What is an ETP and how can you trade or invest?
ETPs, or exchange-traded products, are popular among investors and traders because they offer wide exposure across diverse asset classes. Discover different types of ETPs and how you can trade or invest in them with us.
What is an ETP?
An ETP (or exchange-traded product) is a tradeable financial instrument that closely tracks an underlying market, such as indices, currencies and shares. They’re derivative securities that work by repackaging the value of an underlying asset and listing it on an exchange to be traded publicly.
As with other derivative instruments, the price of an ETP will change based on fluctuations in the asset it tracks. This means you could potentially profit from a market, whether it’s rising or falling in value.
Like shares, ETPs are traded on an exchange – such as the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) – which usually means they’re only accessible during normal market hours. However, some issuers are beginning to offer round-the-clock trading on a few of these instruments.
Types of exchange-traded products
There are many types of exchange-traded products that traders and investors can access. Here are a few popular ETPs along with a basic definition:
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): a form of investment fund that’s bought and sold on stock exchanges. ETFs usually track the performance of a benchmark index and hold assets that help them to do just that
- Exchange-traded notes (ETNs): a type of exchange-traded product that enables you to trade the performance of an index or asset in the form of unsecured debt. This means that the issuer (usually a bank) prices the security based the underlying market it tracks but doesn’t physically own it. Because ETNs are not backed by any collateral, you could lose some or all of your capital should the issuer become unable to honour their debt to you
- Exchange-traded commodities (ETCs): tradeable financial derivatives that track the performance of a commodity, a group of commodities, or a basket of goods through an index. Some ETCs may consist of a swap agreement, which may or may not be secured by collateral. For this reason, some ETCs can be seen as a type of ETN
- Exchange-traded instruments (ETIs): financial securities that normally track an index but can also reflect the value of an actively managed investment portfolio. Note, however, that ‘ETI’ is sometimes used interchangeably with ‘ETP’ to refer to the overall category
- Exchange-traded derivative contracts: financial derivatives that are traded on exchange rather than over the counter (OTC) – such as stock options and currency futures
- Closed-end funds (CEFs): mutual funds that raise capital by issuing a fixed number of shares to be bought and sold on an exchange, but not redeemed. This means you won’t own shares in the fund but rather you’re trading on the fund’s value with other market participants on an exchange
What are examples of exchange-traded products?
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) | The Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index |
Exchange-traded notes (ETNs) | Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index">The exchange-traded notes available on our platform, like the Credit Suisse X-Links Silver Shares Covered Call ETN, are tradeable through our CFD trading account. You can also get a stock trading account to invest in them |
Exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) | Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index">We offer a range of exchange-traded commodities on our platform, such as the Invesco Physical Gold GBP Hedged ETC. Like the other ETPs listed above, you can both trade and invest in these assets with a derivatives or investments account from us |
Exchange-traded instruments (ETIs) | Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index">As an alternative to getting an actively managed investment portfolio, you can actually trade and invest in the value of a specific diversified portfolio. An example of this is the BlackRock ESG Multi-Asset Growth Portfolio UCITS ETF that you can trade on using our CFD trading account, or invest in from a stock trading account |
Exchange-traded derivative contracts | Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index">With a CFD trading account from us, you can trade exchange-traded derivative contracts like options and futures. You can also invest in the popular -1x Short VIX Futures ETF from a stock trading account |
Closed-end funds (CEFs) | Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF is one of the more popular ETPs you can trade and invest in on our platform. It tracks the top performing 500 companies listed on the US S&P index">Like the other ETPs on this list, you can trade and invest in closed-end funds with us – such as the Invesco CEF Income Composite Portfolio. Open a CFD or stock trading account, or log in, to get started |
If you don’t hold a CFD account already, please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You don’t own or have any interest in the underlying asset. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Please consider the Risk Disclosure Notice before entering into any CFD transaction with us.
