Which spread betting firm?

[simonfudge]

Hi all
I have never had a spread betting account. I have done some trading previously but got mauled.
Fancy giving it another go. I would like to have advice on which SB firm to go with and which markets to trade.
I am currently influenced and enthused by Malcolm Pryor with his Financial Spread Betting Handbook. I anticipate that I will be seeking to trade in the medium term, 1 to 30 days. I want the rolling daily bet product with tightness of spreads.

Also, Pryor recommends Sharescope as his preferred trading software programme; any comments ?
Simon

 

[£10kLoser]

Capital Spreads/Tradefair have rolling daily with tight spreads on most instruments. I use them for longer trades - otherwise I use IG (dailies do not roll over). CMC seem better but I no longer use my account with them as they exhibit several of the problems leveled at spread bet companies!

Cantor rarely get a mention - funny, I have an account with them too but no longer use it. No reason and I had no problems with them...

Never used Sharescope so i can't comment.

 

[shadowninja]

Don't think you can trade with Sharescope but it's very good for data mining... used it when I used to trade stocks.

I could only recommend IG; have heard too many bad stories about every other spreadbetting company (use the search function). As for tight spreads, not bothered; they might be tight but can you get filled at the price you want?

 

[simonfudge]

Capital Spreads/Tradefair have rolling daily with tight spreads on most instruments. I use them for longer trades - otherwise I use IG (dailies do not roll over). CMC seem better but I no longer use my account with them as they exhibit several of the problems leveled at spread bet companies!

Cantor rarely get a mention - funny, I have an account with them too but no longer use it. No reason and I had no problems with them...

Never used Sharescope so i can't comment.

Thanks
Simon

 

[simonfudge]

Don't think you can trade with Sharescope but it's very good for data mining... used it when I used to trade stocks.

I could only recommend IG; have heard too many bad stories about every other spreadbetting company (use the search function). As for tight spreads, not bothered; they might be tight but can you get filled at the price you want?

Thanks
SF

 

[Trader1UK]

What about CMC? Are they ok?

 

[£10kLoser]

If you read my post above, you'll see I've said 'they exhibit several of the problems levelled at spread bet companies.' That's why I don't use them any more!

I've had huge spikes and long delays on closing trades - the last of which lost me £500. Of course, I complained about the two minute delay but the official response was 'too bad'. If you always allow your stop or limit to close the trade they may be acceptable. With IG and Capital I always get the price I click when manually closing a trade - even in a fast moving market.

 

[Trader1UK]

Thanks,
Shall give them a try

 

[si1503]

Recently started with Capital Spreads. Absolutely no problems with them so far, spreads are quite tight and accurate too. They also offer a £70 bonus referral offer which I am happy to provide - just shoot me a PM if interested.

As for sharescope I currently use Gold which provides EOD pricing for all UK stocks. For £14 per month it is good value, and will certainly assist you in the analysis of equity fundamentals and the broader chart trends; which as a position trader myself is more what I am interested in.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Simon

 

[pit pony]

Hi all
I have never had a spread betting account. I have done some trading previously but got mauled.
Fancy giving it another go. I would like to have advice on which SB firm to go with and which markets to trade.
I am currently influenced and enthused by Malcolm Pryor with his Financial Spread Betting Handbook. I anticipate that I will be seeking to trade in the medium term, 1 to 30 days. I want the rolling daily bet product with tightness of spreads.

Also, Pryor recommends Sharescope as his preferred trading software programme; any comments ?
Simon

I was using Futuresbetting.com, the instant fills tight spreads and the fact they dont take positions against you they hedge all their bets is another plus.If i wanted i could run positions o/n or whenever as long as i had funds.
They got bought down with Global trader but have been bought by another firm out there.Should be back live again soon i am being told.

 

[jason0181]

Simon

I have just started reading The fincial spread better handbook too, and so much of what Malcolm Pyors says is complete sense.

I use IGindex for my betting, and have had no problems with them. CMC were a real pain trying to get me to sign up, so I now ignore them.

I have also purchased sharescope, and am inpressed by the ease of use and functionality. If you go with IGindex the do have a very good charts and and research tools, which may help when starting out. Only problem is that you need to be online, and can be a bit slow.

Another good book I started with, was the Naked Trade. His main take on spreadbetting is that it is risky, and you need to know the markets before starting. On his website, he does list his trades, and I have followed a few of these and made good profits.

Whatever choice you make, try and find one that allows you to make some small bets to start with just to get your confidece, as the market can move very quickly, and lose your deposit in seconds. If you are trading with 10p stake, you can lose it and not be too worried. All the ones I have see offer some training and good guide to get started.

Hope that helps
Jason

 

[Hoggums]

Capital Spreads/Tradefair have rolling daily with tight spreads on most instruments. I use them for longer trades - otherwise I use IG (dailies do not roll over). CMC seem better but I no longer use my account with them as they exhibit several of the problems leveled at spread bet companies!

