Choosing ETFs like a pro

Step 1: Access the ETF Screener

Go to MarketScreener's ETF search engine. It offers several filtering options according to your investment criteria.

Step 2: Understanding the selection criteria

The screener allows you to filter ETFs using several criteria. Here are the main criteria you can use:

  • The first level of filtration
  • Country of distribution: Unfortunately, not all ETFs are available everywhere. This filter takes into account your domicile.
  • Asset class: This corresponds to the type of assets the ETF tracks. For example:
    • Equities: ETFs tracking stock market indices (S&P 500, etc.) or equities.
    • Bonds: ETFs investing in government or corporate bonds.
    • Commodities: ETFs tracking commodities such as gold, oil, etc.
  • Capitalization or distribution? Do you want an ETF that retains any dividends or distributes them?
  • Physical or synthetic? We're talking here about the replication mode: does the ETF own the assets concerned (physical replication) or alternative assets (synthetic replication).
  • Assets under management: this tab allows you to select the size of the ETF. Larger ETFs generally have better liquidity.
  • Checkboxes: these boxes allow you to restrict the search 
  • Strategy" fields
  • Benchmark index: Select the index the ETF tracks (MSCI World, Nasdaq).
  • Theme : Looking for an ETF that tracks technology? cybersecurity? sustainable resource management? This is the place.
  • Geographic focus: This tab allows you to restrict your search to one or more countries, or to certain regions.
  • Sector : Some ETFs target specific sectors. You can classify them here.
  • Size : It's also possible to target ETFs that invest in certain company sizes: small, medium, large, even very large.
  • Lists : On MarketScreener, you can create lists of stocks, but also lists of other assets, including ETFs. You can import them into the ETF screener to compare them with the specific tabs for this universe.
  • Other filters
  • Investor type: Some funds are reserved for qualified investors. You can include or exclude them with this box.
  • Currency: You can choose the currency in which the ETF is denominated, such as euros, dollars or other international currencies.
  • Other filters: Our database also allows you to carry out more specific searches, for example according to the management companies that issue the products, or according to the legal structure of the funds.

Step 3: Apply your search criteria

  • Select criteria: Start by ticking the boxes or filling in the fields according to your needs. For example, if you're looking for an ETF tracking a European equity index, select "Europe" in the region, "Equities" in the category, and possibly a specific index such as "MSCI Europe". The ETFs corresponding to your choices will be displayed dynamically. To help you, the selected filters appear progressively at the top of the screener.
  • Select view. In the screener, you can choose between different types of display:
  • Default : This presentation provides the columns Category, TER (fees), AUM, Variation, Replication method, Dividend policy. Each column can be sorted in ascending or descending order.
  • Historical performance : ETFs are presented with their variations over 7 different time steps.
  • Ratings : In this presentation, you can access MarketScreener ratings applied to ETFs. This is an in-depth screening, enabling you to determine major trends or apply customized selection criteria to find ETFs that match your investment strategies.
  • Volumes : The fourth display offers mainly trading data, including prices, extremes and volumes.

Step 4: How do I choose an ETF?

A good ETF is almost always an ETF :

  • Adapted to your investor profile. That's a bit obvious, but it sounds better when you say it.
  • Issued by a solid financial intermediary. Yes, Amundi or iShares (BlackRock), to name but two, are often safer than that little-known intermediary offering exotic ETFs with high fees.
  • With relatively large outstandings. If you're going to sell your positions, you might as well make sure there's liquidity to guarantee you can exit in good time. It's better to have a three- or even four-figure ETF than a $27 million ETF.
  • With moderate fees (see Step 5). One of the advantages of ETFs is that they offer flexible, varied products at low cost. Generalist ETFs with high TERs should be avoided. Specialized ETFs tend to charge higher fees, but this is no guarantee of performance.

Each investor will add his or her own criteria. But the four points above are, in our view, fundamental.

ETF Zonebourse

Screenshot of a MarketScreener screener 

Step 5: Do fees of 0.03% or 0.30% make a big difference on exit?

It depends. But the more time goes by, the bigger the difference. Let's say you invest EUR 10,000 in an ETF tracking the US stock market, with a time horizon of 20 years. Let's assume that in this virtual example, past performance is also future performance, and that Wall Street delivers a gross annual return of 10% (from 2003 to 2023, the average annual return of the S&P 500 was indeed 10.2%). In addition, you invest USD 5,000 per year over these 20 years in the same ETF.

  • If you have opted for one of the cheapest products on the market, with fees of 0.03%, you will obtain USD 352,310 after twenty years, for cumulative fees of USD 1,340.
  • If you have opted for another equivalent product, but with charges of 0.30%, you will obtain USD 340,498 after twenty years, for cumulative charges of USD 13,152.
  • Note that, in terms of fees, both solutions are considerably less expensive than conventional management. If we go back to our basic assumption and apply fees of 2%, the final balance of the operation is USD 275,419, for fees of USD 78,230.