index fund

American  

noun

1. a fund, as a mutual fund or pension fund, with a portfolio that contains many of the securities listed in a major stock index in order to match the performance of the stock market generally.

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Etymology

Origin of index fund

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

For most investors the investment implication is to buy and hold a broad-market index fund, which over time reliably beats 90% of managers vying to outperform a benchmark index.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026

So if you buy in advance, you can then sell to the index fund at a higher price when it joins, which will be on Friday for some of the indexes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026

Accordingly, there has been a big push on the Street to stuff them into the leading stock indices, leaving index fund managers no choice but to buy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Yet what index fund investors see in their portfolios will be quite different, as the largest-ever IPO will represent only a fraction of the company’s total shares currently owned by private investors.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

The question is: Will your index fund or ETF own these newly minted megacap stocks immediately, years from now or not at all?

From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026