what is index investing 
index investing is a passive investment technique that attempts to generate returns similar to a broad market index investors use this buy and hold strategy to replicate the performance of a specific index generally an equity or fixed income index by purchasing the component securities of the index or investing in an index mutual fund or exchange traded fund etf that itself closely tracks the underlying index there are several advantages of index investing for one empirical research finds index investing tends to outperform active management over a long time frame taking a hands off approach to investing eliminates many of the biases and uncertainties that arise in a stock picking strategy index investing as well as other passive strategies may be contrasted with active investment 