If an index fund and a stock got married and started a family, their children would be ETFs — exchange-traded funds.

如果指數基金和股票結婚成家，他們的孩子將是ETF - 交易所買賣基金。

ETFs have inherited traits from each parent.

ETF 繼承了父母各自的特徵。

Just like index funds, most ETFs are passively managed, diversified, and low-cost.

與指數基金一樣，大多數 ETF 也是被動管理、多樣化和低成本的。

And just like stocks, ETFs are bought through a brokerage account and trade on an exchange at any time during the day.

與股票一樣，ETF 也是通過經紀帳戶購買的，並可隨時在交易所交易。

This mash-up of desirable traits has made ETFs increasingly popular investment tools.

這種理想特性的混合使 ETF 成為越來越受歡迎的投資工具。

There are over 6,000 ETFs on 60 exchanges around the world, with about $3 trillion in assets.

全球 60 個交易所共有 6,000 多支 ETF，資產規模約為 3 萬億美元。

Here's how they work.

它們是這樣運作的。

Imagine ETFs are baskets.

把 ETF 想象成籃子。

And this is the important part.

這才是最重要的部分。

Each basket holds actual securities.

每個籃子都持有實際的證券。

So for example, a bonds basket could be packed with a collection of government or corporate bonds.

舉例來說，債券籃可以裝入一系列政府或公司債券。

A solar stocks basket holds real shares in companies that make solar panels.

太陽能股票籃子持有生產太陽能電池板的公司的真實股票。

There's even a gold basket backed by — you guessed it — gold bars sitting in a vault.

甚至還有一個由金條支撐的黃金籃子，你猜對了，就是放在金庫裡的金條。

Now, let's say you had $1,000 and you wanted to buy gold.

現在，假設你有 1000 美元，你想買黃金，

The problem is, $1,000 isn't going to buy a whole lot of gold — only about an ounce.

問題是，1,000 美元並不能買到很多黃金，只能買到大約一盎司。

And it's really difficult, not to mention risky, to store your own gold.

而且，儲存自己的黃金真的很難，更不用說風險了。

What would be a lot easier and safer is to invest your $1,000 in a gold ETF.

更簡單、更安全的做法是將 1000 美元投資於黃金 ETF。

When you do that, you're not buying the gold itself.

當你這樣做時，你買的並不是黃金本身。

You're buying shares of a big basket of gold — shares that trade, just like stocks.

你購買的是一大籃子黃金的股票，這些股票可以交易，就像股票一樣。

And those are the two big attractions of ETFs.

這就是 ETF 的兩大魅力所在。

You don't need to be wealthy to invest in them, and they are simple to buy, sell, and own.

你不需要很有錢就可以投資，而且它們的買賣和擁有都很簡單。

Another draw — ETFs almost never incur yearly capital gains taxes like mutual funds can.

另一個優點是，ETF 幾乎不會像共同基金那樣產生年度資本利得稅。

You'll only pay taxes when you sell your shares in the ETF for a profit.

只有當你出售 ETF 中的股票獲利時，才需要繳稅。

It's no wonder that ETFs have exploded.

ETF 激增也就不足為奇了。

In the U.S. alone, ETFs trade about $20 trillion worth of shares a year, which is more than U.S. GDP.

僅在美國，ETF 每年就交易價值約 20 萬億美元的股票，這超過了美國國內生產總值。

It seems clear that ETFs are going to be part of the investing universe for many years to come.

顯然，ETF 將在未來許多年成為投資領域的一部分。