Tracker: A Person, a Device, and a Mortgage
A tracker follows something. The word covers hunters, fitness devices, investment funds and a kind of variable-rate mortgage.
A tracker follows something. The word has spread through finance and technology: a *tracker fund* follows an index rather than picking shares, a *tracker mortgage* follows a central bank rate by a fixed margin, and a *fitness tracker* follows you. All keep the sense of moving in step with something else.
- Someone who follows trails. *An experienced tracker.*
- A monitoring device. *A GPS tracker.*
- A fund following an index. *A low-cost tracker.*
- A mortgage following a base rate. *A two-year tracker.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tracker | A fitness tracker. |
| Plural | trackers | Two trackers. |
| Verb | track | Track the parcel. |
| Noun | tracking | Order tracking. |
| Related | index fund | An index fund. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The parcel has a tracking number.Logistics.
- Her mortgage is a tracker.Follows the base rate plus a margin.
- Trackers usually charge lower fees.Investment.
Kinds of tracker
- Index tracker — follows a market index mechanically
- Tracker mortgage — follows a published rate by a set margin
- Fitness tracker — records steps, heart rate and sleep
- GPS tracker — reports location
- Cookie tracking — following users across websites
From *track*, from Old French *trac*, a trail, probably from a Germanic source. The financial senses are twentieth-century.
Tracker or index fund?
They are the same idea. Tracker is the usual British term and index fund the American one.
How does a tracker mortgage work?
The rate is tied to a published rate, usually a central bank base rate, plus a fixed margin. When the base rate moves, the payment moves.