Investing · For fund buyers
The ETF Filter
A practical framework for choosing funds you actually understand
What you actually own, what it really costs, and a one-page checklist you can run any ETF through, in any market.
- 7-day refund if the file is unreadable or not as described
- Personalised PDF for your own use, delivered digitally
- Full source list included, every entry tagged by type
- Format
- PDF, US Letter
- Length
- 86 pages
- Sources
- 164 verified
- Publisher
- Verity E-books
About this guide
“Which one do you recommend?” is the question under almost every ETF comparison video, and it’s the wrong one to lead with. This guide names no tickers, because a specific recommendation goes stale the moment costs or indexes change. It gives you a framework instead: a repeatable set of questions you can run against any fund, in any market, at any time.
It also answers the quieter question that shows up in the same comment sections: “With fractional shares, do you actually own the shares?” Charts throughout are drawn directly from primary data: regulator studies, SPIVA scorecards, Morningstar’s fund-closure research and academic papers.
Who it’s for
- You’ve already bought an ETF, or you’re comparing a handful right now.
- You want to know what you legally hold and how a fund’s price stays close to its index.
- You invest from the US, Australia or Europe/UK: the tax and structure chapter covers all three side by side.
What it isn’t
It names no tickers, doesn’t try to time the market, and isn’t personal financial or tax advice.
Inside
What’s in the guide
- IntroThe Wrong Question
- 1What You Actually OwnThe fractional-share question, answered properly
- 2How an ETF Actually WorksThe creation/redemption mechanism, in plain terms
- 3The Real Cost of a “Free” ChoiceThe headline fee is not the whole cost
- 4Choosing the Index, Not Just the Ticker
- 5The Sector & Thematic TrapWhy thematic ETFs get launched right when you shouldn’t buy them
- 6Tax and Structure BasicsUS, Australia and Europe/UK
- 7Buying It RightLump sum or spread it out?
- 8The Selection ChecklistThe whole guide, compressed to one working page
- EndYou Don’t Need a Better Tip. You Need a Better Filter.
The evidence base
164 sources, each tagged by type
The full source list is at the back of the guide. Each entry is tagged so you can see what a claim rests on.
- Peer-reviewed research62
- Government, regulatory & medical-authority bodies45
- Licensed professional & certification bodies25
- Established institutional publishers32
Questions
About this guide
Does it tell me which ETF to buy?
No, deliberately. It gives you the questions to ask about any fund so you can decide for yourself, and the checklist to record the answers.
Do I need to have bought an ETF already?
It helps. The guide assumes you know an ETF is a fund you can buy and sell like a stock, holding a basket of underlying securities, and builds from there.
