Get a fast introduction to index funds and learn how these popular investing vehicles can help balance your portfolio.

Here's what you need to know about index funds, including how they work, compare to other forms of Investing, and if they should play a role in your investment arsenal.

Second, do those tracking errors have a pattern? Does the pre-expense performance of index funds trail, match, or lag their benchmarks? Third, how do the outcomes look after expenses?

These indices track key statistics such as the national average house price, regional differences, and how fast prices are rising or falling.