Index funds are passive investment vehicles that are strongly featured in many portfolios around the world. But, how do you identify them? Do they have a ticker symbol?
Index funds have a ticker symbol. They have a five-digit symbol that typically ends with an ‘X.’ The first four letters are generally derived from the fund’s name, but not in all cases. You can tell if a fund is an index fund by the number of letters in the ticker (5) and the X symbol.
The rest of the article will examine how ticker symbols came to be, why they are important, and everything you need to know about leveraging them to identify mutual fund and ETF based index funds.
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Table of Contents
What Are Ticker Symbols?
Ticker symbols refer to an arrangement of symbols made up of mostly English letters. They represent specific securities and assets traded publicly or those listed on an exchange.
Any firm or fund that wants to issue its securities in the public marketplace is often mandated to choose a ticker symbol according to specific rules. Investors and traders use these symbols to find the specific securities and initiate transactions on them. They may also use the symbols to monitor performance. All ticker symbols are unique to the security they’re assigned to.
How Ticker Symbols Came Into Being?
The modern letter-only ticker symbol in the U.S was first developed by Standard and Poor’s and was approved by the SEC, NASD, and other exchanges. Before the uniform approach was adopted, one fund could have different symbols for its securities across different markets and exchanges.
The S&P borrowed the “ticker” name from the sound made by ticker-tape machines of the past. The machines were fairly common amongst financial firms but have now been replaced by digital tickers.
The initial format approved by the SEC mandated that exchange-traded stock symbols have three letters or less while those that trade on the NASDAQ or over the counter should have 4-5 letters. However, these rules have since been abandoned after more companies began to trade over the counter and on exchanges.
For years, companies used ticker symbols that were essentially an abbreviation of the brand name (MSFT for Microsoft or AMZN for Amazon).
However, there are a lot more variations in this area as some companies have unconventional tickers. For example, Sun Microsystems uses JAVA as their ticker symbol—borrowed from their most popular product.
Others use suggestive or playful symbols that are somehow still relevant to the company. For example, the symbol for the Asia Tiger Fund is GRR, while Cedar Fair Amusement Company has FUN as its ticker.
Identifying Mutual Fund Tickers
Mutual funds have long and technical names, so they use catchy or easy-to-remember symbols to enhance their marketability and indicate the portfolio’s constitution.
All mutual fund tickers have an “X” at the end of their symbol. The symbol features five letters (the X included). A money market fund will have two Xs at the end of the ticker.
The distinction sets them apart from other ticker symbols at a glance. Once you’re on a list of securities tickers and find any five-digit options that end with an X, that’s a mutual fund. The tickers aren’t always catchy or easy to remember. However, they often feature letters from the fund’s name. It’s why you’ll find TDMTX as the ticker for Templeton Developing Markets Trust Class C and MCSMX as the ticker for Matthews China Small Companies Fund.
However, some tickers don’t have such connections to the fund name. For example, the ticker for Virtus AllianzGI Technology Fund Class C is RCGTX, while the one for Transamerica Capital Growth Fund Class C is ILLLX.
Apart from ensuring quick distinction, the extra X added to distinguish mutual fund tickers increases the ticker possibilities available to fund companies. If all the securities in the market were forced to stick to four symbols, it would severely limit the combination of tickers available to businesses. Adding a classifying ticker symbol (an X in this case) increases the ticker options available for selection.
Identifying ETFs Tickers
ETFs don’t have a defined approach to their ticker options. Unlike mutual funds with five-digit symbols ending in an X, an ETF can have a 3-5-digit symbol ticker. However, the vast majority of them have tickers with three or four letters.
Like mutual funds, the tickers are usually a selection of letters from the fund name but may also be an abstract choice. The letters may also reflect the composition of the fund. For example, QQQ is an exchange-traded fund by Invesco that tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, while the QQQE is an equal-weighted ETF also tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index. You can find a list of other popularly traded ETFs in the ETF database.
Ultimately, ticker symbols are most relevant for mutual funds and less so for ETFs. While it’s easy to identify a mutual fund at a glance, it’s harder to do so for an ETF without reading the fund description.
Identifying Other Investment Types by Ticker
If you’re looking beyond ETFs and mutual index funds, you need to know what other ticker symbols mean. Stocks on the NYSE typically have tickers with three or fewer letters, while those on the Nasdaq typically feature four letters. This way, you can know which exchange a stock is traded on at a glance.
A U.S. stock that has the symbol “.A” behind it denotes class A shares. Additionally, a Nasdaq stock with an “E” behind it means that the issuing company is behind in its reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The same applies to an NYSE stock featuring an “LF” behind it.
In the Asia market, traders identify stocks by numbers instead of ticker symbols. Stocks on the London exchange are denoted by an “.L.” Stocks from Singapore end in “SI.”
Why Are Ticker Symbols Important?
Ticker symbols are important because they make identifying securities easier. Traders and investors can find these assets easily even before reading descriptions.
Apart from identification purposes, a ticker symbol can also communicate a fund’s holdings at a glance. If you’re in the market for an equally weighted ETF, you can avoid mutual funds by filtering out all tickers that end in an “X.”
Understanding the tickers also reduces the probability of choosing the wrong instrument when you’re looking to invest some money.
There are many examples of investors mixing up the ticker symbols and losing money on unnecessary commission and unfavorable market movements because they couldn’t differentiate between an index fund and an ETF from the ticker symbols.
I personally know a couple of traders who got confused between Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX) and the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI). They wanted to buy the ETF but ended up with the index fund because they didn’t know how the 5-letter symbol that ends with an X refers to an index fund.
So, knowledge of how tickers work would have helped them save money and time.
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Conclusion
If you’re in the market analyzing securities to invest in, you need to know what the ticker symbols signify. It will save you time, energy, and even money in the long run. However, don’t invest in a fund by just looking at the ticker.
After you’ve identified one to invest in, click on the ticker for a description. You may request a brochure if necessary. It’s the best way to ensure you’re investing in the right vehicle. The description will cover the bulk of the details you need to know, including historical performance and composition.
BEFORE YOU GO: Don’t forget to check out my latest article – ‘Exploring Social Trading: Community, Profit, and Collaboration’. I surveyed 1500+ traders to identify the impact social trading can have on your trading performance, and shared all my findings in this article. No matter where you are in your trading journey today, I am confident that you will find this article helpful!
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