Cantor rarely get a mention - funny, I have an account with them too but no longer use it. No reason and I had no problems with them...

Never used Sharescope so i can't comment.

Dailies DO roll over with IG - you just have to select the option for them to roll over in your control panel!

 

[si1503]

Dailies DO roll over with IG - you just have to select the option for them to roll over in your control panel!

I was going to say. If they didn't roll over that would be really odd and a pretty big red mark against.

 

[£10kLoser]

OK, I've looked at this and you can roll some bets over but they simply close them and re-open them - so you have to pay the spread again.

That's a dubious definition of a roll-over and could end up incredibly expensive!

After all, dailies are supposed to be just that. For longer term the idea is to use the quarterly futures.

 

[Hawali]

Hi

First forum posting...

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere:

Just started trading - using finspreads (50p). I've finished reading Pryor's Financial Spread Betting handbook. He makes reference to creating shorlists of stocks that meet certain criteria - 2 month highs ADX> 30 etc etc. I presume you set up filters in Sharescope Gold to do this.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a free package that provides you with EOD prices and the ability to filter for ADX, 2 mth highs, relative strength etc?

Thanks
David

 

[simonfudge]

Thanks

Simon

I have just started reading The fincial spread better handbook too, and so much of what Malcolm Pyors says is complete sense.

I use IGindex for my betting, and have had no problems with them. CMC were a real pain trying to get me to sign up, so I now ignore them.

I have also purchased sharescope, and am inpressed by the ease of use and functionality. If you go with IGindex the do have a very good charts and and research tools, which may help when starting out. Only problem is that you need to be online, and can be a bit slow.

Another good book I started with, was the Naked Trade. His main take on spreadbetting is that it is risky, and you need to know the markets before starting. On his website, he does list his trades, and I have followed a few of these and made good profits.

Whatever choice you make, try and find one that allows you to make some small bets to start with just to get your confidece, as the market can move very quickly, and lose your deposit in seconds. If you are trading with 10p stake, you can lose it and not be too worried. All the ones I have see offer some training and good guide to get started.

Hope that helps
Jason

Thanks Jason

 

[simonfudge]

Hi

First forum posting...

Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere:

Just started trading - using finspreads (50p). I've finished reading Pryor's Financial Spread Betting handbook. He makes reference to creating shorlists of stocks that meet certain criteria - 2 month highs ADX> 30 etc etc. I presume you set up filters in Sharescope Gold to do this.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a free package that provides you with EOD prices and the ability to filter for ADX, 2 mth highs, relative strength etc?

Thanks
David

Thanks for your reply David.
Sorry but I cannot help with your question.
GOOD lUCK

 

[simonfudge]

Thanks

Simon

I have just started reading The fincial spread better handbook too, and so much of what Malcolm Pyors says is complete sense.

I use IGindex for my betting, and have had no problems with them. CMC were a real pain trying to get me to sign up, so I now ignore them.

I have also purchased sharescope, and am inpressed by the ease of use and functionality. If you go with IGindex the do have a very good charts and and research tools, which may help when starting out. Only problem is that you need to be online, and can be a bit slow.

Another good book I started with, was the Naked Trade. His main take on spreadbetting is that it is risky, and you need to know the markets before starting. On his website, he does list his trades, and I have followed a few of these and made good profits.

Whatever choice you make, try and find one that allows you to make some small bets to start with just to get your confidece, as the market can move very quickly, and lose your deposit in seconds. If you are trading with 10p stake, you can lose it and not be too worried. All the ones I have see offer some training and good guide to get started.

Hope that helps
Jason

Thanks Jason and good luck

 

[simonfudge]

Recently started with Capital Spreads. Absolutely no problems with them so far, spreads are quite tight and accurate too. They also offer a £70 bonus referral offer which I am happy to provide - just shoot me a PM if interested.

As for sharescope I currently use Gold which provides EOD pricing for all UK stocks. For £14 per month it is good value, and will certainly assist you in the analysis of equity fundamentals and the broader chart trends; which as a position trader myself is more what I am interested in.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

Simon

Thanks, good luck

 

[Hoggums]

OK, I've looked at this and you can roll some bets over but they simply close them and re-open them - so you have to pay the spread again.

That's a dubious definition of a roll-over and could end up incredibly expensive!

After all, dailies are supposed to be just that. For longer term the idea is to use the quarterly futures.

Yes but you don't pay any interest charges at IG for doing so. Last time I had a long FTSE £10 position open at cap Spreads I was deducted £11 from my account in interest overnight.

The IG handbook also says that the bet is rolled and opened using a reduced spread - although it's very vague as to what that reduction is!

Futures are definitely cheaper - although you are still indirectly paying interest.