Exchange Traded Funds

People love to give financial tips, but taking them can be risky. There are, however a different kind of TIPS that can have a place in many portfolios: Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. So let's take look at some tips about TIPS.

What are TIPS?

We've talked about both treasury bonds as well as Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs. For those who are interested in taking a position in treasuries, but want to do it with the liquidity of a stock, treasury ETFs can be a handy tool.

Why Treasury ETFs?

Does anyone else remember those gold prospector commercials that were all over late-night TV about five years ago?  They gave you a green pan for sifting and a booklet that gave you great places to look all across the country.  Supposedly, with those two items in hand, you were set for getting rich! 

Once again, gold fever has taken hold.  The only difference is that it’s not just the outdoorsy-type getting in on the action.  With prices tripling over the last five years, everyone seems to be seeing gold.

Why Gold?

Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs, can be mystifying to the most hardened investor. If a mutual fund and a stock were to fall in love and have a baby, ETFs would most likely be the bouncing baby produced. ETFs are like mutual funds that are traded on a stock exchange and can offer significant flexibility to your portfolio.

What is an Exchange-Traded Fund?