Estimate Time5 min

How to shop smart for ETFs

Key takeaways

  • Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become increasingly popular and can be a low-cost way to invest in stocks.
  • When markets are struggling, low costs may matter even more to investors than they do during bull markets.
  • Even small differences in costs can have an impact on returns.
  • Investors should understand how the difference between the buying and selling prices of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) affects returns.

The first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) made its debut 30 years ago on January 23, 1993. Since then, these funds have become familiar fixtures in many stock portfolios. Despite the bear market for stocks in 2022, investors poured $505.8 billion into passive ETFs that track the performance of an index, according to research firm Morningstar. Over the next 5 years, research firm ISS Market Intelligence forecasts that ETFs and other passive funds will become the most popular way for long term investors to hold stocks. Actively managed ETFs are also growing in popularity, attracting $87.8 billion in new investment in 2022, according to Morningstar. These ETFs may be useful for bond investors because of the large and variegated nature of fixed income markets.

Part of the appeal of passive ETFS and other so-called passive investments is their low cost compared to most actively managed mutual funds. With active funds and ETFs, a manager attempts to deliver performance that outpaces a chosen index, often referred to as a benchmark. Passive ETFs and mutual funds, on the other hand, try to match the performance of a benchmark. Benchmarks may include familiar indexes such as the S&P 500, as well as custom benchmarks created by a fund's managers. Passive investments may not offer the potential to outperform an index, but they typically offer lower costs than active funds managed against a similar index or benchmark. Since 2019, Fidelity has offered investors 4 stock index mutual funds that do not charge management fees or, with limited exceptions, fund expenses.

Fidelity Viewpoints

Sign up for Fidelity Viewpoints weekly email for our latest insights.


If a fund or ETF doesn't offer the potential to outperform an index or benchmark, cost becomes more important when selecting investment options. When evaluating cost, most investors focus on the expense ratio—the annual percentage of assets that the fund charges. That is a key expense, but it's not the only one, as costs, in addition to the expense ratio, can vary dramatically among seemingly similar passive index funds and ETFs.

Here are 5 key costs to consider when checking out passive funds.

1. Cost of doing business: Expense ratios

The expense ratio is perhaps the fund cost that investors pay closest attention to. Each year, mutual funds and ETFs charge investors a fee to cover services such as investment management, recordkeeping, compliance, and shareholder services. In general, these costs are much lower for passive strategies than for active ones, but that is not always the case, and even among passive products there is a significant range of costs.

Tip: When comparing products that track the same index and whose performance is likely to be similar, expenses matter a great deal.

2. Ticket to ride: Transaction fees

When you make an investment in a mutual fund, there may be an up-front charge to buy shares called a transaction fee. Typically these are small costs, but they can add up.

If you make regular contributions into a mutual fund, each additional investment could come with a purchase fee. Say one fund is available free of transaction costs while another costs $75. If you make monthly purchases, a fee of this kind could add up to $900 a year and quickly outweigh minor differences in expense ratios.

When buying or selling an ETF, you may have to pay a trading commission. Trading commissions for ETFs are typically small, but for investors who make a lot of ETF purchases and sales, they can become substantial.

Note that Fidelity offers commission-free trades for online US stock, ETF, and option trades, as well as Zero expense ratio index mutual funds.

Also, Fidelity’s actively managed equity ETFs seek to combine the potential for outperformance* with the trading and tax efficiency benefits of an ETF.

Tip: See if your broker offers index funds without transaction fees or ETFs that trade commission-free, and weigh these benefits against other characteristics of the funds or ETFs.

3. Mind the gap: Spreads

With mutual funds, anyone buying or selling on a given day gets the same price, known as the net asset value (NAV), which is typically set at the close of the market. But ETFs shares trade on the secondary market, which means the price is set each day by buyers and sellers. The difference between the prices at which people are willing to buy and sell is called the bid-ask spread, and for some ETFs it can add up to a significant cost.

Let's say the bid for an ETF is $50.00 and the ask is $50.50. If you bought the ETF at the prevailing asking price of $50.50, then wanted to turn around and immediately sell it, you would lose 50 cents a share plus commissions. For investors who trade large volumes of shares and regularly buy and sell ETFs, those differences can add up.

Of course, you can't escape bid-ask spreads, but these amounts vary widely among ETFs.

