How quickly can I get my money out of an ETF?

Key takeaways

  • ETFs are liquid and you can buy or sell immediately, but it can take longer for you to be paid out than a unit trust.

 

In order to withdraw from an exchange traded fund, you need to give your online broker or ETF platform an instruction to sell.

ETFs offer guaranteed liquidity – you don’t have to wait for a buyer or a seller.

This means your ETF should sell on the day you ask to sell it as long as the stock exchange is open and your instruction is received in time.

However, although you will know what you have realised on the day your ETFs are sold, it can still take three days for the settlement to be paid into your stockbroking account and then you will have to withdraw the money from that account. Unit trust funds typically take two days to pay out.