What is 'ETF'?

ETF(Exchange-Traded Fund) is basically a type of inivestment fund that trades on a stock exchange, kinda like a regular stock. But instead of just investing in one company, an ETF holds a bunch of different assets-stocks, bonds, commodities, or even a mix of them. Think of it like a basket of investments that you can buy and sell throughout the day, just like a stock.

The cool thing about ETFs is that they give you instant diversification(since they hold multiple assets) and usually have lower fees compared to mutual funds. They're great for both beginner and experienced investors because they make it easy to invest in entire markets, sectors, or specific themes(like tech stocks, clean energy, or even cryptocurrencies).

As for the history-ETFs are actually pretty new in the grand scheme of investing. The first-ever ETF, called SPDR S&P 500 ETF(SPY), launched in 1993 in the U.S. It was designed to track the S&P 500 index(basically the top 500 U.S. companies). At first, people weren't sure about them, but over time, they exploded in popularity because they offer low costs, flexivbility, and ease of trading. Now, there are thousands of ETFs covering almost every type of asset or strategy you can think of.

So yeah, ETFs are basically an easy way to invest in a lot of things at once without having to pick individual stocks. If you're thinking about investing, they're definitely worth looking into!