A mutual fund can do most of this, so let’s understand their similarities.

1. Diversification -

   Both mutual funds and ETFs offer investors access to a diversified portfolio of assets. They pool money from multiple investors and invest in securities, such as stocks and bonds. This diversification helps spread out the portfolio risk and thus reduces the impact of market fluctuations on investors' portfolios.

2. Professional Management -

   Experienced fund managers or investment teams manage mutual funds and ETFs. These professionals perform extensive research before making investment decisions.

3. Dividend Reinvestment -

   Both mutual funds and ETFs utilize the power of dividend reinvestment. This allows investors to reinvest dividends and potentially compound their returns over time automatically. This feature is popular among investors seeking to maximize their investments' growth.

4. Liquidity -

   Both mutual funds and ETFs offer liquidity to investors, allowing them to buy and sell shares at market prices. Mutual funds typically transact at the end of the trading day based on the fund's net asset value (NAV), while ETFs trade throughout the day on stock exchanges like individual stocks.

If Mutual funds can do so much of what an ETF does, then how are the two different? Let’s analyse some of the differences between these 2 investment vehicles.

1. Structure -

   While mutual funds are pooled investment vehicles that issue and redeem shares at the end of each trading day based on the fund's net asset value (NAV), ETFs transact on stock exchanges throughout the trading day, similar to individual stocks. Investors buy and sell ETF shares on the secondary market at market prices, which may differ from the ETF's net asset value.

2. Transparency -

   While mutual funds typically disclose their holdings every fortnight, ETFs provide daily transparency into their portfolio holdings. Thus making ETFs more transparent in their approach.

3. Cost -

   Mutual funds charge investors higher exit loads and expense ratios. ETFs generally have lower expense ratios than mutual funds and typically do not have exit loads.

4. Intraday Trading -

   While mutual funds do not offer intraday trading, ETFs provide intraday trading flexibility. This facility allows investors to buy and sell ETFs throughout the trading day at prevailing market prices.

The ETF calculator is very easy to use and allows you to find out the future value of your investment while accounting for expense ratios.

Step 1:

Enter the investment amount in front of “Total Investment”.

Step 2:

Enter the expected annualised return rate in front of the expected return rate (P.A.).

Step 3:

Choose the investment horizon from the bar given below “Time Period”. You can also type in the number of years in the section given.

Step 4:

Choose the expense ratio from the bar given below, “Total Expense Ratio”. You can also type in the % in the section given.

Step 5:

After inputting all the details, you can scroll down to find the following results:

• Investment Amount

• Estimated Return (absolute)

• Total Expenses Incurred (absolute)

• Future Value

1. Financial Planning -

   Using the ETF Calculator, investors can determine clear investment goals and develop detailed plans. This allows them to achieve their future goals of achieving early retirement, managing children's education expenses, and other financial milestones.

2. Future Value Prediction -

   The ETF Calculator employs complex algorithms to predict the future value of your ETF investments based on various parameters, including initial investment amount, expected rate of return, investment horizon, and expense ratio. This allows investors to find the future value of investments with a click of a button.

3. Save time -

   Manually calculating the future value of ETF investment is a tedious task and requires a working knowledge of time value of money. Therefore, by utilising the calculator, the investors can save a lot of time.

4. Comparative Analysis -

   The ETF Calculator enables investors to compare the projected future values of different ETF investment scenarios. By adjusting variables such as investment amount, rate of return, and investment duration, investors can evaluate the relative performance of various investment strategies and identify the best approach to achieve their financial objectives.