Comparing the Different Spread Betting Companies

Highlights at Spreadex

Very competitive margins at Spreadex particularly in relation to AIM stocks. This coupled with a dedicated team of knowledgeable and friendly staff make a winning combination.

Markets Covered

Spreadex list most financial and sports markets taking in major global indices, currencies, equities (including 300+ AIM stocks), commodities, bonds and interest rates.

Training Facilities

Explanations and example trades listed on website. Spreadex is also currently developing a selection of training videos to help those new to financial spread betting.

Typical Spreads

FTSE 100 Shares: Daily 0.1% of share value, near 0.3%, next 0.35%, far 0.4%
FTSE 250 Shares: Daily 0.25% of share value, near 0.45%, next 0.5%, far 0.6%
Small Cap & AIM shares (limited choice): Daily 0.25% of share value, near 0.5%, next 0.6%, far 0.7%
US and EU Shares: Daily 0.15% of share value, near 0.45%, next 0.5%, far 0.6%
FTSE 100: 1 points daily, 4 points future
Wall Street: 2 points daily, 8 points future
GBP/USD: 2 point spot, 8 points future
Gold: 0.7 points

(please note that for shares, the % spread is the Spreadex spread paid for one half of the underlying market price i.e. the spread paid on each buy or sell. The full spread is double the figure shown).

Dealing Commissions and Fees

For all markets except for shares, Spreadex's fee is the spread i.e. the difference between the buy and sell price. For shares, a per annum interest rate charge is applied to the total value of the stock based upon the contract period specified. This is typically 1.25%, increasing to 1.5% for smaller and less liquid stocks.

Financing Charges

Financing charges for daily rolls are if you are long: 3% + 1 month Libor (so if Libor is 0.5% it would be a 3.5% charge over the course of a year, 0.0096% a night), if you are short, it would be -3% + 1 month Libor (so if Libor was 0.5% it would be 2.5% charge, 0.0068% a night). Libor obviously varies from day to day.

UK futures: UK financing for futures rolls from next to near: FTSE 350 = (3 month Libor +2%)*90/365, non 350 = (3 month Libor +2.25%)*90/365.

UK futures: UK financing for futures rolls from next to far: FTSE 350 = (6 month Libor +2%)*180/365, non 350 = (6 month Libor +2.25%)*180/365.

Accounts Available and Credit Facilities

Deposit Accounts. Credit is offered subject to request and is awarded based on individual client circumstances.

Minimum Stake and Deposit

For online trading, the minimum stake size is £1 with the exception of the SPX 500 (£10) and UK shares with a price below 50p (£25). US and Euro shares minimums start from 10p. Phone trade minimum stake sizes are higher.

Rolling Policy

Accounts are simply credited or debited an amount for rolling positions. For share trading, your roll charge is calculated by the following formula: (1 month Libor +/- 3%) x (days/365) x closing price x stake (+/-) x 1. The (+/-) refers to whether the position is long (buy) or short (sell). For daily indices, the roll charge is simply 1 x your stake for the UK 100, Daily and Germany 30, Daily, 2 x your stake for the Wall St, Daily and 0.5 x your stake for the SPX 500, Daily Future. For currency trading, your roll charge is calculated by a formula based on the differential of overnight Libor rates plus, or minus, a funding charge.

Futures

?

Dividend Policy

Spreadex pays out 90% of dividends in which you hold a long UK equities position. The company also debits 90% on short UK stock positions.

Stop and Limit Orders Available

Yes.

Opening Hours

Spreadex is open for financial trading business from 7am until 9.15pm, Monday to Friday. Its sports service runs over the weekend and often out of hours to cover major sporting events across the globe.

Research and Charting

Full suite of charting tools provided by leading chart firm IT Finance.

Support

Support staff are very knowledgeable and friendly.

Details and Signup Incentives

A more detailed review of Spreadex is available here.

Or click here to sign up for a Spreadex account.

Spreadex run a Jetmiles programme where clients who place sizable financial or sports spreadbets earn points that can be used to buy flight time in one of the world's fastest civilian aircraft: the Cessna Citation X jet. Once clients accumulate sufficient points, they can book flights to airfields where commercial aircraft are usually unable to land, at any time of their choosing.

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