CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Educational Articles

Knowledge Base

Reading time • 7 minute(s)
What Is the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF (VALL)? A Beginner's Guide
Investing in the stock market doesn't necessarily mean choosing individual companies. What if you could gain exposure to thousands of businesses across the world through a single investment? That's the idea behind exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap UCITS ETF (VALL) is one example. Designed to track the performance of the global stock market, VALL provides exposure to thousands of companies across developed and emerging markets, including some of the world's most recognisable businesses. But how exactly does VALL work? What companies does it invest in, how much does it cost, and what should investors consider before buying? In this guide, we'll explain everything you need to know about the Vanguard FTSE Global All-Cap ETF and how eligible new clients can receive 5 Vanguard ETF Shares with XTB.
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Reading time • 6 minute(s)
Options vs ETFs Explained
What Is the Difference Between Options and ETFs? Options and ETFs both give you exposure to financial markets but they work in completely different ways. An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a straightforward investment that holds a basket of assets and trades on a stock exchange — when you buy an ETF you own a proportional share of everything it holds. An option is a financial contract that gives you the right — but not the obligation — to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price before a set expiry date. The key difference is that ETFs are designed for long-term investing with no expiry and no complexity around pricing, while options are time-limited contracts with more sophisticated pricing dynamics suited to experienced traders.
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Reading time • 7 minute(s)
How to Build an ETF Portfolio from Scratch (UK Guide)
Building an ETF portfolio from scratch might sound complicated, but it's one of the most accessible ways for UK investors to start growing their money. Whether you're saving for a house deposit, retirement, or simply making your cash work harder, a well-structured ETF portfolio gives you broad market exposure with low costs and minimal ongoing effort. This guide walks you through every step from understanding what ETFs are, to choosing the right funds, to automating your investments so your portfolio runs largely on autopilot. Your capital is at risk. The value of your investments may go up or down.
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Reading time • 8 minute(s)
What is an ETF and how does it work?
An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a pooled investment security that holds a basket of assets and trades on a stock exchange just like a regular stock. The global ETF market holds over $22 trillion in assets under management, with three giants holding almost $13 trillion. BlackRock holds $6.1 trillion in assets through iShares, Vanguard holds $4.7 trillion mostly in ETFs tracking US equity indices, while State Street (SPDR) manages $2.2 trillion. This reflects the massive popularity of ETFs among modern investors. Whether you are building a long-term portfolio or making short-term trades, using ETFs offers an accessible way to achieve diversification, keep costs low, and maintain high liquidity throughout the trading day. Single security, multiple assets: An ETF holds a basket of assets (like stocks or bonds) within a single investable instrument. Intraday trading: Unlike some traditional funds, ETF shares are bought and sold on a stock exchange throughout the day at market-determined prices. Index tracking: The majority of ETFs are passively managed and designed to track the performance of a specific market index. Dual returns: Investors can generate returns through both the market price appreciation of the shares and any dividends paid out by the underlying assets.
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Reading time • 8 minute(s)
How to Invest in Gold: 4 Methods Explained and Compared
Investors can choose from four primary methods to gain exposure to precious metals: physical gold, gold ETFs and ETCs, mining stocks, and CFDs on gold. Each option provides a distinct way to access the gold price, allowing you to align your strategy with your specific time horizon, risk appetite, and available capital. Gold typically plays a strategic role in diversified portfolios, with its primary function being to preserve purchasing power over time and provide long-term protection against inflation. Gold has surged past $4,000 per ounce for the first time in history, marking a remarkable 50% gain year-to-date, its strongest performance since 1979. The rally accelerated in August following the Federal Reserve’s dovish policy shift and new U.S. trade tariffs, with the ongoing government shutdown further intensifying market momentum.
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Reading time • 5 minute(s)
Build Your Own Investment Plan with Stocks and ETFs
Investment Plans now let you go beyond a ready-made mix and build your own, choosing individual stocks and ETFs and setting the exact percentage you want to hold in each. If you already invest in individual stocks or ETFs but want a clearer, more structured way to manage them, a self-build Investment Plan gives you that framework without giving up control.
