InsiderFlow › Guides › How to Choose an ETF: the Complete Checklist
Thousands of ETFs exist, but the selection criteria that matter are few. This checklist covers 90% of decisions.
First decide what you want to buy (whole world, S&P 500, Europe, sectors), then find the best ETF tracking it. An MSCI World or FTSE All-World ETF is the classic core: thousands of companies, dozens of countries, one instrument.
Below 0.2% for a global ETF is competitive; above 0.5% requires a good reason. The difference looks tiny but compounds: 0.3% a year over 30 years costs several percentage points of final capital.
Above $500 million in assets and 5 years of life, the risk of the ETF closing is negligible and trading spreads are tight.
Accumulating reinvests dividends automatically (more efficient for growing capital); distributing pays them out (useful if you want periodic income).
Physical replication actually buys the index's securities; synthetic uses derivatives. For big liquid indexes physical is the standard; synthetic makes sense in niche markets.
Don't collect ETFs: two or three suffice for a complete portfolio. Simplicity is a strategy, not a compromise.