More than 68 million US households own mutual funds as part of their retirement portfolio.
They predate ETFs, which weren’t created in the US until 1993.
If you’re wondering what the difference is and which one you should invest in, you’ll find it in this article.
What are the similarities between mutual funds and ETFs?
Mutual funds and ETFs are both investments created from a pool of diverse securities, though they share many similarities.
Diversified portfolio
Mutual funds and ETFs both put together a group of investments that offer broad exposure to different asset classes and niche markets. They’re less risky than owning individual stocks and bonds.
Similar structure
Both mutual funds and ETFs are investment vehicles that pool stocks, bonds, and other securities. Investors buy shares of a mutual fund or ETF rather than individual investments.
Wide variety of investment options
Both ETFs and mutual funds have buckets of investments organized around a central goal or theme. You can buy mutual funds and ETFs that invest in income, dividend stocks, real estate, healthcare, technology, energy, international stocks, emerging markets, and more.
What’s the difference between mutual funds and ETFs?
Although ETFs and mutual funds share many features, they differ in how they trade, what they cost, and how they’re managed.
| ETFs | Mutual funds | |
|---|---|---|
| Managed | Typically passive | Typically active |
| Minimum investment | The cost of the ETF, or $1 for brokerages that offer fractional share investing | A set dollar amount, or $1 for brokerages that offer fractional share investing |
| Trading | Actively trading throughout the day | Traded once at the end of the day |
| Automatic investments | Yes | Yes |
| Tax efficiency | Typically have fewer taxable events, which makes them generally more tax efficient | Mutual funds may have active management targeting tax efficiency |
| Costs and fees | Have an operating expense ratio; the cost of a share may vary | Have an operating expense ratio, sales load, redemption fees, account fees, exchange fees, and other types of fees |
ETF vs. mutual fund: How are they managed?
ETFs and mutual funds are managed differently.
Mutual funds are typically actively managed, meaning there’s a core team that tracks investments to ensure they perform as expected.
Actively managed doesn’t necessarily mean they’re making trades every day; rather, the investments are tracked and adjusted to achieve market outperformance.
Most ETFs are passively managed, meaning a manager selects investments to track an index. The investments are typically long-term investments.
ETF vs. mutual fund: Minimum investment
ETFs typically have a lower minimum investment requirement.
It’s typically equivalent to the ETF’s share price; however, some brokerages offer fractional share investing, where you can invest with as little as $1.
A mutual fund often has a higher minimum investment, which is a set dollar amount determined by the fund manager. Like ETFs, if your brokerage allows for fractional share trading, you may be able to invest in mutual funds with as little as $1.
ETF vs. mutual fund: How are they traded?
Mutual funds are traded once at the end of the day for a single price once the NAV (net asset value) is calculated. The NAV is the value of the fund’s total assets, less any liabilities, divided by the number of shares.
ETFs are bought and sold on an exchange throughout the day. The price fluctuates like a stock, so it’s advisable to watch the spread and the premium or discount relative to the ETF's NAV.
ETF vs. mutual fund: Can I make automatic investments?
Automatic investing is common with most brokerages. Most will have a process where you set up the account, choose the investments (including ETFs or mutual funds), connect it to a funding source, and set the amount and frequency of the automatic investment.
ETF vs. mutual fund: Tax efficiency
ETFs are generally more tax-efficient because of their passive nature. They have fewer taxable events than a mutual fund does. For example, an actively-managed mutual fund may sell a security, and you may need to pay capital gains (the “taxable event,” in other words).
On the flip side, an actively managed mutual fund may have tax mitigation strategies to improve its tax efficiency. These may include capital loss carryovers from prior years, tax-loss harvesting, and so on.
ETF vs. mutual fund: Costs and fees
The costs and fees for ETFs and mutual funds are calculated differently.
For example, mutual funds may not charge trading commissions, but they do incur other operating expenses, sales loads, early redemption fees, and other fees. Since they’re actively managed, they usually cost more to own than ETFs.
Fees incurred while owning an ETF include the operating expense ratio (OER). Some brokerages charge a commission to trade ETFs (some do not), and it’s also important to consider the bid and ask spread as well as the discount or premium you’ll pay above the net asset value (NAV).
What are the pros and cons of ETFs vs mutual funds?
Discuss the main advantages and disadvantages of each option.
ETFs and mutual funds both come with advantages and disadvantages. Here’s a quick summary of each.
ETFs
Pros
Diverse portfolio: ETFs offer exposure to a wide variety of investments.
Lower costs and fewer fees: ETFs generally have lower costs and fewer fees due to their passive nature.
Tax-efficient: ETFs are more tax-efficient than mutual funds.
Easy to trade: ETFs are traded on exchanges throughout the day.
Lower minimums required to invest: You can invest in an ETF for as little as the cost of the ETF, or lower, if your brokerage offers fractional share investing.
Cons
Passively managed: ETFs are great for tracking indexes at a lower cost, but they don’t aim to outperform the market.
Market risk: If the market falls, the ETF will, too.
Bid-ask spread: It can be wider in less popular ETFs, potentially costing investors more.
Trading costs: Though EFT trading costs are generally low, there are times when an ETF is expensive to trade.
Mutual funds
Pros
Diverse portfolio: Mutual funds offer exposure to a wide variety of investments.
Actively managed: Mutual funds aim to outperform the market with strategic moves.
Over 5,600 funds to choose from: You can find a mutual fund for every type of investment, focus, and specialty.
Cons
Higher fees: Actively managed mutual funds often carry higher fees.
Limited tax efficiencies: Mutual funds usually generate more capital gains taxes and have fewer tax advantages than ETFs.
Only trades once per day: You won’t be able to buy and sell mutual funds whenever you want.
Higher minimum investments: Unless you have a brokerage that offers fractional share investing, you’ll typically need to come up with more to begin investing in mutual funds.
Should I invest in mutual funds or ETFs?
Mutual funds and ETFs have similar properties for investing, and it’s possible to include both in your portfolio. You might like the management of one mutual fund, and the tax-efficient properties of a different ETF. It is possible to invest in both and see how they perform.
If you want to invest in one of the other based on their properties, you may want to consider the following:
Consider investing in ETFs if you are looking for the following:
Active trading
Tax efficiency
Fewer fees
Consider investing in mutual funds if you’re looking for the following:
Investment may outperform the market
Professional management
Your employer offers a significant retirement fund match and only has mutual funds on the menu
Bottom line
Conclude that both ETFs and mutual funds can build diversified portfolios. End with a CTA: Unbiased can match you with a financial advisor to help choose the right option for your needs.
Both ETFs and mutual funds can build diversified portfolios. You don’t need to choose one over the other: you can have both if you desire. If you need more expertise to help guide your investing and retirement needs, Unbiased can match you with a financial advisor to help you with all your retirement and investing questions.