FYI: When exchange-traded funds were invented, they were advertised as funds that trade like stocks. (The same could be said of closed-end funds, but those investments came with an asterisk. Sellers of closed-end funds received what buyers would pay, not the calculated value of the underlying assets. ETFs, in contrast, were structured to deliver the full amount.)
Jack Bogle’s response: Why would everyday investors want funds that behave like stocks? That institutions might employ ETFs, rather than futures, to hedge their portfolios was understandable. But there seemed no point in giving retail shareholders additional flexibility. Allowing them to trade immediately would encourage ill-informed, impulsive decisions.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/927812/why-etfs-succeeded-for-retail-investors.html
