Enhanced Index Fund - EIF

A mutual fund that tracks a stock market index, but with certain modifications in place to allow for more equivalent position sizes, the exclusion of certain securities, or the use of leverage, all with the goal of beating the return of the tracking index. These types of funds are actively managed, and will often use the S&P 500 Index as the tracking index.

Enhanced index funds trade with the "index fund" title, but to be fair, that's where the similarity usually ends. True index funds have consistently lower fees, lower turnover and passive management. Enhanced index funds, on the other hand, are actively managed to beat the return of the tracking index. This approach causes relatively higher fees and turnover than the traditional index fund. While proponents of enhanced index funds cite better total return performance as a plus for this type of fund, investors need to be aware that using leverage and active management also increases risk, at least as compared to a conventional index fund.