What Are Index Funds? An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a financial market index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500). An index mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses
What Are Index Futures? The term index futures refers to futures contracts that allow traders to buy or sell a contract that is derived from a financial index today to be settled at a future date. Originally intended for institutional investors, index futures are now open to individual investors as well. Traders use these contracts
What Is Index Investing? Index investing is a passive investment technique that attempts to generate returns similar to a broad market index. Investors use this buy-and-hold strategy to replicate the performance of a specific index—generally an equity or fixed-income index—by purchasing the component securities of the index, or investing in an index mutual fund or exchange traded fund (ETF) that
What Is an Index-Linked Bond? An index-linked bond is a bond in which payment of interest income on the principal is related to a specific price index, usually the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This feature provides protection to investors by shielding them from changes in the underlying index. The bond’s cash flows are adjusted to
What Is an India ETF? An India exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a financial instrument designed to track the performance of a basket of securities listed on a stock exchange in India. An India ETF may mirror the returns of a major index, group of sectors or different cap sizes, providing investors with broad exposure to the burgeoning Indian
What Is the Indian Employment Credit (IEC)? The Indian employment credit (IEC) was a federal tax credit offered by the United States government to employers who hired enrolled members of Indian tribes or their spouses. The credit—equal to 20% of qualified income and benefits—was designed to create an incentive for employers to hire Indigenous Americans
What Is an Indicated Dividend? An indicated dividend is the estimated amount of cash dividends that will be paid on a share of stock during the next 12 months based on the dividends that were paid in the past. It is a projection, or estimate, of future income potential based on the company’s prior track
What Is Indicative Net Asset Value (iNAV)? Indicative net asset value (iNAV) is a measure of the intraday net asset value (NAV) of an investment. INAV is reported approximately every 15 seconds. It gives investors a measure of the value of the investment throughout the day. Key Takeaways Indicative net asset value (iNAV) is a
What Is the Indicative Match Price? In the securities market, the indicative match price is the price at which the maximum volume of orders can be executed at the time of an auction. If two or more prices can maximize executable volume or, in other words, there are multiple indicative match prices, the auction occurs
What Is an Indifference Curve? An indifference curve is a chart showing various combinations of two goods or commodities that leave the consumer equally well off or equally satisfied—hence indifferent—when it comes to having any combination between the two items that is shown along the curve. For instance, if you like both hot dogs and
