Dividend Vision Academy
ETF Structure
How ETFs actually work under the hood. These guides explain the machinery fund owners rarely see — creation and redemption, index replication, securities lending, and the tax efficiency built into the ETF wrapper — in plain English, so you understand what you own and why it behaves the way it does.
ETF Structure
ETF Creation & Redemption
Creation and redemption is the behind-the-scenes machinery that keeps an ETF's market price glued to its NAV, powered by authorized participants arbitraging premiums and discounts away.
ETF Structure
Why ETFs Are Tax-Efficient
ETFs rarely pay capital-gains distributions because in-kind redemptions let managers hand appreciated shares out of the fund without selling them — deferring the tax bill until you decide to sell.
ETF Structure
How ETFs Track Their Index: Replication, Sampling & Synthetic
An index ETF can hold every stock in its benchmark, hold a representative sample, or hold a swap that pays the index's return. The method a fund chooses shapes its costs, its risks, and how closely your returns match the index you thought you bought.
ETF Structure
Securities Lending
Securities lending is the quiet side business inside most ETFs: the fund lends out some of its stocks or bonds to short sellers for a fee, backed by 102–105% collateral. The revenue offsets the expense ratio — sometimes entirely — but it carries risks worth understanding.
Ready to apply what you've learned?
Analyze a portfolio, compare funds, or screen for income — with the concepts from these guides built in.