Index Fund
InvestingA mutual fund or ETF designed to track a specific market index like the S&P 500, offering broad diversification at low cost.
Example
Example: Instead of trying to pick individual winning stocks, you invest $500/month in FSKAX (Fidelity Total Market Index, 0.015% expense ratio). This single fund holds 3,400+ US stocks. Over the past 30 years, the US total market has returned approximately 10% annually. Your $500/month at 10% grows to $1,130,000 in 30 years.