PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Jim Wiandt TI - Is That an Elephant in the Room? DP - 2006 Sep 21 TA - ETFs and Indexing PG - 88--97 VI - 2006 IP - 1 4099 - http://guides.pm-research.com/content/2006/1/88.short 4100 - http://guides.pm-research.com/content/2006/1/88.full AB - Since ETFs were first launched in 1993, they have been compared to traditional index funds. This is not surprising because, in many cases, ETFs and index funds are far easier to compare than, for example, two actively managed mutual funds. Indeed, when an ETF and a mutual fund track the same index, they should ostensibly have the same performance. Early research on the relative performance of ETFs and mutual funds has tended to indicate ETF underperformance, but it has done so without analyzing why these differences exist. Are the performance differentials driven by structural differences between the two fund structures, or was it simply a question of differences in management style, which do not depend on fund structure and could entail more risk. We attempt to address these issues and to update the performance numbers with a comprehensive look at the data across nine major indexes.