Equity shares signify ownership in a firm giving the holders the share of profits and the entitlement to vote on the affairs of the company. The investor in equity shares earns a return in two ways: dividend & capital appreciation. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a mutual fund that has the characteristics of a mutual fund but is tradeable. An ETF is listed on an exchange like a stock and can be traded throughout the entire trading day. Equity-oriented ETFs usually track some index; and there also specific ETFs that track the price of a commodity such as gold. Shares and units are credited to an investor’s Demat account. Opening a Demat account is very easy and can now be done online.