At this level we look at the past and at the mechanics behind well-known indexes. You can read how the stock market behaved during a long downturn, how long it took prices to return to their old level, and how an index decides which companies it contains and how much each one counts for. This is background that helps you read a fund page with more understanding.
We share this information to give you insight, not as personal advice. Keep one rule about stock market history in mind: past performance is no guarantee of future results. The guides assume you already know the basics, so if a term is unfamiliar, the glossary and the Beginner and Intermediate levels are one click away. Each index page explains how that index is built and what it leaves out.
History
What the dot-com bubble teaches about investing for the long run
Read what happened on the stock market around 2000 and how long it took for prices to get back to their old level.
How indexes work
Every index has its own rules and conditions. On the pages about specific funds, you will always find an explanation of how the underlying index is put together.
FTSE Global All-Cap
Read how this index covers small companies worldwide on top of large and mid-sized ones.
FTSE All-World
Read how this global index is constructed and what is in it and what is not.
MSCI World
Discover the mechanics of this index that focuses entirely on shares from developed countries.
S&P 500
View the structure of this well-known index tracking large American companies.
All-World High Dividend
Learn more about the index behind funds that focus on companies that pay out dividends.
Taxes and costs inside funds
Dutch Box 3 and ETF investing
The Box 3 concepts for ETF investors and the state of the legislation, without tax rates or advice.
Dividend leakage explained
How foreign withholding tax affects an ETF, and why it is not part of the TER.
Comparing indexes
MSCI World vs FTSE All-World vs S&P 500
Market coverage and methodology of three well-known indexes, side by side and without a verdict.
VWCE vs IWDA
Two global ETFs compared: index, emerging markets, costs and number of companies.
VWCE vs VWRL
The same fund in an accumulating and a distributing class, and what changes.
CSPX vs VUAA
Two ETFs on the S&P 500 compared, without a verdict.
Back
Return to Intermediate.