Michael Krause

If you can't mitigate a U.S.-led downturn by shifting away from U.S. stocks, what can you do? One answer might be to get more defensive everywhere. Fortunately, ETF investors have hundreds of choices thanks to the many innovative index products that have been introduced in recent years.

The difference of a few basis points between funds is likely to be overwhelmed by the difference in performance of the underlying investments, making fees a secondary and far less important consideration.

Investors need to evaluate Exchange Traded Funds differently than mutual funds.