How to Invest in the Dow Jones Index – ETF Options

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, usually called the “Dow Jones index” or simply “the Dow,” is comprised of 30 large companies in the U.S. Here we'll look at how to invest in the Dow Jones index with a single ETF.

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Introduction

The Dow Jones index was created in 1896, making it one of the oldest stock indexes. It is named after its co-creators Charles Dow and Edward Jones. The Dow is criticized for being an inaccurate representation of the U.S. stock market given that it is not market cap weighted and only contains 30 companies. That said, with it possessing 30 of the largest companies in the U.S. stock market, it should be less volatile than other indexes like the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000, which is how it has played out since 2002:

At its inception, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as the name suggests, entirely contained companies involved in heavy industry. That has since obviously changed. Nowadays, the Dow represents a variety of sectors across the U.S. stock market.

Investors can invest in the Dow using the one and only ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) that accurately tracks the index: the Dow Jones® Industrial Average ETF Trust from SPDR, for which the ticker symbol is DIA. The fund carries an expense ratio of 0.16%.

DIA is available on M1 Finance. The online broker has zero transaction fees and offers fractional shares, dynamic rebalancing, and a modern, user-friendly interface and mobile app. I wrote a comprehensive review of M1 Finance here.

Disclosures:  None.

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