Exchange-Traded Funds

Learn the calculation process for the Sortino ratio formula and discover new skills to evaluate downside volatility and potential losses in your portfolio.

LEAPS® options provide a helpful alternative for investors caught between whether to buy a stock or a short-term options contract. Learn more in this overview.

Learn more about the TD Ameritrade Income Estimator tool, which calculates the potential impact of fluctuations in dividend stocks and ETFs on future income.

Discover the importance of bond duration as interest rates continue to rise in the United States. Read about the definition and how it gauges interest rate risk.

What is the Information ratio? The Information ratio (IR) measures the risk-adjusted returns of a particular asset or portfolio against a benchmark. Learn more.

Learn how to calculate the Sharpe ratio to gauge risk, compare investments, and make informed decisions based on risk-adjusted returns in your portfolio.

What is a stock ticker symbol, and how do you read it? Stock symbols are abbreviated company names. Learn more about how to read ticker symbols in this overview.

Learn more in this guide about how to invest in mutual funds, which can help diversify your portfolio and provide exposure to many parts of the market.

Start the new year off right by making resolutions for your portfolio. Consider evaluating your portfolio regularly, trimming off unwanted assets or liabilities, learning new investing skills, saving regularly, and planning early.

For long-term investors, $0 commissions for online trades can be a double-edged sword. Cheaper trading can make it easier to diversify, but it can also be an extra reason to be cautious.

If a big expense is staring you down, here are some short-term investment strategies to carefully keep in mind when deciding how to invest to meet your goal.

Traders have special considerations around tax time, including Form 8949 and Section 1256 contracts. Here are some instructions for tackling the extra filing.

When ETFs lose (or make) more than the market, you might be holding an inverse or leveraged ETF. Learn what leveraged or inversed ETFs are and how to benefit.

Index funds are a common choice among long-term investors. Learn more about how to invest in index funds within different sectors and industries in this primer.

Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds incur expenses, which can be passed on to the fund’s investors. The expense ratio, expressed as a percentage, represents the annual fee a fund charges its investors or shareholders.

Learning how to invest can feel like exploring a new or unfamiliar city. Branch out and discover investing styles and advanced concepts in this overview.

Wash sale tax rules have been recently reported by brokers as wash sale adjustments as part of covered cost-basis reporting. Learn more about the breakdown here.

When your broker or financial advisor recommends that you read an investment or fund prospectus, it’s for a good reason. A prospectus can offer clues to help you assess an investment’s risks.

A good defense is the best offense, right? It’s sometimes true for investing as well. Learn more about defensive stocks and defensive sector investing.

Learning how to invest in silver can be a great defensive strategy for portfolios, especially when equity markets are trending lower or interest rates are low.

What’s the difference between ETFs vs. mutual funds? Learn how some investors choose ETFs and mutual funds to pursue portfolio diversification.

Are you looking to include gold in your portfolio? Learn the different ways to invest in gold such as ETFs, stocks, futures, options, and physical gold. Learn the pros and cons.

Crude oil futures are one of the most actively traded in the world. Understand the different ways an investor might participate in the crude oil market.

Market volatility and market inflation can destroy investment value. Here’s how investors can account for both in their long-term portfolio strategy.

To follow or bet against the crowd? Learn how the put/call (P/C) ratio is calculated and how to use the P/C ratio as an indicator of stock market sentiment.

Learn about basic capital gains tax on investment rules and tax-loss harvesting strategies to help maximize after-tax returns and potentially reduce the amount you owe.

How do you buy and sell bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency? Learn the basics of bitcoin, blockchain technology, and any risks before jumping in to the cryptocurrency pool.

A case can be made for both growth stocks and value stocks. But which way should an investor’s portfolio lean as the economy emerges from COVID-19?

When bonds and dividend yields can’t keep pace with inflation, how should investors plan for retirement? One idea is to take a total return approach.

Know about the most popular exchange-traded fund categories you are likely to come across so you can do your top-down analysis before deciding which ETFs to trade.

Financial Literacy Month is a good time to think about your financial wellness. Have you set goals, and are you on track to get there?

At 54.5% of global market capitalization, the U.S. stock market is by far the world’s largest. Learn about the exchanges and order-fill platforms that make up this trading ecosystem.

In a post-pandemic economy, small cap stocks may be emerging as an early beneficiary. Should you add them to your portfolio? Here’s what investors should know.

ESG investing has gained traction in recent years, but not all funds are the same. How do you know if your investments are aligned with your personal ESG hierarchy?

The value of an investment is impacted not just by returns in its local market, but also by the value of the currency in which it's denominated. How might dollar fluctuation impact your portfolio and what can you do about it?

Now that the elections are settled, some new certainty can help guide investment choices. Contemplate long-term fundamentals and portfolio diversification.

Starting the new year fresh can be a great idea. Despite the drop and pop we saw last year, it may still be a good time to think about resetting your trading strategies and get a fresh start.

