A relative new comer to the investment world is the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).  You can think of it as a cross between individual stocks and mutual funds, with a mixture of advantages and disadvantages of each. An ETF trades on a stock exchange like a stock but the underlying investment holds stocks and bonds similar to a mutual fund. Like stocks, when you buy and sell an ETF you generally pay a commission.  Since the underlying securities are not being traded there are potential tax efficiencies from avoiding capital gain distributions and minimizing management fees.

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