ETF Selector

Choosing the right ETF & a list of ETFs by category

The Seeking Alpha ETF Selector is designed to help you select the right Exchange Traded Funds for your portfolio. We've listed ETFs and ETNs by asset class, explained how to use them, highlighted potential risks, and provided links to articles that discuss key issues for investors.  

The Core -- U.S. Equity ETFs

• The standard approach to building investment portfolios uses a set of cheap, standard, market-cap-weighted U.S. stock index ETFs at the core, for which we've written Core Building Blocks: A Guide to ETFs That Divide the U.S. Stock Market by Market Cap. You can also use a single ETF to cover the whole U.S. equity market, with A Guide to U.S. Total Market and Broad ETFs.
• An alternative is to use a set of sector ETFs - see A Guide to Sector ETFs.
• Less conventional approaches for the core include selecting stocks based on dividend yield -- see A Guide to Dividend ETFs, on fundamentals -- see A Guide to Fundamental ETFs, or using equal weight ETFs -- see A Guide to Equal Weight ETFs.

Foreign Stocks

• You can add exposure to foreign stocks by country with A Guide to International Equity ETFs or by sector with A Guide to Sector ETFs.

Bonds and Real Estate

• We've covered U.S. bonds with Guides to Broad U.S. Bond ETFs, U.S. Government Bond ETFs, U.S. Corporate Bond ETFs, U.S. Muni Bond ETFs and CEFs, International and Emerging Market Government Bond ETFs and Maturity-Date Bond ETFs.
• Real Estate Investment trusts are an asset class of their own. Here's A Guide to Real Estate [REIT] ETFs.

Commodities and Currencies

• Commodities and currencies have not been viewed as traditional asset classes for long term investors' portfolios. Undeterred? See A Guide to Commodity ETFs and ETNs and A Guide to Currency ETFs and ETNs.

Themes and Value

• Want to over-weight themes such as solar energy, or subsectors such as healthcare providers? See A Guide to Green and Alternative Energy ETFs, and our Guides to sub-sector ETFs: Energy ETFs, Financials ETFs, Healthcare, Pharma and Biotech ETFs, Homebuilders and Construction ETFs, Retail and Consumer Goods & Services ETFs, Technology ETFs, Telecom and Wireless ETFs and Utilities ETFs.
• If you think value stocks outperform (they did historically), see Growth and Value ETFs.

Leveraged and Short ETFs

• Leveraged ETFs are best for short term trading. Types: Leveraged Market Cap ETFs, Leveraged Growth/Value ETFs, and Leveraged Sector ETFs.
• Short ETFs can be used to hedge long positions or for short term trading. Types: Inverse (Short) Market Cap ETFs, Inverse (Short) Growth/Value ETFs, and Inverse (Short) Sector ETFs

Other Types of ETFs

• Strategy ETFs include Quant Strategy Broad ETFs, Quant Strategy Market Cap ETFs, Quant Strategy Growth/Value ETFs, and Quant Strategy Sector ETFs. See also A Guide to Strategy ETFs.
• Other types of ETFs: Lifecycle/Target Date ETFs, Socially Responsible and Faith-Based ETFs