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Opening A Spread Betting Account


macbeth79

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HOLA441
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HOLA442

I've used IG index. They are one of the bigger players and there is not much that they don't cover. One problem I have found with them over the years is that if you put an order on with them you always get poor fills! Maybe its just me! :P But plan for some slippage if you do use stop or limit orders with them.

I current use city index but they have just had a complete platform update which I'm still getting use to so I can't really comment yet.

I only use spread betting to occasionally hedge my holdings. I have tried short term trading but found that I was useless at it, I also have no interest in checking my positions every 10 minutes or sitting watch pips on the screen all day!

Edited by renting til I die
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HOLA443
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HOLA444

I spreadbet currencies full time for a living. It took me about 8 years and £50,000 before I became profitable, it also caused depression and upset relationships. Believe me, it is not an easy road to go down.

Ig index are the best platform and have the best free charts. Spreadco have fixed spreads which are very useful but the platform isn't so good.

By the by there isn't much difference between them, they all take your money in equal measure ;-)

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HOLA445

I've used IG index. They are one of the bigger players and there is not much that they don't cover. One problem I have found with them over the years is that if you put an order on with them you always get poor fills! Maybe its just me! :P But plan for some slippage if you do use stop or limit orders with them.

I current use city index but they have just had a complete platform update which I'm still getting use to so I can't really comment yet.

I only use spread betting to occasionally hedge my holdings. I have tried short term trading but found that I was useless at it, I also have no interest in checking my positions every 10 minutes or sitting watch pips on the screen all day!

Very, very rarely do I get bad fills and I trade every day. Only during a spike caused by a news release will the fill be bad.

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  • 7 months later...
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HOLA446

I spreadbet currencies full time for a living. It took me about 8 years and £50,000 before I became profitable, it also caused depression and upset relationships. Believe me, it is not an easy road to go down.

Ig index are the best platform and have the best free charts. Spreadco have fixed spreads which are very useful but the platform isn't so good.

By the by there isn't much difference between them, they all take your money in equal measure ;-)

That's an interesting post. I use IG index for their alerts, but short term trade UK Stocks via Advfn's platform.

One day I'd like to look into currencies but want to do a couple of more years playing in the stock space before attempting to get to grips with currencies.

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HOLA447

If you do if for a living then spread betting avoids all tax, so it's the clear way to go. Currencies are very different to stocks in their behaviour, with much more messing around in busting stops out and general shafting of people. Everybody is different though, you'll have to try a bit of everything to see what fits your personality.

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HOLA448

If you do if for a living then spread betting avoids all tax, so it's the clear way to go. Currencies are very different to stocks in their behaviour, with much more messing around in busting stops out and general shafting of people. Everybody is different though, you'll have to try a bit of everything to see what fits your personality.

Yes thanks for that, regarding currencies I've been doing general digging around and there appears quite a lot of cynicism about how spread betting companies operate, i.e. fills, spreads, time lapses etc. (There is a feeling that they are like the 19 century bucket shops with all the associated shenanigans they entail.)

Now this could, in part, be because a percentage of the general public cry foul or manipulation when they lose. I see it all the time when reading bulletin boards regarding price moves in stocks, but it is something I'd have to bear in mind, plus if I were twenty years younger I might be more inclined to have a go at currencies, and I'm not sure if I want to lay out more cash on 'currency learning' (as you did), and as I did when learning about stock speculation!

If you don't mind me asking what charting package do you use with IG Index as I've cursory read details regarding something called Meta 4 and I'm not sure how that would marry up so to speak with IG's package.

Regarding IG index, a guy I follow regarding the stock markets considers ETX Capital to be the safest spread betting company because of how they store clients cash. I.e, he doesn't think ETX Capital will do an MF Global with clients cash unlike, perhaps, some of the other operators in the city.

Also I've not been able to have multiple charts open on different monitors with the IG package, but can with the advfn package (although I do pay for this package). How do you get on with that please, or it it because you only follow a few currency pairs, JPY / US $ and US$ / Euro?

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HOLA449

Forgot to add, regarding the tax angle, if 90% of the general public are losers in the general speculation space, then surely the tax angle from most people's pov isn't really relevant? Obviously I am not aiming that at you, just it's always struck me as a point whihc is over looked.

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HOLA4410
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HOLA4411

When I said igindex charts are the best, they are the best of the free ones and 'could' be used professionally by some people. They are a stripped down version of pro realtime.

I use ensign software with an esignal data feed. However any chart package would 'marry up', the quoted prices are the same give or take a pip.

I know igindex separates client funds but I never keep a lot of money there, just a slush fund. I can't say I've experienced them deliberately widening spreads etc to play around with people and expect like you say it's novices crying foul. When you're a novice it seems like the market is out to get you, hitting your stop and reversing etc. it's how it works.

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HOLA4412

From time to time there is media outrage about the fact that people can speculate without paying the usual taxes by using spread betting. Then it goes quiet.

Two possibilities:

1. They are major party donors (they are).

2. The corporate tax at the total company level is both more efficient and collects more.

When they increase betting taxes, the charges eke up somewhere. That is how the tax is collected.

Yes No.2, has struck me as being relevant here, although No.1 is also quite possible, so whether we like it or not Tax is paid some where along the line whether it's by the 90% who lose directly or indirectly.

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