Every spread betting firm has its plus and minus points. Also, things change fast in this business. Key staff and dealers move from one firm to another. You can keep up to date with new developments at my site.
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These are my personal experiences and views of various spread betting outfits that I've used over the past 5 or 6 years;
Capital Spreads: I have found their spreads extremely competitive and their customer service outstanding. In addition the Managing Director of the business regularly contributes to a thread on Trade2Win called Capital Spreads. In his contributions he explains many of the intricacies of operating a spreadbet company, and although the thread is often bombarded by irate (and probably losing :-)) day-traders, some of the comments are extremely interesting. Open a demo account here.
Finspreads: For non-FTSE 350 stocks these used to be my first point of call. However I have recently found my positions with them have been getting smaller and smaller. I find their spreads to be not as competitive as other companies, they have omitted dividends and, probably most importantly, I've found their customer service to be extremely poor. When I have spotted an error they have sometimes been slow to correct it. Some of the cash movements don't appear on the statements although they are actually applied to the account and are applied to the total. Hope this makes sense. If a sum is going to added or subtracted to my cash balance I like to see what it is and this opaqueness has cost me a fair amount of time in figuring out what has happened to my cash balance. Also I now watch rollover spreads like a hawk too as they have been very wide in the past. Some of these points may have something to do with my account manager who isn't always as keen to help as he should be. Sadly I wouldn't recommend Finspreads at the moment although I have to friends in the past.
CMC Markets (used to be Deal4Free): I use these for FTSE350 stocks. IMO they offer the tighest spreads and cheapest funding costs on these stocks. On the very rare occasion I place an index bet these are generally the guys I use. These guys are one of the two top companies to use for the more liquid stocks. The other is Capital Spreads. The biggest negatives I've found with CMC Markets is that occasionally I'll get re-quoted when I try and trade on their site. The service is also pretty impersonal and it's the only company I use where I don't have an account manager. I would have no problem in recommending them though.
IG Index: I've used these guys for a few years now with extremely few complaints. They allow positions in some non-uk stocks/indexes such as Korea, South Africa and Canada and give a decent credit limit. Wish I could find a decent way of getting exposure to Brazil via a spreadbet though!
I also have an excellent account manager at IG Index who looks after me very well indeed, although their credit department are a nightmare - so my account manager handles them for me (very well, it has to be said) after numerous bust-ups. But IG are more interested in volume business, you have to get a decent account manager to really be properly looked after there I think.
Cantors are probably the most relaxed about margin calls and sometimes don't bother me for weeks, which is very handy. However, they are moving away from small caps, so not that relevant to me going forwards.
Also, I've recently opened an account with Spreadex, and so far so good - they seem a lot more prepared to support clients when things are tough, although I've not yet put this to test ! But a couple of friends have said they were very supportive.
MF Global Spreads (formerly ManSpreads): I was initially very sceptical on this company as it was a late starter in the spreadbetting market. I don't think they are a big player at the moment and I believe they have only around 1000 clients. I find their spreads competitive and their NTRs (Notional Trading Requirements - basically the deposit per position) are probably the best in the market for non-FTSE350 stocks. The service is outstanding and I have had relatively few problems. The one area for improvement is their statements. Instead of seeing a closing price and then an opening price all you see each day is an opening price for each stock and a cash amount added or detracted for the previous days movement. For rolling cash bets I would expect them to be amongst the best in the market. And they are also good on the corporate entertainment front as well as I found out recently for the first time and had an excellent time. Only FinSpreads have offered me anything even remotely similar. However the main reason that I'm using them less is that I typically hold quarterly positions and I've found other companies financing costs to be more competitive. And I really hate their statements! However the team there is top notch.
I use spreadbets primarily to avoid CGT. If you are going to use spreadbets please, please, please watch your gearing very closely. It is very easy to have to much on the table which can wipe you out in downturns in the market. I'm sure you don't need to be told this but I feel happier saying it anyway.
If you're dealing in any size, I would really stress the importance of spreading (haha) the business around a number of spread betting companies. This is something I've gradually learned after periodically falling out with different spread betting companies over margin calls, changing of margin percentages, credit limits, etc, all of which are annoying.
It's vital to be in a position to be able to walk away & transfer all your business to another spread betting company, without being forced out of any positions. So with my large positions I tend to hold some stock owned, and then the remainder on spread bets, but dispersed amongst 4 or 5 different companies.
It keeps them all on their toes & vying for business, and if you fall out with one, then you can just move all your positions to another. I've done that several times, and it's saved the bacon once.
Just my personal opinions, no advice intended.
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