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Reading time • 7 minute(s)
What Is an Investment Plan? A Beginner's Guide
Most people know they should be investing, but fewer know where to actually start. What do you buy? How much? How often? And what do you do once you've bought something? An investment plan is the answer to those questions. Not a product, not a platform, not a specific fund, but a framework that ties together your goals, your timeline, and your approach to risk, so that your money is working in a direction that makes sense for you. This guide explains what an investment plan is, what it should include, and how to start building one even if you're new to investing entirely.
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Reading time • 5 minute(s)
ETF vs Shares: What's the Difference?
ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) and shares are both investment instruments you can buy and sell on a stock exchange, but they work very differently. When you buy a share, you purchase ownership in a single company. When you buy an ETF, you purchase a single fund that holds a basket of assets — which could be dozens, hundreds, or thousands of individual stocks, bonds, or commodities. The key difference is diversification: a single ETF can give you exposure to an entire market or sector in one transaction.
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Reading time • 5 minute(s)
Fixed-Income ETFs: What They Are & How to Invest
What if you could access an entire portfolio of bonds—government, corporate, global—without ever owning a single one directly? Welcome to the world of Fixed-Income ETFs: the low-cost, high-access gateway to the bond market. Whether you’re a cautious beginner looking for stability, or an experienced investor managing portfolio risk, fixed-income ETFs offer a unique blend of liquidity, diversification, and predictable returns—often overlooked in the spotlight of stocks and. In this guide, we’ll break down how they work, who they’re for, and when they make sense. Expect clarity, practical insights, and a few smart angles you haven’t heard before.
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Reading time • 3 minute(s)
Oil Investing Guide: Stocks, ETFs & CFDs 2026
Oil remains one of the most influential commodities in global financial markets. From powering economies to driving inflation, crude oil prices impact everything from transportation to energy stocks. For traders and investors using platforms like XTB, oil presents multiple opportunities through stocks, ETFs, and CFDs. This guide explores how oil investing works, what instruments XTB offers, and how to build exposure using oil-based assets.
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Reading time • 3 minute(s)
What Are Leveraged ETPs and How Do They Work?
Leveraged ETPs are designed to deliver a multiple of the daily performance of an underlying index or asset, commonly 2x or 3x. Their objective is strictly daily, meaning they aim to replicate the leveraged return for a single trading session, not over longer periods. These products are primarily intended for short-term trading, speculation, or tactical positioning, rather than long-term investment.
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Reading time • 2 minute(s)
What Are Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs)?
Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) are investment instruments that trade on regulated stock exchanges in a similar manner to individual equities. Their core objective is to track, replicate, or provide exposure to the performance of an underlying asset, index, sector, commodity, currency, or investment strategy.
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Reading time • 10 minute(s)
Most Popular ETFs - Open door to long term investing?
ETFs have grown in popularity over the past few decades. Since the first index fund was created in 1976 by Vanguard's John Bogle, they have sealed their permanent place among major global asset classes. 14 years later after the first index fund Vanguard S&P 500 was created, Toronto Stock Exchange introduced the first Exchange Traded Fund. Now thanks to ETFs millions of investors around the world today have the opportunity to invest in well-defined asset classes. The largest ETF issuer, BlackRock (iShares) recorded billion dollars in profits, due to rising ETF inflows. Diversified and simplified investment - possible on their own, without the high costs charged by mutual funds. Direct exposure on global markets is now easier than ever before.
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Reading time • 2 minute(s)
Vanguard is the new king of ETFs
ETFs have been gaining more and more popularity in recent years. It is no wonder, this passive investment tool is known for its very low fees, flexibility and simplicity, and compared to regular actively managed funds, ETFs are much cheaper and generally achieve much higher performance, with people being able to make their purchases or sales in real time, for example via mobile applications. For many years, the world leader in ETFs for the most famous American stock index S&P 500 was the fund with the abbreviation SPY from State Street. However, a few days ago, the fund with the abbreviation VOO from the rival company Vanguard surpassed it in the volume of managed assets. There is currently 632 billion USD in the Vanguard fund and 23 billion USD has flowed into it since the beginning of this year. There is currently 630 billion USD in the SPY fund, see. picture.
