The Ultimate Guide to ETFs
Download our Ultimate Guide to ETFs to learn:
- How ETFs work
- The benefits of ETFs
- The most actively traded ETFs
- And much more
Commission-free ETFs to diversify your portfolio
ETFs, or Exchange-traded funds, are a fast-growing segment of the stock market. Traders and investors have embraced their versatility, diversification, and ease of use.
Download our Ultimate Guide to ETFs to learn:
Alphatrade has been empowering equities traders for more than 25 years. Find out what we can do for your ETF trading with our powerful trading software dedicated customer support, educational resources, and commission-free pricing plans for both beginners and advanced ETF traders.
Educational resources
Web and mobile trading
A powerful suite of trading tools
Trade desk support
Commission-free ETF trades
Access to more than 2,000 exchange-traded funds
Open AccountAlong with an award-winning trading platform, Alphatrade offers many resources and services to level up your stock trading game..
Leverage your account assets to increase your buying power with Margin trading. With competitive equities margin interest rates as low as 3.5%
Alphatrade delivers fast, reliable order execution for our customers. We use a combination of advanced order routing technology, regular and rigorous reviews of speed, execution quality, and price improvement to support our customers’ trading experience.
Boost your account balance with our Fully Paid Stock Lending program. Your eligible stock positions may earn you extra income. When we lend out certain fully paid or excess margin securities in your account, you’ll receive a share of the interest we earn each day.
One size never fits all. Which is why we offer a variety of account types to meet the needs of individual traders, etc.
Compliment your portfolio and diversify your investments with a robust suite of commission-free ETFs from industry leaders. Check out the table below to see a selection of the wide variety of ETFs you can choose from. Including index, sector, commodity, and country ETFs.
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Direction | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | ||||
| Main ETF | SPY | SPDR S&P 500 | SPY is one of the most heavily traded symbols in both the stock and options markets | |
| Related Funds | VOO | Vanguard S&P 500 | ||
| IVV | iShare Core S&P 500 | |||
| Leveraged Funds | SSO | ProShares Ultra S&P 500 | Bullish | Designed to deliver twice the move of the S&P 500 |
| SPXL | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x | Bullish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the S&P 500 | |
| SH | ProShares Trust Short S&P 500 | Bearish | Moves in the opposite direction as the S&P 500, on a 1-for-1 basis | |
| SDS | ProShares UltraShort S&P 500 | Bearish | Designed to deliver twice the move of the S&P 500, in the opposite direction | |
| SPXS | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3x | Bearish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the S&P 500, in the opposite direction | |
| Nasdaq-100 | ||||
| Main ETF | QQQ | Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) | This index is restricted to companies trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, which heavily focuses on technology | |
| Leveraged Funds | TQQQ | ProShares UltraPro QQQ | Bullish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the Nasdaq-100 |
| SQQQ | ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ | Bearish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the Nasdaq-100, in the opposite direction | |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | ||||
| Main ETF | DIA | SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average | Bearish | This index’s members are among the largest and most established companies in the market |
| Russell 2000 | ||||
| Main ETF | IWM | iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) | This index focuses on smaller companies, mostly in the domestic economy | |
| Leveraged Funds | TNA | Direxion Small Cap Bull 3x | Bullish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the Russell-2000 |
| TZA | Direxion Small Cap Bear 3x | Bearish | Designed to deliver triple the move of the Russell-2000, in the opposite direction |
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | |||
| Main ETF | XLK | S&P Technology Select Sector | Tracks the market’s largest and most heavily traded sector. Its performance mostly depends on business investment |
| Related Funds | SMH | Market Vectors Semiconductor | |
| IGV | iShares N America Software | ||
| Health Care | |||
| Main ETF | XLV | S&P Technology Heath Care | Tracks the second largest sector by size. It’s mostly driven by demographic trends and innovation |
| Related Industery Funds | IGV | SPDR S&P Biotechnology | |
| Financials | |||
| Main ETF | XLF | S&P Financial | Tracks the market’s third-largest sector. Its members are cyclical, benefiting from strong economic growth |
| Related Industery Funds | KRE | SPDR S&P Regional Banks | |
| Communications | |||
| Main ETF | XLC | SPDR Communications | Established in 2018, the communications sector includes internet stocks, social media, traditional media and videogames |
| Related Industery Funds | FDN | First Trust DJ Internet | |
| Consumer Discretionary | |||
| Main ETF | XLY | SPDR Consumer Discretionary | Tracks the market’s fourth largest sector by size. Its members are cyclical because they mostly sell non-essential goods and services |
| Related Industery Funds | XRT | SPDR S&P Retail | |
| ITB | iShares US Home Construction | ||
| Consumer Staples | |||
| Main ETF | XLP | SPDR Consumer Staples | Includes packaged food companies, personal-care products, and cleaning supplies |
| Energy | |||
| Main ETF | XLE | SPDR Energy | Includes traditional oil and gas companies |
| Industrial | |||
| Main ETF | XLI | SPDR Industrial | Includes manufacturing companies, providers of business services, and transportation companies |
| Materials | |||
| Main ETF | XLB | SPDR Materials | Includes traditional oil and gas companies |
| Related Industery Funds | GDX | Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF | |
| Utilities | |||
| Main ETF | XLU | SPDR Utilities | Includes companies that deliver electricity, water, and natural gas |
| Real Estate | |||
| Main ETF | XLRE | SPDR Real Estate | Includes commercial real estate companies and wireless tower operators |
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Direction | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oil | ||||
| Main ETF | USO | US Oil Fund | Designed to track crude-oil prices | |
| Leveraged Funds | UCO | ProShares Ultra Crude | Bullish | Designed to deliver double the move of crude oil |
| SCO | ProShares UltraShort Crude | Bearish | Designed to deliver double the move of crude oil, in the opposite direction | |
| Gold | ||||
| Main ETF | GLD | SPDR Gold Trust | Tracks physical gold. Each share represents one-tenth of an ounce | |
| Silver | ||||
| Main ETF | SLV | iShares Silver Trust | Tracks silver. Each share represents one ounce of silver |
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Direction | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | ||||
| Main ETF | FXI | iShares China Large Cap | ||
| Related Funds | KWEB | KraneShares CSI China Internet | ||
| Emerging Markets | ||||
| Main ETF | EEM | iShares MSCI Emerging Market | ||
| Brazil | ||||
| Main ETF | EWZ | iShares MSCI Brazil | ||
| Brazil | ||||
| Main ETF | EWZ | iShares MSCI Brazil | ||
| Developed Markets | ||||
| Main ETF | EFA | iShares MSCI EAFE | ||
| Europe | ||||
| Main ETF | VGK | Vanguard FTSE Europe | ||
| Japan | ||||
| Main ETF | EWJ | iShares MSCI Japan | ||
| United Kingdom | ||||
| Main ETF | EWU | iShares MSCI UK | ||
| Australia | ||||
| Main ETF | EWA | iShares MSCI Australia |
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Direction | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury Bonds | ||||
| Main ETF | TLT | iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bonds | ||
| Junk Bonds | ||||
| Main ETF | HYG | iShares IBOXX High Yield |
| Types of ETFs | Ticker | Fund Name | Direction | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) | ||||
| Main ETF | VXX | iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-term futures | Generally, moves in the opposite direction of the S&P 500 |
Our web and mobile apps make it easy for you to trade on the go. Download the app today to start trading ETFs at Alphatrade.
