Stock indexes are collections of stocks meant to represent the market or a portion of it—they are used by investors as benchmarks against which to compare the performance of their own portfolios.

An index fund is a mutual fund or ETF composed to match the composition of a benchmark stock index and mirror its performance. For example, The Vanguard Russel 2000 ETF is composed of the same ...

Caroline Banton has 6+ years of experience as a writer of business and finance articles. She also writes biographies for Story Terrace. Laura Porter / Investopedia The cost of living refers to the ...