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Reading time • 8 minute(s)
Artificial Intelligence ETFs - Smart Investing in AI
Do you agree that technology will transform the world in the following decades? If yes, one may consider investments in the technology sector. After generative intelligence entered the business world, financial markets tried to value this historic change. It’s powerful enough to completely change some companies' valuation and disrupt business models. It’s really hard to choose winners, without risking investing in losers, as technology is changing constantly. Choosing stocks related to AI for some investors may be too risky and bring additional risks. Professional and individual investors often use exchange traded funds. Why? Those instruments give the opportunity to have well-balanced exposure to all technology, including the AI sector. This limits the potential of investing only in future winners, but it also limits the risk of investing in wrong companies, with inherent risks related to such investments. Navigating the growth of the artificial intelligence trend, our focused guide on ETFs which offer directly and indirectly exposure to AI. We will show pros and cons and try to identify key strategies for AI, focusing on Nasdaq100.
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Reading time • 10 minute(s)
Best ETFs to Look Out For
Out of the hundreds, available ETFs, every investor wants to choose the one that will bring the highest return in the future. However, we cannot predict the future. In assessing the 'quality' of the ETF funds we choose, we can look at some basic information that will tell us more about the costs involved and, most importantly, whether they truly reflect the return of the asset, sector or index they track. In the following article, we will consider what ETFS to look out for. ETFs are mainly aimed at long-term investors looking for ways to diversify their portfolios, which can save time analysing each listed company individually. Speaking of 'best' funds, the article will refer to those whose broadly defined quality is high. This, of course, does not prejudge future returns. Without a doubt, the very popular ETFs are those offering exposure to the U.S. stock market and indexes like the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100, although funds for emerging market economies or precious metals are also popular. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) make diversified exposure to global financial markets possible, without searching and buying hundreds or a thousand of stocks. From the precious metal, stocks of major companies around the globe, to bonds and emerging markets. Who has ever heard about bull market cycles, technology stock rallies or precious metals investments? Thanks to ETFs, investing gained popularity. However, in this article, we will learn more about how to select a high quality ETF, and we will present you with a few.
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Reading time • 14 minute(s)
Climate change investments: Maximising impact
The world is moving forward, and high economic development continues to generate significant levels of carbon emissions. The Earth's climate is changing, and restoring a sustainable environment will help humanity achieve long-term growth without disrupting the planet's ecosystem and the risks that supply behind its damage. A very important “green economy” trend has been hatched as a response to rapid climate change. However, it cannot happen without trillions of dollars worth of investment from the private sector. Climate change creates powerful opportunities for companies that get given the ability to create successful business models based on the new green trend. Investors who choose to invest in this change can expect long-term returns and a positive impact on planet Earth. Of course, this cannot take place without the risks that always accompany investments. How to invest and, above all, how to understand the trend of investing in climate change? From electric cars to investments in uranium miners to investments in water. Examine how renewable energy, sustainable transport, and carbon reduction technologies can align your investments with environmental sustainability and potential growth. Read this article to know how to benefit and impact from climate change investments.
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Reading time • 10 minute(s)
ETF Investment Strategy: Maximising profits and limiting risk
The world of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) is vast and diverse and with the right strategy and gaining-knowledge approach, it can provide a lot of investment opportunities. Achieving financial goals through ETFs hinges on a well-crafted investment strategy. This article demystifies ETF selection and asset allocation, providing you with actionable insights to fine-tune your approach. Maybe after reading it, you will be ready to build or enhance your own ETF investment strategy? Let’s start and learn about ETF investment strategies.
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Reading time • 12 minute(s)
Energy Trading - How to invest in electricity & power?
Markets did not expect increased geopolitical tensions, deglobalisation trends, problems in supply chains and inflation to change sentiment toward energy companies. The global trend toward zero-carbon and green energy sources has also become an additional driver of positive change for the energy sector. The global energy crisis is not just rising gas or electricity prices driving inflation. It's also changing revenue expectations for companies operating in the market, from electricity or LNG suppliers to uranium producers to electric car companies. In this article below, we will identify ways, listed companies and financial instruments that can respond to improving sentiment toward the energy industry. We will answer the question: how to invest in electricity and power?
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Reading time • 4 minute(s)
ETFs: A complete guide to choosing the best
ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) are increasingly popular investment instruments that offer investors an easy and efficient way to diversify their portfolio. In this article, we'll explore what exactly an ETF is and how it works. We'll also provide a step-by-step guide on how to choose the best ETFs for your investment needs.
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