Deal4Free Review

Deal4Free offers both online contracts-for-difference (CFD) trading and financial spread-betting. However, because of Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulations, these are not available on a single platform.

There is no difference in the spreads quoted by Deal4Free for CFDs and spread-bets. Spread-bets are the more cost-effective, as they are tax-free. But there is more flexibility offered with CFD trading, such as leaving entry-point orders. This means that you can leave orders to buy and sell at points below and above the market.

The prices that Deal4Free quotes are extremely competitive. Typical spread-bet quotes for the cash FTSE 100 are three points, the front-month future five points, while cash Vodafone is just 0.25p and the quasi-front month 0.50p.

The company's MarketMaker dealing platform was developed and is maintained in-house. So Deal4Free can respond rapidly to clients' requests for functionality upgrades.

MarketMaker is a powerful trading tool and Deal4Free claims to have captured a quarter of the UK online spread-betting market. Users navigate through a drop-down menu and can highlight individual instruments. They can also configure numerous windows into a customised desktop. This can show a mixture of prices, interactive charts, Dow Jones news, and fundamental research from Multex Investor and IDEAglobal. Prices are live and streaming, and constantly updated. All orders are colour coded, which can be a little confusing to the uninitiated. MarketMaker has instant real-time position-keeping and margin and profit-&-loss updates. It can also set up price alerts, which can be sent to the customer.

Deal4Free does not charge a hard commission. No credit is available, and a £1 spread-bet typically requires £125 to be lodged in the account. CFD indices trade on a 3 per cent margin, while individual stocks trade on 5 per cent collateral. CFD short-sellers receive Sonia (Sterling Overnight Index Average) -2.5 per cent, while buyers pay Sonia +1.5 per cent.

Deal4Free organized seminars are however usually weak and woolly sessions, but they have the best totty, and good spreads.