04 Why Should I Spread Bet? / Editor / 21 July 2008 / Leave a comment

Spread trading allows you to trade on an extensive variety of financial products in one place and in one currency. You can make your bets in one of three currencies (Sterling, US Dollars or Euros), which means you don't have to dela with the hassle of costly exchange rates and, in general, you can trade in your own currency.

Spread bets are margined trading products, which means you only need to deposit a small percentage of the full value of your trade leaving your additional capital to continue working hard elsewhere. For example, a £1 bet on a share is the equivalent of buying (or selling) 100 real shares. On most shares our minimum Initial Margin Requirement (deposit) is 3-5% of the underlying value of the shares which means that you can take out a spread bet in a share with as little as 1/30th of the cash required to buy the actual real shares from a broker.

Also, because Tradefair Spreads is not a stockbroker, we do not charge any commission or fees. We make a profit from the spread we add to the underlying market prices, which result in our quotes. Plus, don't forget, that UK residents benefit even more because your profits do not incur any Capital Gains and Income tax.

Whilst this type of trading offers many benefits not found elsewhere, it is very important to note that it carries a high level of risk to your capital, so you should only bet with money you can safely afford to lose. We do offer compulsory stop-losses, but it is still very much possible for you to lose more than your initial deposit.