Firstly, a BIG congrats on starting your investing journey.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have risen to fame over the last decade or so as they allow investors to purchase a bundle of assets through the share market. We are seeing more and more ETFs launched each year, so remember that what they are actually invested in is varied - this is exciting as we have lots of different options, but can also be slightly overwhelming for new investors. 

Here are some things to get you thinking:

- What is the goal you are investing for? If there are multiple goals with very different goal timelines or risk profiles you might select differing ETFs for each so you get the right level of risk for each of your goals. The general rule of thumb is the less time you have until your goal, the more you want to be conservative (and protect your funds), the longer you have until you reach your goal, the more comfortable you may be with funds in more growth assets, that tend to perform well over the longer term but experience more volatility along the way (welcome to the wonderful world of investing!). 

 - Focus less on if they are famous of not, more on what's actually in them? Are they Aussie shares? US Shares? Exposure across many indexes? How much of the ETF is going to conservative assets vs growth assets. I have seen people think they are diversified because they have different ETF providers, only to realise the underlying assets they are investing in are the same. 

- If you are going to use a number of different ETFs you want to consider what are the trade fees on the platform you are buying/selling through. The last thing you want is them chewing up all the funds you want to invest in fees! 

- Whichever way you go, make sure you set up an auto transfer from your bank account so they money gets moved in there, and check with the platform you are using if you can create a rule that tells the plaform how you want to split any money you put in there moving forward. That removes you from the process and you can be happy knowing they are all working for your goals in the background. 

Jess

PS. THANK YOU to all of you amazing humans, who over the last 7 days, joined me to get your financial goals geared up for the year ahead. 

Have a money dilemma?

Money dilemmas can be a nightmare! They can leave you up all night ruminating about what to do, have you feeling alone and isolated or just plain ol' stuck. So, we are here to help. I am going to tackle one a week and give you my unbiased, no BS general thoughts on how to tackle your conundrum. We would love for you to send yours (or someone you know) in. 

Obvs all of this is general advice only... especially important to note any and all of the comments above do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.