Why not own the Dow Jones Industrial Average as an ETF you can buy and keep for life?

Why not?

Here is an example of what we mean when we say own the lowest cost ETFs as "Life Keepers," which are investments you buy, then keep for life.

Take a look at ticker symbol: DIA. 

It is an ETF that represents the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 stocks that has the longest history of any index: over 100 years.

What's not to like?  Look up the stocks in that average: you probably know every name.  You can own them all with one ETF.  Put in ten grand, one hundred grand, or a million dollars.  Then keep it for life!

We just did a check on Morningstar online and looked up the top stock mutual funds.  One of the top 5 in size of assets is Growth Fund of America, a broker sold mutual fund from a well regarded fund family.

Over the last ten years, through 1-26-2011, $10,000 in the DIA returned $1,000 more in performance, $14,047, versus the Growth Fund of America's $13,023.

DIA is the market!  When you hear or read what the stock market did today, you learn what the Dow Jones Industrial Average did.  So buy the market!  And pay only 0.17% in costs when you own it.  The Growth Fund of America (you will be told) has low cost, reasonable fees of 0.69%.

Sounds reasonable, right?  But that is 4 times the amount of the DIA ETF 0.17%.

Why does that matter?  Think about this.  Say over the next ten and twenty years that the market only returns 5% annually.  Will the costs matter?  Yes they do.

Assuming the same return, the difference in costs over ten years means the DIA would return $16,013 versus $14,328.   Why the difference?  Internal costs.

After twenty years, same return, DIA would grow to $25,646 versus $21,784.

Costs matter.  Add a zero to those numbers.  $100,000 would grow to $256,460 versus $217,840.  What do you think?

What do you think if you cut your costs deeply and permanently across all of your investments: stocks, income, bonds, international, etc.?

We have twenty five years experience with over one thousand investors.  We can help investors of all ages, assets, experience, and goals.

But we are no longer in the investment business.  We teach instead.

Find out why we want to revolutionize investing and make you wealthier from lifelong cost savings.  We offer a clear, compelling, easy to follow message.  We give talks, seminars, and workshops. to any size group.

We teach.  You invest.  You keep the savings.