With index investing you follow an index. This is a collection of investments (think of shares or bonds) that follow the performance of a market or sector. From emerging markets to a specific country, from commodities to the tech industry.
Index investing is a form of passive investing, where you focus on the long term and you don’t need to watch the market all the time.
Examples of well‑known indices (plural of index) are:
AEX: the 30 largest listed Dutch companies
S&P 500: the 500 largest listed American companies
MSCI World: follows stock markets worldwide
ETF is short for Exchange Traded Funds. These are traded on the stock market. ETFs are also called index trackers or simply trackers, because you follow a specific index with them. To trade ETFs directly, you need an investment account.
Did you know that at ING you can easily invest in investment funds and ETFs from our ING ETF Top selection, without paying transaction costs?
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Why index investing through ETFs?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"An ETF aims to give you the same return as the underlying market (minus the ETF’s costs). Does an index go up by 5%? Then the ETF on that index has about the same return. This also applies when the index goes down.
Index investing without an ETF sounds nice, but try buying the shares of the 500 largest listed companies in the United States all at once. With an ETF you can very easily follow such a whole index. And your invested money is immediately well spread out.
Do you buy several ETFs in different markets and sectors? Then your diversification is even better.
"},"alignedImage":{"position":"right","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/333597f3-22fc-4d02-9d8a-a4bedfff80e7/Basket-with-lots-of-shopping_Spot","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/46ba264ff08b5969/original/Basket-with-lots-of-shopping_Spot.svg","extension":"svg"}},{"componentType":"accordion","accordionList":[{"title":"Risks of index investing with ETFs","richBody":{"value":"Investing comes with risks. This also applies to index investing with ETFs. The price of an ETF can go up and down. ETFs do help with spreading your investments, because they can contain many different companies in different sectors and countries.
Index investing with ETFs is becoming more and more popular. Before you start, make sure to check the advantages and disadvantages carefully.
"}},{"componentType":"comparisonCards","comparisonCardList":[{"title":"Advantages of investing in ETFs","usps":[{"body":"Automatically invest with good diversification.","iconType":"check-mark"},{"body":"By buying ETFs, you follow all the companies in the index that the ETF tracks","iconType":"check-mark"},{"body":"More than 1,000+ ETFs and investment funds available in different themes and regions","iconType":"check-mark"},{"body":"For investment funds and ETFs from the ING ETF Top Selection, you do not pay transaction costs","iconType":"check-mark"}]},{"title":"Disadvantages of investing in ETFs","usps":[{"body":"The ETF you buy follows the index of your choice, but nothing more than that;","iconType":"cross"},{"body":"The return of your chosen ETF will normally differ very little from the index it follows.","iconType":"cross"},{"body":"With an investment fund or a share, the return can differ strongly from this index — both upwards and downwards.","iconType":"cross"}]}],"title":"Advantages of investing in ETFs,Disadvantages of investing in ETFs"},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Starting with index investing"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"From index investing through self‑selected ETFs (with your Self‑Invest account) or by investing in one of the 4 ready‑made ING Global Index Portfolio funds with Easy Investing. There is a first time for everything.
Only with Self‑Invest can you do index investing in self‑selected ETFs.
"}},{"componentType":"cards","cards":[{"componentType":"productCard","cardType":"product","cardSize":"small","title":"Investing for beginners","intro":"Check the handy step‑by‑step plan, 3 beginner mistakes and more","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/4195d930-98d2-498e-997f-df45f3b60fd5/vermogenthemas-4","type":"image","width":160,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/5195559bfb83868b/original/vermogenthemas-4.svg","extension":"svg"},"link":{"url":"/en/personal/investing/investments-at-ing/investing-for-beginners"}},{"componentType":"productCard","cardType":"product","cardSize":"small","title":"Starters kit","intro":"Learn the basics of investing with videos, podcasts and articles (Dutch only)","image":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/d3cb8c75-9e6d-4c58-b8a0-6eecff00ff67/DAT-glass-jar-money-hand-no-padding-png","type":"image","width":1802,"original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/515c68abea1edf94/original/DAT-glass-jar-money-hand-no-padding-png.png","extension":"png"},"link":{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggen-starterskit"}}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How can you do index investing at ING?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"You can invest with us in 3 different ways. Only with Self Invest (Zelf op de Beurs) (Dutch only) can you do index investing in self‑selected ETFs. In the other cases, we make sure your investments are well diversified. Tip: Check this handy decision tool (Dutch only) and find out in 1 minute which way of investing fits you best.