Tip: Typically, ETFs with the highest trading volume will have the smallest spreads. So if multiple ETFs exist that meet your goals, you should consider liquidity as part of your selection process.

4. Factor in performance: Tracking error

Passive strategies are designed to track the performance of an index. That may sound simple, but it's not. To some extent, all passive products will differ from the performance of an index. This difference between ETF performance and index performance is known as "tracking error."

Tracking error isn't a cost that a fund company charges you, but it can detract from your return. So before you invest, take a look at the performance history.

Tip: Compare the performance of any index fund or ETF with that of competing products and the underlying index. All things being equal, a smaller tracking error is better.

5. Consider what you keep: Taxes

When a fund sells stocks in its portfolio to realize profits, reinvest, or raise cash to pay investors who are leaving the fund, it can create taxable capital gains, which the fund usually has to distribute to shareholders. Any taxes paid on these gains reduce an investor's after-tax return. All funds have the potential to generate capital gains, but there are differences in the way index funds and ETFs are run that may make them more or less likely to generate taxes for investors. (Learn more about fund and ETF tax differences.) And even within passive index funds and ETFs, the ways that different funds replicate indexes, manage taxes, and rebalance can all affect capital gains.

Tip: If you are investing in a 401(k) or IRA, taxes on fund distributions aren't an important consideration. If you are investing through a taxable account, though, look back at historic capital gains distributions and fund turnover to get a sense of the tax efficiency of the investment options.

Search Fidelity funds

Find investment options to meet your goals.

More to explore

Before investing in any mutual fund or exchange-traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, an offering circular, or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

*While active ETFs offer the potential to outperform an index, these products may more significantly trail an index as compared with passive ETFs.

Fidelity now offers the Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX), Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund (FZILX), Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund (FNILX), and Fidelity ZERO Extended Market Index Fund (FZIPX) available to individual retail investors who purchase their shares through a Fidelity brokerage account.

The Fidelity ETF Screener is a research tool provided to help self-directed investors evaluate these types of securities. The criteria and inputs entered are at the sole discretion of the user, and all screens or strategies with preselected criteria (including expert ones) are solely for the convenience of the user. Expert Screeners are provided by independent companies not affiliated with Fidelity. Information supplied or obtained from these Screeners is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or guidance, an offer of or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, or a recommendation or endorsement by Fidelity of any security or investment strategy. Fidelity does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy or approach to screening or evaluating stocks, preferred securities, exchange-traded products, or closed-end funds. Fidelity makes no guarantees that information supplied is accurate, complete, or timely, and does not provide any warranties regarding results obtained from its use. Determine which securities are right for you based on your investment objectives, risk tolerance, financial situation, and other individual factors, and reevaluate them on a periodic basis.

This information is intended to be educational and is not tailored to the investment needs of any specific investor.

Fidelity does not provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is general and educational in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to change, which can materially impact investment results. Fidelity cannot guarantee that the information herein is accurate, complete, or timely. Fidelity makes no warranties with regard to such information or results obtained by its use, and disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax position taken in reliance on, such information. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation.

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

The S&P 500® Index is a market capitalization-weighted index of 500 common stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation to represent US equity performance.

Indexes are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Stock markets are volatile and can fluctuate significantly in response to company, industry, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. Investing in stock involves risks, including the loss of principal.

Exchange-traded products (ETPs) are subject to market volatility and the risks of their underlying securities, which may include the risks associated with investing in smaller companies, foreign securities, commodities, and fixed income investments. Foreign securities are subject to interest rate, currency exchange rate, economic, and political risks, all of which are magnified in emerging markets. ETPs that target a small universe of securities, such as a specific region or market sector, are generally subject to greater market volatility, as well as to the specific risks associated with that sector, region, or other focus. ETPs that use derivatives, leverage, or complex investment strategies are subject to additional risks. The return of an index ETP is usually different from that of the index it tracks because of fees, expenses, and tracking error. An ETP may trade at a premium or discount to its net asset value (NAV) (or indicative value in the case of exchange-traded notes). The degree of liquidity can vary significantly from one ETP to another and losses may be magnified if no liquid market exists for the ETP's shares when attempting to sell them. Each ETP has a unique risk profile, detailed in its prospectus, offering circular, or similar material, which should be considered carefully when making investment decisions.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917

703306.11.0