Index funds should have a place in most retail investors’ portfolios. If anything, to protect against underperformance compared to “market”. Also, index funds can help investors get a sense of security in their equity holdings, allowing them to take more risk in their individual stock positions. Of course, this sense of security is relative to equity performances, not relative to capital preservation, but the sentiment remains. However, not all index funds are created equal. Below, I’ll review the iShares Edge MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL), an index fund tracking the MSCI USA