The growth of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in recent years alongside an unprecedented access to investment resources by any individual with a computer has led to a major boost in the market for many of these funds. According to recently released numbers for the 2007 fiscal year, as reported in the Chicago Tribune, there are currently more than $608 billion in assets within ETFs, with almost $400 billion of that in domestically traded assets - an increase of almost 40 percent in one year. This book will provide for you a complete guide to both understanding how to invest in Exchange Traded Funds and to earn the highest possible rates of return without risking your financial future. You will learn why the ETF has become the next major addition to essentially every casual trader's portfolio, offering a viable alternative to high-fee mutual funds and Wall Street infused stock trading. You will discover the multiple ways in which you can build the stock equity side of your portfolio, through large and small growth, sector investing, international investing, and with specialized stock ETFs. In addition to standard forms of ETFs, you will learn the various forms of Bond ETFs, Real Estate Investment Trading ETFs, and Commodity ETFs for gold, silver, and other precious metals. Also, you will discover why you should include a mixture of non-ETF investments in your portfolio to remain diversified at all times. A special section detailing a sample ETF portfolio and how yours should be organized will help you understand the format and building structure for ETF investments. The keys to buying and holding successfully, a stark change from normal investment strategies, will help you learn what ETFs do differently, while the listing of rule exceptions make it easy to recognize when you will have even more options than you originally expected.Through countless hours of interviews with financial professionals and newly independent traders like yourself, you will learn exactly how ETFs are being used today to revolutionize the world of personal finance, including retirement funding, education savings, and portfolio diversification. A list of commonly asked questions will ensure that every possible question you currently have is taken care of and the top ten mistakes that every new investor makes when starting with ETFs will help keep you from increasing your risk. You will be shown the entire corral of trading options at your disposal, both online and offline, and how Internet trading can help to increase your returns even further. The vital task of risk management is touched on repeatedly within each chapter, while trading profiles help you understand which investments have been most successful in recent years. For anyone getting ready to start trading in the highly lucrative ETF market, this book is a must have tool.