ETFs vs ETNs vs ETCs
ETFs, ETNs and ETCs are some of the more popular types of exchange-traded products available on the market. While they may have similarities, there are a few differences to take note of. Below is a basic comparison of the products’ key features.
ETFs | ETNs | ETCs | |
Key feature tracks | A tradeable security that holds the asset, group of assets or sector it | A debt security, almost like a bond, issued by a financial institution such as a bank | An exchange-traded security that closely tracks a single commodity, a group of commodities or a basket of goods through an index |
How to access them with us | • Stock trading account • CFD trading account |
• Stock trading account • CFD trading account |
• Stock trading account • CFD trading account |
Pays dividends | Yes (some ETFs) | No | No |
Main benefit | Enables you to trade and invest in multiple assets or an entire sector through a single trade, making them more cost-efficient than buying each one individually markets) | Give traders the opportunity to get exposure to important, exotic securities (like currencies) and new markets (like foreign emerging | Traders can buy ETCs to gain wide exposure to a commodity or group of commodities on exchange without needing to trade futures or physically own them |
General risk level (for stock trading accounts) | Low | Moderate | Moderately high |
Associated risk | Price may diverge from the value of the asset it tracks (known as a tracking error) due to a number of factors, which could affect returns | Because this is a debt security, investors may lose the entirety or some of their capital should the issuing entity be unable to pay it at maturity | Commodity prices can be extremely volatile, with some moving by more than 10% in a single day |
How to trade ETPs
- Create a CFD trading account or log in
- Search for your opportunity
- Select ‘buy’ to go long, or ‘sell’ to go short
- Set your position size and take steps to manage your risk
- Open and monitor your position
How to invest in quantum stocks
- Create a stock trading account or log in
- Search for the ETP you want to invest in
- Select ‘buy’ in the deal ticket (you can only go long when investing)
- Input the position size
- Open and monitor your position
Stock trading
With our stock trading account, you can buy and sell local and international stocks as well as exchange-traded products like mutual funds, trusts, exchange-traded funds and ETCs.
When you use this method to access the markets, you’re essentially buying shares in the asset to own in the hope that they rise in value over time so that you can sell them for a profit. For this reason, you can only take a long position in your stock trading account.
CFD trading
In addition to building a diversified investment portfolio with ETPs, you can also trade on them using over-the-counter derivatives like CFDs (contracts for difference). They enable traders to speculate on the price direction of a market – whether it’ll increase or decrease.
CFDs are leveraged, which means you’ll gain full exposure to the underlying market for a fraction of the cost, known as the margin. While this means any profits made can be amplified, so too will any losses you incur.
Our CFD trading account gives you access to thousands of financial markets, including ETFs, ETNs, ETCs and other exchange-traded products. There are different ways to trade CFDs – via spot markets, futures or options.
Options
Options are a type of tradeable derivative contract that give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price – provided it moves beyond that price within a set timeframe.
You can trade ETP options using CFDs, which means you can trade the markets by going long (known as buying a call option) or short (buying a put option).
Futures
Futures (also known as ‘forwards’ in shares, ETFs and forex markets) are financial contracts in which two parties – a buyer and a seller – agree to exchange an underlying market for a set price at a future date.
These instruments give the buyer the obligation to buy the asset, and the seller the to sell it, on or before the contract expires. As with options, you can trade futures using a CFD trading account from us.
How to trade or invest in ETPs with us
- Exchange-traded products or ETPs are securities that are listed on an exchange and can be traded using our CFD trading account, or invested in through our stock trading account
- Some of the more popular kinds of ETPs are exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and exchange-traded commodities (ETCs)
- ETFs are a type of investment fund that seek to track the performance of a benchmark index
- ETNs enable you to speculate on the value of an index or asset in the form of unsecured debt
- ETCs closely track a commodity, group of commodities or a basket of goods through an index
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients.
CFDs are a leveraged products. CFD trading may not be suitable for everyone and can result in losses that exceed your initial deposit, so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.
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