Index funds are mutual funds that seek only to mirror the performance of an underlying stock market index — not to outperform it. Millions of investors hold them in their portfolios because they ...

One of the easiest ways to get started investing is through index funds. What we'll cover How index funds work Index investing is a form of passive investing Index investing with a brokerage ...

Index funds, by definition, aim to mirror a particular market index, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite Index or the S&P 500. Since they contain largely the same ...

Smaller potential returns: By definition, passive funds pretty much never beat their index, even during times of turmoil, as their core holdings are locked in to track the market. Only a small ...