Modern finance · 1950s–1990s
1993
The first US ETF
SPDR lets investors trade the whole S&P 500 like a single stock.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF began trading in January 1993. It held the index but traded on an exchange all day like a stock.
💡 Why it made sense then
Investors wanted index funds they could buy and sell any time, not just once a day.
Ideas it gave us
- 🧺 ETF (exchange-traded fund)
An ETF is a fund that holds a basket of investments, such as all the stocks in an index, and trades on an exchange like a single stock. One purchase gives you a slice of everything inside it.
Practise with $10,000 in play money
Free. No real money involved.