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FAQs

How do index funds differ from actively managed funds? ›

The main difference is that index funds are passively managed, while most other mutual funds are actively managed, which changes the way they work and the amount of fees you'll pay. What is an index fund? What is a mutual fund? What are the major differences?

What is an index mutual fund? It's a mutual fund that tracks a specific market index. The goal: mirror the index's holdings, activity, and return. They don't require a fund manager to actively select investments; instead, the vehicle buys a broad representation (or all) of the securities in an index.

Lower costs: Index funds typically have lower expense ratios because they are passively managed. Market representation: Index funds aim to mirror the performance of a specific index, offering broad market exposure. This is worthwhile for those looking for a diversified investment that tracks overall market trends.

When you diversify your investments, you reduce the amount of risk you're exposed to in order to maximize your returns. Although there are certain risks you can't avoid, such as systematic risks, you can hedge against unsystematic risks like business or financial risks.

In general, actively managed funds have failed to survive and beat their benchmarks, especially over longer time horizons. Just one out of every four active funds topped the average of passive rivals over the 10-year period ended June 2023. But success rates vary across categories.

A reasonable expense ratio for an actively managed portfolio is about 0.5% to 0.75%, while an expense ratio greater than 1.5% is typically considered high these days. For passive funds, the average expense ratio is about 0.12%.

Index funds offer low costs, broad diversification, and attractive returns, making them a good option for investors interested in a simple, low-cost investment. Rather than hand-selecting investments, index fund managers buy all (or a sample of) the securities in an underlying index.

Safety in Index Funds? Perhaps because of their popularity, index funds are sometimes perceived to be the safest way to invest. The benefits above are not to be ignored, but index funds are not necessarily safe investments. Put another way, they're not substantially safer or riskier than any other type of mutual fund.

The benefits of index investing include low cost, requires little financial knowledge, convenience, and provides diversification. Disadvantages include the lack of downside protection, no choice in index composition, and it cannot beat the market (by definition).

The bottom line is that even billionaires recognize the wealth-creation potential of low-cost index funds. Even if you're an active investor in individual stocks -- like Buffett and Dalio are -- rock-solid index funds like these four can help form an excellent backbone for your portfolio.

Should I just put my money in an index fund? ›

Over the long term, index funds have generally outperformed other types of mutual funds. Other benefits of index funds include low fees, tax advantages (they generate less taxable income), and low risk (since they're highly diversified).

ICICI Prudential Nifty 50 Index Fund-Growth is among India's top 10 index funds. It falls within the Large Cap Index category. Over the past year, ICICI Prudential Nifty 50 Index Fund-Growth has returned 15.09 percent. Since its inception, it has delivered an average annual return of 14.74 percent.

A diversified portfolio should have a broad mix of investments. For years, many financial advisors recommended building a 60/40 portfolio, allocating 60% of capital to stocks and 40% to fixed-income investments such as bonds.

The main problem is that an asset does not necessarily suit their goals just because it is familiar. Keeping loyalty to one or several stocks could make their portfolio undiversified. Financial theory says that before making any trades, you should carefully weigh up the potential risks and returns.

Index funds seek market-average returns, while active mutual funds try to outperform the market. Active mutual funds typically have higher fees than index funds. Index fund performance is relatively predictable over time; active mutual fund performance tends to be much less predictable.

Moreover, because many index funds do not buy and sell securities as frequently as do actively managed funds, they may incur lower trading costs. In addition, limited trading activity might make index funds more tax efficient for some investors.

The most obvious advantage of index funds is that they have consistently beaten other types of funds in terms of total return. One major reason is that they generally have much lower management fees than other funds because they are passively managed.

Active funds are generally lousy. In the past five years, 79% of large-cap funds lagged the S&P 500, says the S&P Dow Jones Indices SPIVA Scorecard. And their longer-term track record is even uglier. Nearly 88% of large-cap funds trailed the S&P 500 in the past 15 years.