Introduction to Financial Spread Betting

Financial Spread betting is a kind of financial speculation that enables global market traders to make profits regardless of whether the market prices move up or down. Those who trade in individual shares, bonds, stocks, crude oil, currencies as well as precious commodities like gold can use spread betting to increase their chances of getting profits.

There are many benefits associated with financial spread betting. One, the profits you get through this type of trading is completely tax free. Secondly, you do not have to pay any unnecessary commissions. However, you will be required to pay some money to the betting company based on the spread, that is, the difference between buying and selling price.

Another benefit is having access to most of the global markets 24 hours, 7 days a week. You can do your stock trading in multiple markets through only one account. You also get to choose the currency you think is most appropriate for you, thus you will be saved the trouble of having to pay for currency exchange. Financial betting allows you to bet on movement of the market prices. You can go long or short, but either way, you can make a lot of profit if the market prices move on the direction of your bet.

All investments that deal with shares, currency or stock trading have to have an element of risk, and financial betting is of course no exception. Loses in this type of investment occur when the market shifts in the direction opposite what you placed you placed your bet on. You can monitor your funds, and maybe control your loses through some of the stop loss mechanisms available to you.

One of the forms of betting that is similar to spread betting and equally popular among many people involved in stock trading is contacts for difference, or CFDs trading. However there are a number of differences between the two. There are no commissions, but in CFD trading you have to pay some commission. CFD trading is subjected to Capital Gains Tax while financial betting is not. There are no dividends in spread betting, but CFD traders do get dividends when possible.

Binary bet is yet another betting option that has more or less the same properties as financial betting. However, unlike spread betting where prices are based on the underlying instrument price, the price of a binary bet is based on the odds of the occurrence of an event. Binary betting is popular among stock traders since it offers a lot of flexibility.

Opening a spread betting account does not involve much. You can open one online or through the telephone. Spread betting offers a very simple way to gain when the stock trading market seems to be falling. Financial spread betting is not the best option for making a long term investment plan. However, this type of trading is appropriate for those who would like to make short term profits from stock trading.