™A fund designed to track an index still incurs expenses and tracking differences; the index's published return is not automatically the investor's net return.
ETFs & Funds
Index fund
A fund designed to track the performance of a specified market index before fees and tracking differences.
Plain-English context
Put the definition to work.
Tracking an index does not eliminate index concentration, market losses, expenses or tracking differences.
Further reading and verification. Examples are hypothetical, not current quotes or recommendations. Product terms, tax treatment and market rules can change. Investor.gov — ETF bulletin