Recent discussions highlight the challenges investors face with index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). A significant $220 billion has been diverted from high-yielding dividend stocks to guaranteed investment certificates, investment savings accounts, and high-interest savings ETFs over the past couple of years. While index funds are designed to match market performance, many investors struggle to achieve this goal. Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal points out that although index funds simplify investing, they do not guarantee success. He emphasizes that simply holding a few index funds for the long term can lead to better outcomes than actively trading, which often results in underperformance, even compared to professional investors. Furthermore, new research indicates that there may be more trading activity among index ETF investors than previously assumed, challenging the notion of a buy-and-hold strategy. The evolution of ETFs is also under scrutiny, as new fund types may lack the advantages of ease of trading and lower fees that characterized the original ETF model.