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Collections of securities that are bought and sold as a package on an exchange. Essentially, buying an ETF means tracking a group or "basket" of shares, bonds or commodities, and sometimes an index. You can buy an ETF in exactly the same way as an ordinary share. ETFs allow the investor to invest in a variety of securities, spreading risk and saving time. ETFs are a great way to start out in the market as they allow the investor to gain exposure to a wide range of sectors, asset classes, bonds, commodities and equity shares. The Business Day reported on the 9th of September 2021 that the JSE has 84 listed ETF’s with a market capitalisation of over R140bn.  You can see a complete list of them in your software just by pressing any letter key to bring up the "share explorer" and then selecting the tab at the top headed "ETF's". Among these securities you will find some ETN's (exchange traded notes) which invest in derivative instruments and are very different from ETF's. ETF's are cheaper to buy than unit trusts and are easier to buy and sell. From 2008 until 2021, the market capitalisation of ETFs in South Africa grew by over 600%, while unit trusts over the same period grew by just over 300%. According to the report in the Business Day on the 9th of September 2021, global ETF's received a combined inflow of more than $600bn in the first half of 2021. This is more than double compared to the same period in 2020.  For a complete list of ETF's and what they offer go to <a href="https://www.etfsa.co.za/">https://www.etfsa.co.za/</a>

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