What are ETFs and how do you trade them?

What is an exchange traded fund (ETF)?

An exchange traded fund (ETF) is an investment instrument that tracks the performance of an existing market or group of markets. The fund will either physically buy the assets it is tracking or use more complicated investments to mimic the movement of the underlying market.

ETFs are bought and sold on a stock exchange – in much the same way as stocks. They perform a similar function to indices, investment trusts and other exchange traded products. You can buy an ETF to track a sector, an index, stocks from a specific country, a commodity, a currency or fixed income markets.

Many ETFs are designed to track the underlying assets, but some funds hand pick the assets they track. You can choose to trade ETFs via CFDs, or invest via our share trading platform.

Learn how to take a position on ETFs or start trading now.

Popular ETFs to watch

• The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF tracks the S&P 500 index, which measures the performance of large-cap US stocks
• The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, which invests in global stocks, excluding US, listed on the FTSE Global All Cap Index
• The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF tracks the results of large-, mid- and small-cap non-US equities
• The Vanguard FTSE 100 UCTIS ETF tracks the performance of the FTSE 100 stock index, which is comprised of the UK’s top 100 companies by market capitalisation
• The Global X Cannabis ETF tracks the cannabis index, which provides exposure to companies that are active in the cannabis industry
• The WisdomTree WTI Crude Oil gives indirect exposure to crude oil prices by tracking the Bloomberg crude oil subindex
• The iShares US Energy ETF tracks the results of the Dow Jones US oil and gas index, which measures the performance of companies in the US oil and gas sector

Stock index ETFs

Stock index ETFs are funds that track the performance of a given index. As stock indices are nothing more than a number representing a group of shares, traders and investors have to find ways to trade on their price.

ETFs enable you to gain exposure to an entire index from a single position. For example, an ASX 200 ETF would track the performance of the ASX 200 (known as the Australia 200 on our platform), and would either hold physical shares of the index’s constituents, or products that mimic its price movements.

Currency ETFs

Currency ETFs enable you to gain exposure to the forex market, without having to buy or sell the underlying currencies. In some cases, these ETFs will only track a single currency, but for the most part they track baskets of currencies.

You can use currency ETF to trade the economic health of regions – such as the EU – or emerging market economies. They can also be used as hedge against inflation and foreign asset risk.

Sector and industry ETFs

A sector or industry ETF tracks an index of companies operating within the same industry. For example, the AI and robotics sector has the Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF, which tracks stocks related to autonomous transportation, robotics and automation, and more.

Like currency ETFs, sector ETFs can be used to take advantage of changes in an economy’s health and as a hedge against any existing positions. If you have significant risk in a particular sector, you might choose to mitigate this risk by shorting a sector ETF.

Commodity ETFs

Commodity ETFs usually take their price from futures contracts, rather than containing the physical commodity.

It’s important to note that there is a difference between commodity ETFs and commodity-linked ETFs, such as the sector ETFs described above. Commodity ETFs emulate the price of the underlying commodity, whereas commodity-linked assets track companies within the industry.

Geographic ETFs

Geographic ETFs enable you to track assets in a specific region. For example, you can buy a US ETF that grants you exposure across all the US indices, a North American ETF that includes Canadian companies, or an international ETF if you’re looking to diversify your portfolio.

Inverse or short ETFs

Inverse ETFs move in the opposite direction to the underlying asset. They can be found in any of the above categories of ETF.

You’d use an inverse ETF as a means of opening short positions on the market. They can be useful hedges for existing long positions, or as a way of speculating on falling markets.

Leveraged ETFs

Leveraged ETFs are designed to mirror an underlying asset but use financial derivatives to amplify investors’ exposure. For example, a leveraged 2x ETF would maintain a $2 exposure to the underlying asset for every $1 of investor capital. When using a leveraged instrument, losses can also be magnified. This is because losses (and profits) are calculated based on the full $ exposure, so losses or profits can far outweigh your initial capital.

Trading an ETF with derivatives

Trading ETFs is a great way to get exposure to shorter-term price movements within certain sectors. When you trade ETFs with CFDs, you can use leverage to get amplified exposure to the ETF of your choice.

As a result, CFDs enable you to open a position for just a fraction of the cost of traditional investing. This means that, while leverage can magnify your profits, it can also magnify your losses. This is because loss is calculated based on the full size of the position rather than the cost of opening that position and can far outweigh any initial deposit, so it is important to create a risk management strategy before you trade.

Learn everything you need to know about trading and investing in ETFs