The advent of stock market ETFs (exchange traded funds) has changed the investment environment for individual investors in recent years. No longer do you need professional investor advice to to have a diversified portfolio of both stocks and bonds and you don't need expensive mutual funds either. Previously investors were forced to use mutual funds (with substantial "loads" and expense ratios of 1 % or more) or buy a selection of individual shares (or bonds) to participate in the stock (or bond) market(s).