Quotes & Research - ETFs

The Exchange-Traded Funds Overview page highlights different information about ETF investing - including tools, news and education:

• The ETF Finder shows the different types of ETFs
• The latest ETF news
• Learn more about ETFs and how they can help you diversify
• The ETF Market Movers show the most active ETFs
• ETF quotes, charts, and other details are quickly accessible by clicking on any ETF symbol

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ETF stands for exchange-traded fund, though the acronym is commonly confused with EFT or electronic funds transfer. Just like the name indicates, an ETF investor trades this type of fund through a stock exchange, just like he would a regular stock.

Most ETFs are built to track a market index such as the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average or the NASDAQ composite index. Some ETFs hold investments in many different stocks (sometimes hundreds), and are sometimes characterized as "baskets of stocks." This makes it possible for an investor to diversify into multiple companies with just one investment.

To find out more, see our Education article What is an ETF? or visit the Exchange-Traded Funds Overview.

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The ETF Finder is a screener tool that helps you find exchange traded funds based on several different categories. They include:

• Asset Class - Indicates whether this fund generally holds assets that are equities (e.g. stocks) or fixed income (e.g. bonds)
• Style - Most ETFs are identified as core, growth or value
• Market Cap - The combined value of all of the shares of a company
• Region - The part of the world that the fund's holdings are located
• Sector - Holdings are based in one of the market's broad categories
• Sponsor - The company that manages and promotes the fund

Read more about the different ETF Finder categories.

1. Go to the ETF Finder.
2. Review the available categories; select and click on one of them.
3. Review the available sub categories; select and click on one of them.
4. Review the ETF results.

For more details on an ETF, click on the desired ETF's symbol.

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Within Research, you will have access to the latest market and investment news from well known sources such as Marketwatch. News columns include:

• Market Snapshot: An overview of stock market news for the day
• Top Stories: Keep up-to-date on major developments in the market
• ETF Focus: Stories on developments in ETF investing
• IPO Watch: Reports on upcoming and recent IPO stocks
• News Releases: Stock-specific company news releases

• To read a story: From any number of locations, click on the news headline to read the full news article. At the bottom of the page, page links and additional options are available.
• To browse headlines: To view a larger set of headlines for a given news column, select a More Articles link from various locations in the Research tab.

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ETFs are a relatively new type of investment that can be hard to understand at times. Learn more about how ETFs work, including:

• How a single ETF investment can be like buying "a basket of stocks"
• How they can help you diversify
• How they are typically built to track an index, such as the S&P 500

Read more about ETFs in our Education tab.

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Similar to the regular Market Movers tool, the ETF Market Movers displays various lists of the most active ETFs from the trading session. The tool shows the following lists:

• The most active ETFs by trading volume
• The top gainers
• The top losers
• The top requests by ShareBuilder customers

The top requests of ShareBuilder customers are ETFs purchased as a part of Automatic Investment Plans in the previous month.

Aside from the most active ETFs, there is also the Market Movers tool that focuses on stocks.

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For investors who would like to place an order subject to the ongoing markets, ShareBuilder offers the ability to place real-time trades. Orders placed during non-market hours will be entered when the markets next open.

1. Navigate to Trade > Real-time Trades (log in required).
2. Select an Action (Buy or Sell).
3. Enter the Symbol and # of Shares you want to trade.
4. Select an Order Type (Market, Limit, or Stop-Loss).
   • For Limit orders, enter the Limit Price and select the Order Expiration.
   • For Stop-Loss orders, enter the Stop Price and Order Expiration.
5. Select a Funding Source:
   • Cash Available for Investing
   • Express Funding available to Individual, Joint, and Custodial accounts)
   • Buying Power (margin-approved accounts only)
6. Click Next to review order details.
7. Once you have verified your order, click Place Order.

Once you have placed your order, you can check its status by navigating to Trade > Order Status (log in required).

Note: For buy orders, funds must be available at the time the order is placed unless you are using Express Funding.

For full commission details, please see the ShareBuilder Pricing & Rates.

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