Exchange traded funds, or ETFs for short, are essentially mutual funds that are traded on public exchanges just like stocks. From previously just being a long-term investment, ETFs have revolutionized the way funds can be traded on the short-term, whether they are traded through an ECN forex broker or a traditional stock broker.
With ECN forex brokers, ETFs are generally traded in the form of CFDs that track the price of publicly traded ETFs. Trading these assets as CFDs allows for much higher leverage than what is normally possible from stock brokers, while also giving traders an easy way to short-sell ETFs. For most independent short-term traders and swing traders, CFDs therefore represent the best way to trade ETFs.