Low-cost ETFs are a friend to investors of every stripe. Thanks to years of fee wars among competing fund providers, you can diversify your portfolio using hundreds of different investing strategies for mere pennies on the dollar.
"Low cost" (or "cheap") and "quality" are two adjectives that almost always seem to sit at different lunch tables. It makes sense – high quality tends to necessitate high cost. And where it doesn't, you're rightfully skeptical. How does "half-price Lasik" sound? What about "discount brain surgery"? "Bargain-basement electrical services," anyone? You naturally flinch at these terms because "low cost" and "quality" frequently oppose one another.
