Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Why invest in an exchange-traded fund – an ETF?

Listed funds (ETFs) give you the best of two worlds: The flexibility of a share and the risk spread of a mutual fund In other words, an ETF is a fund listed on the stock exchange, just like shares. The fact that a fund has been traded on stock exchange means that the value of the fund will change in line with the index the fund reflects.

ETFs give you access to markets you could not otherwise invest in as a non-professional

By investing in ETFs, you can expose yourself to both Norwegian and international stock indices, or commodity indices, for different markets. In the ETF, as an investor, you get value development similar to the return on the index in question. If, for example, you invest in an index for US property shares, you get a return that reflects the US property market.

We offer ETFs in a range of asset classes, such as equities, real estate and commodities. You can see the full list in our equity trading service. You’ll get a complete overview in our equity trading service Read more about ETFs in the FAQs section further down the page.

The difference between index funds and ETFs

An index fund offered by a management company and an ETF traded on an exchange have several similarities. Both types of funds consist of securities that follow the price movements of an underlying index. At the same time, there are two key differences between an index fund and an ETF:

• How shares are priced
• Automatic vs. a certain degree of management

An important difference between an ETF and a mutual fund (index fund) is in how the shares are priced. When you buy shares of an index fund, you buy them at an unknown price, because the manager buys their shares once a day after the market is closed. The ETF on the other hand is priced according to supply and demand in the market throughout the trading day. The buy price you enter is the price you pay.

Another difference is that in an index fund, there will be a certain level of exclusion of environmentally hostile and unethical companies (ESG adjustments). In an EFT, no companies are excluded – the ETF gives you a piece of every company that the index is made up of.

How risky is an ETF?

The risk will vary from low to high. This is because the different ETFs are linked to different markets and underlying products. The risk of the underlying securities may also vary over time. We therefore recommend that you familiarise yourself with the features of the product before making a purchase. Read more about risk in financial instruments here.

Our prices and terms and conditions

Securities trading is subject to strict rules. We’ve gathered all our terms and conditions onto one page. Here you will find our obligations as an investment firm. In addition, you’ll find information on what you, as a customer, are obliged to familiarise yourself with, and what our services cost.