Exchange Traded Funds

Scope out what's available from the biggest ETF seller Barclays pioneered ETFs under the brand name iShares. Its website is a good place to see a range of ETF offerings and learn how they work.

I recommend:  Visit the iShares site for an intro to ETFs or to search their list of exchange traded funds or track ETF performance.

Find the right ETFs You can buy a gold ETF, silver ETF, oil ETF, natural gas ETF, China ETF, European drug company ETF, luxury goods makers ETF, in addition to broad based vehicles like S&P 500 ETFs that track 500 big US companies.

I recommend:  Sort through the huge variety with an online ETF screener from Morningstar, Yahoo! Finance, Investors Business Daily or your favorite financial site or online broker.

Check exchange traded funds fees - and compare to index funds Exchange traded fund fees (or 'expense ratios') should be cheap since they aren't paying big trading commission bills or big money manager salaries. ETF fees can go down to 0.15% or $15 for every $10,000 invested. But some ETFs charge far more than that, so take a close look. And the index funds are fighting back: Fidelity's Spartan 500 Index Fund charges 0.10%.

I recommend:  Compare exchange traded fund fees with the handy screener at XTF Global Asset Management. Keep an eye on the index funds at Fidelity and Vanguard to see how low they go (and check their own list of exchange traded funds while you’re there).

Start trading ETFs You can only buy ETFs through stockbrokers, so you'll need an account with a brokerage firm to get started. Online brokerages make it easy to find ETF trading symbols, see current performance and trade. Bid and ask prices on ETFs can vary by a few dollars so select 'limit order' when you buy and sell to make sure you get the price you expect.

I recommend:  With their low minimum account balances and trades costing a few dollars, online brokerages Scottrade and E*Trade are great places to try out exchange traded funds if you’re new to the game.