# Recommend a good sector ETF. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011 "2009-12-04T18:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/1 "2009-12-04T18:07:53Z")
I know, you’re not my stockbroker. I’m musing about putting a little bit of money into an ETF (exchange-traded fund), just for laughs. I’m no Rockefeller who’s going to invest a lot, I just want to diversify my little stash a bit, and interest rates are not tempting me to keep every penny in CD’s at the moment. What’s the word on trends in the upcoming year? Commodities? Energy? What’s your opinion? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/2 "2009-12-05T13:53:39Z")
I have a Schwab account. I’m no Warren Buffet but it gives me something to do. It’s gambling but with the guise of legitimacy. Anyway, Schwab is trying to expand their ETF trading and have some available with no trading fee. I have a S&P index fund, no load, no transaction fee, $100 initial investment that has giiven me 6% return so far. Not spectacular, but it is real easy to build the account $100 at a time with no fees. I really like the Schwab website too. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/3 "2009-12-05T19:17:01Z")
> [@The\_Surb](#): > > I have a Schwab account. I’m no Warren Buffet but it gives me something to do. It’s gambling but with the guise of legitimacy. > > Anyway, Schwab is trying to expand their ETF trading and have some available with no trading fee. > > I have a S&P index fund, no load, no transaction fee, $100 initial investment that has giiven me 6% return so far. Not spectacular, but it is real easy to build the account $100 at a time with no fees. > > I really like the Schwab website too. That’s a mutual fund that you hold. ETFs trade like stocks. You buy and sell them in share amounts, not dollars. With an ETF, you have to pay a stock commission each time you buy in, so they aren’t designed for the person putting in $100 per month. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/4 "2009-12-05T19:19:31Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I know, you’re not my stockbroker. I’m musing about putting a little bit of money into an ETF (exchange-traded fund), just for laughs. I’m no Rockefeller who’s going to invest a lot, I just want to diversify my little stash a bit, and interest rates are not tempting me to keep every penny in CD’s at the moment. > > What’s the word on trends in the upcoming year? Commodities? Energy? > > What’s your opinion? Try [Seekingalpha](http://seekingalpha.com/dashboard/etfs?source=headtabs) as good resource to do some research. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/5 "2009-12-05T22:17:46Z")
Nasdaq has [ETF heat maps](http://screening.nasdaq.com/heatmaps/Heatmap_ETF.asp) you can view daily. I like to take a gander at them periodically and see how each sector is doing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/6 "2009-12-06T01:29:47Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > That’s a mutual fund that you hold. ETFs trade like stocks. You buy and sell them in share amounts, not dollars. With an ETF, you have to pay a stock commission each time you buy in, so they aren’t designed for the person putting in $100 per month. I guess I wasn’t clear. I knew my fund was a mutual fund following the S&P. I was just saying that I thought there were some Schwab ETF’s trading at no fees and plugging Schwab because I like their website so much. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-sector-etf/520011/7 "2009-12-06T21:16:59Z")
Here’s a link to the new Schwab ETFs: > **[Home](https://www.schwabassetmanagement.com)** > > Schwab Asset Management is committed to providing a straightforward lineup of core products and solutions for building the foundation of a portfolio. No commissions if you have a Schwab brokerage account and expense ratios comparable or lower than Vanguard funds. These are one of the reasons I just moved to Schwab.