In other words, an investor makes a bet based on whether they think the market will rise or fall from the time their bet is accepted. They also get to choose how much they want to risk on their bet. It is promoted as a tax-free, commission-free activity that allows investors to profit from either bull or bear markets. Spread betting is a leveraged product which means investors only need to deposit a small percentage of the position's value. This magnifies both gains and losses which means investors can lose more than their initial investment.
Spread betting is not available to residents of the United States due to regulatory and legal limitations. Managing Risk in Spread Betting Despite the risk that comes with the use of high leverage, spread betting offers effective tools to limit losses : Standard stop-loss orders: Stop-loss orders reduce risk by automatically closing out a losing trade once a market passes a set price level. In the case of a standard stop-loss, the order will close out your trade at the best available price once the set stop value has been reached.
It's possible that your trade can be closed out at a worse level than that of the stop trigger, especially when the market is in a state of high volatility. Guaranteed stop-loss orders: This form of stop-loss order guarantees to close your trade at the exact value you have set, regardless of the underlying market conditions.
However, this form of downside insurance is not free. Guaranteed stop-loss orders typically incur an additional charge from your broker. Risk can also be mitigated by the use of arbitrage, betting two ways simultaneously. If an investor is trading physical shares, they have to borrow the stock they intend to short sell which can be time-consuming and costly.
Spread betting makes short selling as easy as buying. No Commissions Spread betting companies make money through the spread they offer. There is no separate commission charge which makes it easier for investors to monitor trading costs and work out their position size. Tax Benefits Spread betting is considered gambling in some tax jurisdictions, and subsequently, any realized gains may be taxable as winnings and not capital gains or income.
Investors who exercise spread betting should keep records and seek the advice of an accountant before completing their taxes. Because taxation on winnings in some countries is far less than that on capital gains or trading income, spread betting can be quite tax-efficient, depending on one's location.
Wide Spreads During periods of volatility, spread betting firms may widen their spreads. This can trigger stop-loss orders and increase trading costs. Investors should be wary about placing orders immediately before company earnings announcements and economic reports. Spread Betting vs. CFDs Many spread betting platforms will also offer trading in contracts for difference CFDs , which are a similar type of contract.
CFDs are derivative contracts where traders can bet on short-term price moves. There is no delivery of physical goods or securities with CFDs, but the contract itself has transferrable value while it is in force. The CFD is thus a tradable security established between a client and the broker, who are exchanging the difference in the initial price of the trade and its value when the trade is unwound or reversed.
Although CFDs allow investors to trade the price movements of futures, they are not futures contracts by themselves. CFDs do not have expiration dates containing preset prices but trade like other securities with buy and sell prices. Margin trading You only put down a margin deposit to open your position. You can buy or sell to profit from rising or falling prices. Low-cost trading Trade with zero commission. All charges are contained in our low dealing spreads.
Go long or short You can buy or sell to profit from rising or falling prices. Gain invaluable market insight using the following analytical tools: Trading Central Technical Views, Alpha Generation and Featured Ideas IT-Finance advanced trading charts with full backtesting Trading Central Market Buzz, Crowd Insight and Newsdesk Stay on top of the market moves with our economic calendar and regular expert analysis.
Plus our experienced trading support team is available by phone or email around the clock. Supports automated trading and copy trading.

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About Spread Durations Spread bets have durations. Generally, bets either expire at the end of the day or at the end of a quarterly period more typical with futures contracts. End of a Quarterly Period: Quarterly bets will often have wider spreads but lower financing costs.
Any bet can be closed early without penalty. Example of a Spread Bet Now consider that transaction as a spread bet. That cost would be incurred every day the trade was open while acquiring the shares for cash would incur no day-to-day costs.
Managing Spread Betting Risk Since spread betting involves large amounts of leverage, risk control is a key concern and a key element to long-term success. Setting maximum allowable losses is a useful strategy for limiting risk and can be achieved through stop loss and guaranteed stop loss orders.
A stop loss order allows a spread bettor to limit risk by establishing a predetermined price at which the broker will close the transaction. Many brokers require stop orders on every trade, and that may include an automatic stop loss order entered when the initial transaction is executed.
Tip: Stop loss orders do not offer perfect protection. When the specified price is reached, the stop loss order becomes a market order and there can be slippage between the price of the stop loss and the actual price at which the transaction is closed out — this slippage can be larger in periods of elevated volatility and is also influenced by how quickly the spread betting broker executes transactions.
Spread betting companies require bettors to pay an additional fee for a guaranteed stop loss order, and that payment may be charged on the front end of the transaction so the participant pays the premium whether or not the guaranteed stop loss order is executed or only if executed. The cost of a GSLO is usually expressed as a multiple of the stake or a percentage of the notional trade value.
