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Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions

General Site Disclaimer

The ETF Store Inc (“ETFS”) makes available the information on this site to present users with information, research, news and data on personal finance and investment topics drawn from a diverse collection of sources including ETFS-created content and non-affiliated financial and investment service publications.  ETFS selected and published content is not intended to provide investment, tax, or legal advice and should not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by ETFS or any third party.  Investors are solely responsible for determining whether a particular investment or investment strategy is appropriate based on their personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance.  Investors should consult with their investment, tax, or legal professional regarding their specific situation.

Copyright, Trademark, and Linking Policy

All content contained on this site, with the exception of any third party content, but including any text, graphics, video, audio, user interface design or logos, is protected by applicable copyright and/or trademark laws.  No content contained on this site may be reproduced, transmitted, displayed, distributed, published or otherwise used without the prior written consent of ETFS.  Third party content is typically available through hyperlinks to third party sites or is simply published on the site.  This third party content may be protected by the applicable copyright laws.  ETFS is not involved in the development of any third party content and is not responsible or liable for any such content, including any advertising, products, or other materials on or available from third party sites.  In addition, ETFS provides no guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or usefulness of any such content.  ETFS is not liable for any harm caused by the transmission, through access to a third party site, of a computer virus, or other computer code or programming device that might be used to access, delete, damage, disable, disrupt or otherwise impede the operation of the site or of any user’s software, hardware, data or property.

Limitation of Liability

ETFS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH REGARD TO THIS WEBSITE.  ALL CONTENT ON THE SITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”.  IN ADDITION, ETFS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SITE WILL BE TIMELY, UNINTERRUPTED OR FREE OF ERROR, OR THAT THIS WEBSITE OR ITS SERVER WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THIS SITE, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS AND EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR INJURY, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS OR TRADING LOSSES) ARISING FROM THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS WEBSITE OR FROM ANY INFORMATION, SERVICES OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, EVEN IF THIS SITE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Indemnification

As a condition of the use of this site, the user agrees to indemnify and hold ETFS and its third party content providers harmless from and against any and all claims, losses, liability, costs and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys’ fees) arising from the use of this site or from any violation of these Terms and Conditions.

Governing Law

Any claim, dispute or litigation relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be filed in the District Court of Johnson County, Kansas or in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas in Kansas City and shall be subject to Kansas law.  Any user of this site irrevocably consents and submits themselves to the personal jurisdiction of said courts for all such purposes.

Severability

If a court of competent jurisdiction deems any provision of these Terms & Conditions unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Disclosure

Disclosure

The ETF Store, Inc. is a fee-based investment adviser registered with The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Registration as an Investment Adviser with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not imply a certain level of skill or training.  The ETF Store may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements.  Clients of The ETF Store receive personal investment advice based on their specific needs as determined through an independent consultation with a professional investment advisor.  Information contained or referenced on this website, including podcasts, blogs, newsletters, research publications, articles, or links to other internet websites is not professional investment advice and should not be regarded as an offer to sell, as a solicitation of an offer to buy, or as a recommendation of any financial product mentioned or as an official statement of The ETF Store.  While The ETF Store attempts to provide accurate information on this website, The ETF Store does not expressly or impliedly warrant the accuracy or completeness of this information and investors should not rely on any information contained in this site for the purpose of making investment decisions.  Neither The ETF Store nor any of its affiliates, directors, officers or employees, will be liable or have any responsibility for any loss or damage incurred as a result of any use of the information contained in this website.  Investment decisions based on any information contained on this website are the sole responsibility of the user, who agrees to hold The ETF Store harmless against any claims for damages incurred as a result of those investment decisions.  The ETF Store makes no representations regarding the suitability or potential value of any particular investment or information source.

Consider an ETF’s investment objectives, risks, strategies, and fees carefully before investing.  For this and other information about particular ETFs that may be referenced on this website, please request a prospectus and read it carefully before investing.

For additional information regarding The ETF Store, including receiving personal investment advice through an independent consultation with a professional investment advisor or to obtain a copy of our ADV Part 2A, please contact us directly by phone at 877-365-3837 or via e-mail at theetfstore@etfstore.com.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

The ETF Store Inc (“ETFS”) recognizes and respects the privacy expectations of our customers. Confidentiality is one of the core values of ETFS and we take the privacy of our customers seriously. Customer information is always secured and only accessed by those directly involved in servicing the customer. We provide this notice to you so that you will know what kinds of information we collect about our customers and the circumstances in which that information may be disclosed.

Collection of Customer Information

We collect nonpublic personal information about our customers from the following sources:

    1. • Account Applications, advisory agreements and other forms, which may include a customer’s name, address, social security number, and information about a customer’s investment goals and risk tolerance;

 

    1. • Account History, including information about the transactions and balances in a customer’s account; and

 

    • Correspondence, written, telephonic or electronic, between a customer and ETFS or service providers to ETF.

Disclosure of Customer Information

We will only disclose the information described above under the following circumstances:

    1. • As Authorized – if you request or authorize disclosure of the information.

 

    • As Required by Law – for example, to cooperate with regulators or law enforcement authorities.

Security of Customer Information

We require service providers to the firm:

    1. • To maintain policies and procedures designed to assure only appropriate access to information about customers of the firm;

 

    1. • To limit the use of information about the firm’s customers to the purposes for which the information was disclosed, or as otherwise required by law; and

 

    • To maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard non-public personal information about our customers.

We will adhere to the policies and practices described in this notice regardless of whether you are a prospective, current or former customer of the firm.

If you have questions regarding these policies, please contact us by writing to The ETF Store Inc, 7300 West 110th Street, Suite 870, Overland Park, KS 66210, Attention: Compliance, by calling 877-365-3837, or by e-mailing to theetfstore@etfstore.com.

How Much Can An ETF Save You?

Sometimes investors ignore or don’t notice the impact of broker commissions and high fees on their investments. Now, there is an easy to use tool available at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA website. FINRA is essentially the regulator of securities brokers and other investment firms and the website makes it easy to see what these costs can do to your long-term returns – and how much an ETF might save you. The tool is pretty intuitive and can be found here.

I recently ran an analysis showing the difference in returns between the American Funds Growth Fund of America A shares (the biggest equity mutual fund of them all) and the ishares S&P Growth ETF – an ETF highly correlated to the Growth Fund of America.  I assumed I was rolling over a $90,000 401k, that each fund would grow 8%, and that I would retire in 20 years.

The results surprised even me.  At the end of 20 years, the profit on the Growth Fund of America investment was $263,894, compared to the profit on the ishares S&P Growth ETF of $322,004 – a difference of $58,110.  The commissions and higher expenses of the American Funds mutual fund had reduced the returns by over 19% – astonishing.

One more thing to keep in mind.  The results don’t reflect the impact of taxes on your returns.  If my investment wasn’t in a tax-deferred account, the differences in returns would have been much, much bigger.

Jane Bryant Quinn: ETFs “Going In For the Kill”

Since actively managed mutual funds keep cash on hand to be able to meet daily customer redemptions, conventional wisdom holds that mutual funds should outperform index funds and ETFs in down markets because the cash acts as a cushion when there is a falling market.

That didn’t happen last year.  As Jane Bryant Quinn of Bloomberg explains – in fact, 58% of all actively managed funds lost more in value than the benchmark against which they measure themselves.  (Remember that the fund companies themselves get to choose the benchmark they want to be measured by).  Small-cap managers did much worse – 72% of them missed their self selected benchmark.

According to Quinn, the benefits of ETFs – lower costs, lower taxes – combined with their outperformance in a down market, have them “going in for the kill” against actively managed mutual funds.

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