Trillions

The ETF Story 5: The Sleeper

<p>SPDR S&amp;P 500, or SPY, is the world’s largest ETF today with about $240 billion in assets, but it wasn’t much to look at when it debuted in 1993. Some days it was on “volume life support,” trading as little as 18,000 shares; there was even talk of pulling the plug. Yet true believers, guerrilla marketing, and a booming 1990s stock market helped the product gain favor. And once SPY took off, the markets were forever changed. This episode also explores how SPY soon inspired a host of other ETFs, from international and sectors to fixed income and gold.</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>

Money goes where it's treated best. That simple truth is a big reason why more and more money—trillions, in fact—flows into a powerful, low-cost tool that's quietly transformed investing in recent years. Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, let you invest in everything from the stock market to gold like never before. This biweekly podcast will demystify them—and delight you in the process.