what is the diamonds etf 
diamonds is an informal term for an index based exchange traded fund etf known as the spdr dow jones industrial average etf the diamonds etf trades on the nyse arca exchange under the ticker symbol dia the etf s objective is to provide returns that mirror the price and yield performance of the dow jones industrial average djia 1understanding diamondslaunched in 1998 the spdr dow jones industrial average etf also known as the diamonds etf is managed by state street global advisors since its launch it has become popular among investors as a way of achieving approximately the same returns as owning the individual stocks in the underlying dow jones industrial average investors can buy and sell shares of the etf just like with common stocks the fund s holdings consist of the 30 blue chip stocks in the djia in the same price weighted proportion as they appear in the djia as well as some cash holdings at the end of 2023 the etf was heaviest weighted in unitedhealth group microsoft goldman sachs home depot and mcdonalds 1as of the beginning of december 2023 9 93 of the spdr dow jones industrial average etf trust was comprised of unitedhealth group 1the popularity of the diamonds etfdiamonds are a popular and generally well regarded fund owning shares of diamonds allows investors to attain the diversity of the djia with relatively low transaction fees the fund is highly regarded for its relatively low gross expense ratio of 0 16 diamonds like other etfs may offer some investors tax advantages over owning mutual funds the fund s large size provides ample share liquidity and investors can buy or sell shares any time the exchange is open the etf s high market capitalization and liquidity have spawned a variety of options chains from which traders can choose the nyse allows investors to trade diamond shares using margin as well as to short sell diamond shares 21on any given day the stock s exchange volume may swell or shrink as of dec 4 2023 the etf reported that 865 652 shares had been traded in the prior open market day 1 note that this figure is updated every day and the liquidity of an etf may dramatically change at any given time diamonds etf statisticsas of dec 5 2023 the fund had total net assets of over 31 billion with over 86 million shares outstanding the fund s weighted average market cap was about 515 5 million at a price earnings ratio of about 18 71 the fund has a 10 year net asset value of 10 62 it s important to remember that etfs are not insured and may incur the loss of capital for example as of september 30 2023 the etf had a one month nav of 3 43 and quarter to date nav of 2 14 since the fund s inception in 1998 the etf had returned greater than 8 1investing in diamond gemstonesdiamonds as gemstones not the etf are generally considered a poor investment vehicle mainly due to the illiquidity of the market a lack of price transparency high transaction fees and high risk related to quality assurance at one point investors who wanted exposure to diamonds or other gemstones could have invested in gems an etf called purefunds ise diamond gemstone etf that invested in the diamond and gemstone industry the etf has since been liquidated and no longer exists 3 since then other indexes or funds have been created for example the idex diamond index was formulated and tracks diamond prices every hour 4