Hi i currently have an account with ig markets and im not sure if i should have opened a spread betting account instead? I don’t have much money to start off with so which should i go with? Will they let me have a spread betting account as well? Is spread betting more of a gamble? Thanks
There is not actually that much difference with regards to how things work between spread betting and spot markets.
The main difference is the tax treatment by HMRC. spread betting is considered gambling by HMRC and therefore has not tax applied as long as you main source of income comes from another area (e.g. a 9-5)
With spread betting you are placing a bet against the broker (kind of like you would a bookmaker if you were at the horses) with regards to spot markets your broker would facilitate the matching of you long / short order with that of another client who wishes to take the opposite position to you.
In general I would advise UK individuals to have a spread betting account.
Cheers
DaftTrader.
Ok thanks.
Is there any difference in the amount of money you earn from say making 100 pips, apart from the tax been deducted. Also will they let me open a spread betting account as i allready have an account with them which is ig markets. Also is this a good broker for beginners? as i don’t have much money to spare at the moment? I only have £400 and don’t want to risk much of my money.
I trade with FXCM and I was told by them over the phone their spread betting accounts are executed and managed exactly the same as standard accounts - same software/servers etc… The only difference is as mentioned above one is tax free and the other is not if it is not your main source of income. If you have £400.00 my advice would be to open a spread betting account but denominated in USD with $100.00. Put the rest aside while you trade with $100.00 for maybe a month and see how you go and then add another $100.00 each month up to your £400.00 as you learn to trade. I don’t recommend demo accounts for anything other than getting used to your platform as they don’t include the emotional aspect of trading. i.e. start with the smallest amount of capital possible and then add to it as you go.
I have been with ig index for a while which is the spreadbetting account. I would suggest a different broker if you are starting small. The minmum you can trade with is 50p a pip after the 4 week introduction (starts at 10p for 2 weeks then 20p for 2 weeks). So if you are following proper risk management it maybe hard to trade at 50p a pip to start with. I would try oanda which is the other company i am with. You can trade at any value you like.
IG are a good broker in my opinion I have been with them for a number of years and never had a problem. however the minimum ‘bet’ is £0.5 per point for currencies I believe so you may want to look at another broker.
FXCM off spreadbetting and allow trading of micro lots on their spread betting account however they do trade in lots as opposed to £per point which can make converting a hassle.
Alpari UK allow trading of a minimum of £0.10 per pip (not lots like FXCM) and they also give you access to MT4.
If you wanted to stay with IG then they should not have any problem in opening a spread account with them, the best thing to do would be to ask them.
Cheers
DT.
Yes i have tried demo accounts on plus500 and ig markets and i have no problem making money on demo mode but when it comes to the real thing its very different. Thanks for your advice. Plus500 was the first i used but I find the charts useless plus you can’t do any technical analysis. Ive also heard alot of bad things about them.
Thanks i will look into oanda.
Thanks. I’ve rang them and they said that its fine to open a spread betting account as well as the one i have which is ig markets. What is the name you call ig markets? Like ig index is spread betting, so what do you call ig markets? Is it called cfd trading?
If you open a spread betting account with FXCM and ask them to denominate it in USD, you will be trading at $0.10 per point per micro contract with the exception of the JPY crosses which are slightly higher at $0.13. CFDs are slightly different - US Oil is $1.00 per point (equivalent of trading 10 micro contracts) as is the SPX500. You can also use either MT4 or TS2 as your trading platform. Additionally, you will have access to the DailyFX Plus website which has hundreds of excellent educational videos and live Q & A sessions. I’ve been trading with them for 5+ years and never had an issue.
Sorry I meant IG Index.
This only helps if your home currency is USD otherwise you face exchange rate risk with your portfolio. Also the micro contract = 0.10p only works if USD is the 2nd currency in the pair so it is not much use if you are trading non US crosses etc.
Does anyone have an account with etx capital? Could you tell me what’s the minimum contract size for currencys and for UK and us stocks. I am wanting to open a mini/micro account, do they do micro accounts? Can you tell me how much it would cost to open a position on any of the above at the minimum. Also could anyone tell me how this is worked out. Im new.
Thanks.
Hi DT,
There is a way to place trades on FXCM’s Trading Station platform using pounds per point instead of lots. Go to System > Options. In the window that appears, click on General Trading. Then on the right-hand side chang the “Amount mode” field to “Currency/Point Trade” as shown below.
Then click OK. Now when you bring up an order window to place a trade, instead of seeing the amount in lots, you will see the amount shown in pounds per point as shown below.
Jason