Whether you're buying groceries, filling your tank with gas, or shopping for your next home, understand how different types of futures contracts could have influenced their prices.

Considering exchange-traded funds (ETFs)? Understand fit, style, and value before you shop.

Got kids? Learn how to teach them about money, especially during their teenage years. Here’s what you need to know about investing for teens.

Beyond the world of stocks and bonds lies another category of assets: alternative investments. Learn about commodities and other alternative types that may be available to retail investors.

What are contango and backwardation? It’s all about the future: whether deferred-month futures contracts are priced higher than the front months. Learn why a market might be in contango or backwardation.

Use thinkorswim to analyze exchange-traded funds, find stocks that are trading above a 200-, 100-, or 50-day simple moving average, and look up stock symbols quickly.

Markets—and the economy in general—tend to run in cycles, and each phase tends to favor certain sectors. Learn how sector investing can help investors seek specific objectives.

When market volatility throws a wrench into diversification strategy, some investors consider alternative investments. Here’s a look at the world beyond stocks and bonds.

Gaming isn’t just for fun; it’s becoming a big business as well. If you’re looking for ways to approach potential esports investing opportunities, here are some things to consider.

If you want to invest in a high-priced stock and can only afford to buy a few shares, you may want to consider other investment choices that give you similar exposure without paying the high price tag.

Are you a shareholder and want to have some say in a company’s decisions? Vote your proxy.

Large caps might get a lot of attention, but small-cap stocks are still a popular investment subset. And it’s important to track them separately from their larger siblings. Learn about small-cap stocks and the Russell 2000 Index.

Index funds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Actively managed funds versus passive management. What do all these terms mean? Here’s a breakdown for investors.

What is a smart-beta ETF? Explore what qualifies as a smart-beta fund and what systems define this type of ETF.

In these times of stock market volatility, many investors are looking for yield in fixed income and dividend stocks. However, there’s risk in these investments, too, so know what you’re getting into.

Fake news and misinformation about a company can negatively impact share prices, and even if it’s a temporary price move, investors can get caught flat-footed. Here’s how you can help protect yourself and your portfolio.

Looking to target income in a portfolio, but you'd also like to participate in any growth potential and aim for diversification? You might consider dividend ETFs. Here's why.

New to income investing? Learn about three approaches: dividends from equity holdings, interest from bonds and fixed-income securities, and income from a multi-asset portfolio. Each comes with its own potential benefits and risks.

What positive practices in environmental friendliness, corporate governance, and positive employee relations make different companies qualified to be called “socially responsible”?

With TD Ameritrade offering an expanded list of ETFs available for overnight trading, investors can react to tariff-related and other overseas news as it happens.

As trade war fears heat up between the U.S. and some of its major trading partners, some investors may be looking for tariff protection. Here are some things to consider as you aim for a “trade-war-proof” portfolio.

Thinking of futures as just another asset class, let's start with the basics: how to use capital efficiently, speculate, and hedge with futures.

Looking for volatility exposure? Learn about volatility products including VIX options.

Investors seeking to profit from a market downturn or looking for portfolio protection have several shorting alternatives. Here are three of them.

ETFs may be used to produce a stream of income, and offer potential benefits of portfolio diversification.

Socially responsible investing, which lets you align your portfolio with your values, has grown in popularity in recent years, bolstered by product innovation. Learn more here.

Learn how retail investors, even those with limited funds, can pursue a diversified portfolio mix using exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investing in ETFs can provide exposure to a wide variety of markets, sectors, and asset classes.

Want to find a balance in your portfolio between stocks and funds? Learn why exchange-traded funds could be worth a look.

Junk bonds—or high-yield bonds—can be quite risky, but may still have a place in a portfolio.

Learn about the VIX and other volatility indexes and how some investors use them to assess potential risk.

Diversification is your safe harbor for investments, and exchange-traded funds might be one port to drop anchor.

Investment in alternative energy companies and ETFs may offer rewards, but also come with risks. Here are some considerations.

The world’s information, and the infrastructure that supports it, is shifting to cloud-based computing and the companies that provide it.

ETFs have matured but they’re not done evolving. Morningstar’s Scott Burns urges income-seeking investors to expand their minds and their research.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) allow individual investors a shot in the big world of emerging and frontier markets. Risks apply.

Ask yourself if your investing goals and personality traits favor active or passive strategies—or combining the best of both in a smart beta approach.

Only pros care about interest-rate trading, and bonds are boring, right? Not so fast. There’s more to them than meets the eye. Pros don't have all the fun.

The rising costs and spotty track record of actively managed funds leads some investors straight to indexing. Others are looking for their stock market savior.

Our chief market strategist breaks down the day's top business stories and offers insight on how they might impact your trading and investing.

A winning well -thought- out investment plan requires you need to dig deeper to get an edge on the crowd. Here’s a few secondary ways to play big themes.