Advantage of Spread Betting Spread betting is essentially a way to make highly leveraged directional bets on markets, stocks, commodities, and other securities. While this is often touted as a major advantage of spread betting, the high degree of margin can quickly lead to significant losses. Lower Limits: Participants are also not subject to the same limits on marginable securities or minimum transaction sizes.
While a U. No Charged Commissions: Spread betting companies like to focus on the fact that spread bettors are not charged commissions, but this does not mean that betting is free. Bettors have to pay the entry spread buying at the ask and selling at the bid and that spread is determined by the company. Depending upon the size of the spread and frequency of trading, bettors may pay more in entry spreads than they would in commissions, but spread betting companies do compete on the tightness of the spreads they offer.
Favorable Tax Treatment: Many countries have favorable tax treatment for this type of transaction. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the profits from spread betting are not subject to capital gains taxes or stamp duties. That benefit is mitigated by the fact that losses are not tax-deductible. Access to Specific Financial Products: It allows participants to access financial products that may not otherwise be available, including stocks listed on foreign exchanges and derivative instruments like futures contracts that may otherwise have substantial minimum investment requirements.
Spread betting got its start in the U. Practically speaking, the only limits on spread betting are what spread betting companies are willing to offer, so spread betting can be done with thousands of individual stocks, stock indices, interest rates, currencies, commodities, and other financial instruments. Tip: Most spread betting companies require spread bettors to use the full available margin.
Spread Betting Limitations Spread betting also carries several significant limitations that participants must consider. The most significant of these limitations is that the bettor never actually owns the underlying asset. While an investor who buys shares with cash and sees the price decline can choose to wait for a recovery in the price, the combination of holding costs and margin requirements can force a spread bettor out of their position before any recovery can take place.
Fees There are also numerous fees that apply to spread betting. First, participants must pay the entry spread, buying at the ask price and selling at the bid price. Spread bettors will also be subject to financing charges also called holding or funding charges if they hold their positions overnight.
In essence, this is similar to margin loan interest charges but charged on a daily basis. The amount of the financing charge is calculated as the end-of-day notional position value times the interest rate divided by some brokers will use a different denominator for some instruments, like U.
The amount is then automatically deducted from the account. Brokers often compete on the basis of these fees and it is a good idea for bettor to shop around and consider multiple spread betting companies before starting spread betting. Margin Calls If a spread bet moves against the bettor they may face a margin call. Once the threshold is breached, the bettor must deposit more cash or close some open transactions to raise the equity level back above the minimum threshold.
Most U. Spread betting accounts will also have a pre-specified margin closeout level—if the equity value of the account falls below that level, the broker will automatically start closing out open positions. In the U. There are important differences between spread betting margin calls and typical equity margin calls.
While the losses from an individual trade can exceed the initial margin amount, the maximum loss is limited to the value of the account. Some of the top ones include: Low Cost Entry Because you are not purchasing the asset you are betting on, entry into spread betting is only a portion of what it would cost to do stock trading.
You however can leverage a similar amount of stock and receive the same gains. Access to Global Markets Spread betting is typically done online by companies that provide spread betting platforms and tools. He best of these companies provide access to thousands of global markets where spread betting can be done throughout the day.
Margin Trading Bettors only have to put down a margin deposit to open their positions for a spread bet. This allows for increased returns when they have a winning bet. Trade Multiple Assets With spread betting you can choose stocks, indices, bonds, currencies, and commodities including gold, silver and oil, as your underlying asset. Risk Management Tools The top spread betting platforms provide tools that help better to manage risk, lock in profits and limit potential losses.
Regulated In the UK, Germany, France, and many other countries spread betting is federally regulated providing protections to spread bettors and their money. Spread betting is very popular throughout Europe and not legal in the US. In order to get involved with spread betting you need to understand how it work and be clear about the risks involved.
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Beginner's Guide to Spread Betting 👍INVESTING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION STIPEND CYCLE 14
Any bet can be closed early without penalty. Example of a Spread Bet Now consider that transaction as a spread bet. That cost would be incurred every day the trade was open while acquiring the shares for cash would incur no day-to-day costs. Managing Spread Betting Risk Since spread betting involves large amounts of leverage, risk control is a key concern and a key element to long-term success. Setting maximum allowable losses is a useful strategy for limiting risk and can be achieved through stop loss and guaranteed stop loss orders.
A stop loss order allows a spread bettor to limit risk by establishing a predetermined price at which the broker will close the transaction. Many brokers require stop orders on every trade, and that may include an automatic stop loss order entered when the initial transaction is executed.
