Unfortunately, I have had enough bad experiences with ETFs and...

Unfortunately, I have had enough bad experiences with ETFs and managed funds not to bother with them anymore.

In particular, I do not like how they open and close them based on investor demand, rather than the valuation of the underlying assets.

I buy into the fund wanting to hold 10+ years, but they shut it in down in 2, because they decide the fund is not profitable enough.

Also, if they do shut the fund, and it is for some exotic product, like Kingpins mentioned, there is no easy way to replicate it for oneself.

Or, if you are unlucky enough to hold Russian shares in an ETF, for example, then they just write them down to zero, because of politics.

Or, perhaps like during the GFC, they just stop you from making redemptions because it would be unfair to the other investors in the fund.

Perhaps, if someone had $5000, then buying the ASX200 by way of an ETF would make sense. Especially, in terms of saving on brokerage.

However, if all you are wanting is a bit of 'risk' in your portfolio, you can get the exact same result by buying a basket of shares directly.

And, in doing so, you might understand what it is that you are investing in, rather than just seeing shares as something you buy and sell.

Anyway, I agree with you.

People investing in ETFs tend be 'buy high, sell low' types, so big inflows into ETFs is probably a warning sign that prices are overinflated.