Jim Cramer
I can't stand ETFs. These "exchange-traded funds" are an affront to my stock picking abilities. Be darned if I am going to own some instrument that has stocks I like -- and stocks I hate -- in the name of not being able to do the homework or discern among the best or the worst.
It just seems like something, still one more gimmick, Wall Street generated to take more money away from hard working people who don't know enough to do the job. Believe me, I know this is a minority position. People use ETFs everyday and they have become an important part of an individual's arsenal to diversify for those who are unsure of a sector but recognize the need to diversify. I was reading recently about the problems of the workers, for example, who toil at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and have their income and their retirement tied up with those two ne'er-do-well stocks. I know that anyone there who said "wow, this financial sector is awful, I want to be in anything but financials for my retirement" would have been well served by ETFs. I also have no quibble with the structure: mutual funds often charge too much for the same performance that an ETF can give you. The ease and simplicity of ETFs make them good tools, too, for those who don't want to set up individual mutual funds at different places. Even though I don't like them, I may have come up with that particular dilemma that an ETF can solve: China. Click here for Cramer's China pick.
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