"}},{"componentType":"actionAccordion","actionAccordionList":[{"title":{"value":"Self Invest
"},"icon":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/eb3d520a-f5ff-41a7-8cef-dfac9e47ec8e/Savings_goals-Tools_Outline","type":"image","width":32,"altTextNL":"\"\"","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/6c368d3243c21e12/original/Savings_goals-Tools_Outline.svg","extension":"svg"},"paragraphs":[{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"Buy and sell independently","richBody":{"value":"Easy Invest
"},"icon":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/a7d6cbed-1598-4833-9544-de6d8e2f3a10/Transactions-Payment_Request_Euro_Outline","type":"image","width":32,"altTextNL":"\"\"","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/6716bef44a00873b/original/Transactions-Payment_Request_Euro_Outline.svg","extension":"svg"},"paragraphs":[{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"The ready-made solution, hardly any effort","richBody":{"value":"Portfolio Management
"},"icon":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/d7d8e226-2676-40af-b3c1-e8c201ff9aa6/Persons-Person_At_Desk_Outline","type":"image","width":32,"altTextNL":"\"\"","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/2050bd366329d143/original/Persons-Person_At_Desk_Outline.svg","extension":"svg"},"paragraphs":[{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"With guidance from an adviser","richBody":{"value":"Pension Invest
"},"icon":{"transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/2f6736b7-8c7c-45c8-92de-d2f9861ddd89/Products-Umbrella_Outline","type":"image","width":32,"altTextEN":"bank account with insurance","altTextNL":"zichtrekening met verzekering","altTextFR":"compte bancaire avec assurances","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/390b6cf5d71f8890/original/Products-Umbrella_Outline.svg","extension":"svg"},"paragraphs":[{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"Invest now to enjoy later","richBody":{"value":"We do not give you advice on what to buy. Which ETF you choose depends on your investment strategy and approach.
Important for index investing with ETFs:
Know which index the ETF tracks and which stocks are included in that index.
Check whether the ETF is well diversified.
Be aware of the risks you can face when investing in ETFs.
You can start investing with any amount. If you buy an index tracker (ETF) via Self Invest, keep in mind costs such as the service fee and (possible) transaction costs.
Good to know: you do not pay transaction costs for buying and selling mutual funds and the ETFs from the ING ETF Top Selection. For other ETFs you pay the same transaction costs as for stocks.
"}},{"title":"What else can I buy at ING besides ETFs?","richBody":{"value":"ETFs (index trackers) make it much easier to invest in an index.
You can also invest with us in a global range of stocks, mutual funds and bonds, as well as more complex investments (such as structured products, leveraged products and options).
See how investment instruments work (Dutch only)
Investing involves risks and costs. You can lose (part of) your deposit. Read more about the risks of investing and how you can limit them.
*This translation is intended for the customer’s convenience only. In the event of any inconsistency between the English translation and the original Dutch version, the original Dutch version shall prevail.
"}},{"componentType":"linkList","iconTitle":{"title":"Alles over"},"textLinks":[{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggingsinstrumenten-aandelen","text":"Aandelen"},{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggingsinstrumenten-beleggingsfondsen","text":"Beleggingsfondsen"},{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggingsinstrumenten-gestructureerde-producten","text":"Gestructureerde producten"},{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggingsinstrumenten-obligaties","text":"Obligaties"},{"url":"/particulier/beleggen/hoe-werkt-beleggen/beleggingsinstrumenten-opties","text":"Opties"}]},{"componentType":"linkList","iconTitle":{"title":"Discover more about investing"},"textLinks":[{"url":"/en/personal/investing","text":"Investing with ING"},{"url":"/en/personal/investing/sustainability","text":"Sustainable investing"},{"url":"/en/personal/investing/how-does-investing-work","text":"How does investing work"},{"url":"/en/personal/investing/ing-investment-office","text":"ING Investment Office"},{"url":"/en/personal/investing/market-news-and-views","text":"Market news and views"}]}]}}}