhere Else (Wiley), ...
Buy stocks when there’s blood on the street
Sify, India -
Eg. instead of investing only on the 1st of every month, it would be a good idea to spread the investment over 3 periods in the same month say the 1st, ...
Asian Stocks Snap Five-Day Plunge After Global Rate Reductions
Bloomberg -
``One should begin investing more, but I would certainly not characterize the environment as safe.'' The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1 percent to 92.33 as ...
Steady income in volatile times
F&C and Hua Xia Bank to form fund JV in China 
SHA:600015
Diversified holdings are still the key
Vancouver Sun, Canada -
29, the main TSX index dropped a record 840.93 points, following the Dow Jones, which plunged 777.68 points -- the single biggest drop in one day. ...
Financials, energy stocks lead the way to big losses
CTV.ca, Canada -
I’ve been investing in my RRSPs for over 10 years now, and they are worth less than the total money that I put in them. I would have been better putting the ...
Australian sharemarket loses $190bn in one week
Few escape market carnage
North American markets continue to tumble
Psyching up to buy stocks
CanadianBusiness.com, Canada -
And as one of the investing greats, John Templeton, said: “Buy at the point of maximum pessimism.” A leading gauge of investors’ fear level is the CBOE ...
Market Volatility Presents Advantage for Options Investing
Bringing Goldman to Heel Makes Options Traders Rich (Update1)
Product Development In The Age Of Indexing MOS
Stocks can provide income as well as growth
Portsmouth Herald News, NH -
That's not a bad return on investment. Most people focus on growth potential when considering investing in stocks, but there's more to this story: If you ...
US Stocks Drop; S&P 500, Dow Post Worst Retreats Since 1937
Dow below 9000 as stocks fall again
Litmus test: US earnings to start
Annual Report
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia -
... generated a return of -19.6% on the investment portfolio for the financial year compared to a return of -13.7% for the S&P/ASX300 Accumulation Index. ...ASX:CYA - ASX:CPU
Funds favour "plain vanilla" in commodities
guardian.co.uk, UK -
Pension funds, which traditionally invest for the long term, have begun investing in commodities in the last few years, attracted by their ability to ...
US gov't to buy shares in sinking banks: report
CTV.ca, Canada -
"It was a part of the rescue package that the president supported, and it gives the Treasury secretary a range of possibilities, and investing in banks ...