Tip: Stop loss orders do not offer perfect protection. When the specified price is reached, the stop loss order becomes a market order and there can be slippage between the price of the stop loss and the actual price at which the transaction is closed out — this slippage can be larger in periods of elevated volatility and is also influenced by how quickly the spread betting broker executes transactions. Spread betting companies require bettors to pay an additional fee for a guaranteed stop loss order, and that payment may be charged on the front end of the transaction so the participant pays the premium whether or not the guaranteed stop loss order is executed or only if executed.
The cost of a GSLO is usually expressed as a multiple of the stake or a percentage of the notional trade value. Advantage of Spread Betting Spread betting is essentially a way to make highly leveraged directional bets on markets, stocks, commodities, and other securities.
While this is often touted as a major advantage of spread betting, the high degree of margin can quickly lead to significant losses. Lower Limits: Participants are also not subject to the same limits on marginable securities or minimum transaction sizes. While a U. No Charged Commissions: Spread betting companies like to focus on the fact that spread bettors are not charged commissions, but this does not mean that betting is free.
Bettors have to pay the entry spread buying at the ask and selling at the bid and that spread is determined by the company. Depending upon the size of the spread and frequency of trading, bettors may pay more in entry spreads than they would in commissions, but spread betting companies do compete on the tightness of the spreads they offer. Favorable Tax Treatment: Many countries have favorable tax treatment for this type of transaction.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, the profits from spread betting are not subject to capital gains taxes or stamp duties. That benefit is mitigated by the fact that losses are not tax-deductible. Access to Specific Financial Products: It allows participants to access financial products that may not otherwise be available, including stocks listed on foreign exchanges and derivative instruments like futures contracts that may otherwise have substantial minimum investment requirements.
Spread betting got its start in the U. Practically speaking, the only limits on spread betting are what spread betting companies are willing to offer, so spread betting can be done with thousands of individual stocks, stock indices, interest rates, currencies, commodities, and other financial instruments.
Tip: Most spread betting companies require spread bettors to use the full available margin. Spread Betting Limitations Spread betting also carries several significant limitations that participants must consider. The most significant of these limitations is that the bettor never actually owns the underlying asset.
While an investor who buys shares with cash and sees the price decline can choose to wait for a recovery in the price, the combination of holding costs and margin requirements can force a spread bettor out of their position before any recovery can take place. Fees There are also numerous fees that apply to spread betting. First, participants must pay the entry spread, buying at the ask price and selling at the bid price.
Spread bettors will also be subject to financing charges also called holding or funding charges if they hold their positions overnight. In essence, this is similar to margin loan interest charges but charged on a daily basis. The amount of the financing charge is calculated as the end-of-day notional position value times the interest rate divided by some brokers will use a different denominator for some instruments, like U.
The amount is then automatically deducted from the account. Brokers often compete on the basis of these fees and it is a good idea for bettor to shop around and consider multiple spread betting companies before starting spread betting.
Margin Calls If a spread bet moves against the bettor they may face a margin call. Once the threshold is breached, the bettor must deposit more cash or close some open transactions to raise the equity level back above the minimum threshold.
Most U. Spread betting accounts will also have a pre-specified margin closeout level—if the equity value of the account falls below that level, the broker will automatically start closing out open positions. In the U. There are important differences between spread betting margin calls and typical equity margin calls.
While the losses from an individual trade can exceed the initial margin amount, the maximum loss is limited to the value of the account. Some brokers may offer wider spreads, but offer access to spread betting on financial instruments that other brokers do not offer. Spreads can widen during periods of elevated volatility and can vary between similar instruments in the same class different stocks or indices could have different spreads.
CFDs are always settled in cash and there is never a physical delivery of the underlying instrument. To learn more about the elements of spread betting click here to have spread betting explained. Spread betting also has a range of benefits for investors.
Some of the top ones include: Low Cost Entry Because you are not purchasing the asset you are betting on, entry into spread betting is only a portion of what it would cost to do stock trading. You however can leverage a similar amount of stock and receive the same gains.
Access to Global Markets Spread betting is typically done online by companies that provide spread betting platforms and tools. He best of these companies provide access to thousands of global markets where spread betting can be done throughout the day. Margin Trading Bettors only have to put down a margin deposit to open their positions for a spread bet. This allows for increased returns when they have a winning bet.
Trade Multiple Assets With spread betting you can choose stocks, indices, bonds, currencies, and commodities including gold, silver and oil, as your underlying asset. Risk Management Tools The top spread betting platforms provide tools that help better to manage risk, lock in profits and limit potential losses. Regulated In the UK, Germany, France, and many other countries spread betting is federally regulated providing protections to spread bettors and their money.
Spread betting is very popular throughout Europe and not legal in the US.
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