In a commentary, SMU Adjunct Faculty Dr Larry Haverkamp discussed some of the latest innovations in personal finance. He shared his views on the growing relevance of crowdfunding, a concept he was initially sceptical about, but was quick to emphasise how it has caught on and prospers on sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter, which are the largest and second-largest crowdfunding sites. Dr Haverkamp also highlighted the immense popularity of exchange-traded funds, known as ETFs for short. He cited a couple of popular ETFs in Singapore, including the SPDR STI ETF, which tracks the 30 stocks in the Straits Times Index, as well as the Nikko AM STI ETF. He went on to explain how ETFs function, the benefits of investing in them, as well as the differences between ETFs, unit trusts and investment-linked products.