Spread Betting Vs Trading

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Spread betting is an alternative investment option to trading. Here, people can place bets on how a market will perform. Instead of owning shares, this is a chance to bet on everything from gold and interest rates to sporting events. Though each type of investment involves research and gauging the market, spread betting and trading are very different. The following includes some basic information on the differences between the two investment options.

Bet on the Rise and Fall of Different Markets

Instead of buying shares, people bet on the rise and fall of the market. This means that spread betting doesn’t involve the ownership of anything. Additionally, it means that a person can make money by betting against the market as well as betting on its success. This key difference offers people more options when it comes to investing their money.

Fewer Fees and No Taxes

To buy shares in the stock market, people need to work with companies or brokers who negotiate this process. However, there are often commission, broker, and annual fees that link to this. Such fees can cut into one’s profits. Spread betting does not have such fees. Any taxes or fees are linked to the spread. This ensures people make the most of their money. Similarly, instead of paying to pay taxes on profits, people do not have to do this since no shares are owned. This also saves people money, especially if the betting goes well.

Less Money Upfront

Buying stock shares can become pricey, especially if people want to make a significant amount of money. A single share with an established or up-and-coming company can be expensive, and people tend to buy many shares at once. Thus, one would need to have a lot of liquid assets or cash upfront to be able to trade and make a large profit. This is not the case when it comes to spread betting. People do not need as much upfront cash, and they can also determine their stopping point so that they do not lose everything with one bet. This is a cost-efficient way to invest money. Similarly, not owning stocks means that one will not have to deal with the time and energy of selling and maintaining or watching them. This is a far easier way to invest money without spending a lot of money and time.

If people are smart, they can make quite a bit of money with spread betting. This is a chance to benefit from price movement. However, it is possible to lose money with this option of the market does not perform the way people estimate. This is why research needs to accompany any bet placed. There are always dangers when it comes to investing money into anything: whether a spread or the stock market. This is why education and research and careful investment are important.

Michael Brooks follows the spread betting and cfd trading markets closely and loves to exchange knowledge with fellow investors.

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Spreadbetting on Stocks and Shares: A Brief Overview

Image by RambergMediaImages via Flickr

Financial spread betting on stocks and shares provides many of the same benefits as purchasing actual shares, but without the stamp duty, commissions, and large sums of capital needed to realize a good return. By utilizing the services of spread betting companies, traders are able to speculate on the performance of individual stocks and shares, without ever taking ownership of the specific instruments involved. Rather, spreadbetting speculates on the rise or fall of stocks and shares over the course of a day, month or other period.

Spreadbetting on stocks and shares is a popular trading vehicle that permits traders the same exposure to a stock as a traditional investor, but at only a percentage of the capital. Add in the benefit of tax savings, since spreadbetting is not subject to capital gains or income tax in the UK, and traders have the opportunity to retain more of their returns (of course tax rules in any country are subject to change). The process is rather simple and the deposits required are minimal.

To illustrate how financial spread betting works in terms of stocks and shares, consider the following example. Company A is expected to announce quarterly income results in just a few days. According to news reports, the company is not realizing the level of profits it anticipated earlier in the year. Coupled with rising raw materials prices, a trader believes that stock prices for Company A will fall after the quarterly statements become public. As such, the trader decides to go short, or open a sell bet on Company A.

Spread betting companies list the spread price on Company A as 180p-183p. The trader places a bet at 10p per point at the sell price of 180p. He chooses a rolling daily bet, meaning the bet rolls over automatically to the next trading day, and each subsequent day, until he places a bet in the opposite direction. The first day of the announcement, stock prices fall to 175p, then fall again to 172p the following day. At this point in the process, the trader has realized a change of 8p at 10p per point. His total returns are 80 pounds.

The trader now believes the prices have dropped as much as they are going to, so he places an open buy bet according to the most recent spread price and waits for the stocks to begin climbing again. A new spread price of 172p-175p is issued, so he places an open buy bet, called going long, for 10p per point, starting at 175p. This time, however, the trader chooses to only bet on the current day's trading. At the close of the market, stocks in Company A have risen to 176p. He realizes a gain of only 1 point or 10p, for a total gain of 90 pounds tax-free over three days of trading.

Spreadbetting, like any other trading vehicles, presents a risk to traders. While spreadbetting offers traders the possibility of solid returns for little capital outlay, it also poses risks should the market move in the opposite direction of a trader's bet. It is possible for a trader to lose his entire deposit or considerably more, owing to the rate of exposure.

Michael Brooks is passionate about spread betting. Whether it is stocks, exchange traded funds, cfds or indices, Michael keeps his finger on the pulse of the industry.

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