In the following video, Fool contributor Matt Thalman discusses a number of reasons he believes owning an index fund is the best option for the average investor, as opposed to buying a mutual fund. Matt previously went into further detail discussing why investors are better off with a simple easy index fund based on management, expenses, and returns.

To learn more about each, click here for management, here to learn more about the differences with expenses, and here at how overall returns differ from mutual funds to a simple index fund, click here.