The main difference between index CFDs and share trading is that with a contract for difference, you never own the physical asset or financial instrument you trade. As a result, you speculate on the market price of the asset, and profit if the market moves in your favor, or lose if it moves against you. In share trading, you are legally obligated to exchange the legal ownership of the shares (of a company) for money.

Because CFDs are leveraged trading products, you can open a position with only a small deposit. The asset can either be bought (go long) or sold (go short) depending on your prediction; with share trading, you have to purchase the shares for their full amount, and you can only profit if the price increases.

You can, however, only trade shares and ETFs with share trading. There are no shareholder privileges associated with index CFDs, unlike shares.

It is important to understand how each product works, even though different types of products are suitable for different types of traders, based on their knowledge and goals. Some index trading strategies may benefit from rollovers, daily financing/swap charges, and different holding costs for each product.

Please refer to our product schedule for detailed information.

Each of our liquidity providers is a major financial institution.

No. Cash CFDs typically have longer trading hours and smaller contract sizes than future CFDs. Our product schedule provides further details.