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Investor Dictionary · 759 terms
Definition

ETF

What does the term "ETF" mean in the world of finance? What is meant by the term "ETF"?
ETF stands for "Exchange Traded Fund".

An ETF can be purchased on the stock exchange just like a stock can, and is a security that pools money to track the price of anything.

2D illustration of a stock market chart isolated on a light bright green background.  The meaning of the financial term ETF is explained.For instance, a S&P 500 ETF would track the price of the S&P 500.

A Bitcoin ETF would track the price of Bitcoin.

An oil ETF would track the price of oil.

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You may not know how to buy Bitcoin, but a Bitcoin ETF would give you the opportunity to gain from the upwards move of Bitcoin without actually owning Bitcoin.

In exchange for a small fee, the company running the Bitcoin ETF would pool the resources of the ETF to buy Bitcoin.

As capital flows in and out of the ETF, the manager will adjust the amount of the Bitcoin that the ETF owns.

The main goal of the people who run the ETF is to track the underlying asset as closely as possible.

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The main purpose of an ETF is to allow investors to easily track the movement of an asset that they might have difficulty buying themselves, such as oil or Bitcoin.