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Stage Six
Index Funds, ETFs & Mutual Funds
Playbook
Stage 6 · Act 2

Index Funds, ETFs & Mutual Funds.

You don't need to pick individual stocks. Most people shouldn't. Eight lessons on the fund wrappers that do the picking for you — index funds, ETFs, mutual funds — and how to choose between two that look similar. Expense ratios, tracking error, dividends, creation/redemption, and a capstone where you build your own shortlist.

Lessons
8
Coins available
192
Badge
ETF Builder

Table of contents

Eight lessons. Ends with your fund shortlist.
  1. 01

    Index vs Active, and Why It Matters

    Most fund managers lose to their benchmark over 10 years. The fix costs almost nothing.

  2. 02

    Expense Ratios and the Compounding Drag

    A fee looks small once a year. Run it for 30 years and it's a new car.

  3. 03

    ETF vs Mutual Fund vs Index Fund

    Same underlying holdings, three different wrappers — pick the one that fits your flow.

  4. 04

    Tracking Error — How Close Is Close Enough?

    A good index fund is invisible against its benchmark. Here's how to measure it.

  5. 05

    Dividends, Distributions & Reinvestment

    Where the income goes, when it arrives, and why reinvesting it matters.

  6. 06

    Creation, Redemption & Why ETFs Stay on Price

    The invisible machine that keeps ETF prices within pennies of their holdings.

  7. 07

    Picking a Fund in the Wild

    Three real candidates, one goal — what metrics actually matter?

  8. 08

    Your Fund Shortlist (Capstone)

    Pull Stage 6 together — your personal 3-fund shortlist with its total cost.

    Capstone
Ready?

Start with why index funds usually win.

Four minutes. You'll leave understanding why the smart default for most investors is an index fund, not a stock pick or a hot manager.

Start Lesson 1 →

Key terms

Plain-English definitions for every concept in this stage.