Spread Betting Companies Guide

By Tom King

There are so many spread betting companies out there these days that it is difficult to know where to begin looking. Although more brokers fighting over us as potential customers is great because they offer us more things, the problem is that brings possibly too much choice.

Before we move in to what to look out for I just wanted to think about what the increase in competition in spread betting companies means for me as a trader. Yes the increased competition brings more products, tighter spreads, reduced thresholds etc but why are there so many competing for me? They must be making a lot of money from each of their customers on average. This is something for you to bear in mind when think about your trading career.

Are you new to spread betting and want to open your first account? If you are then this process will be a little slower than if you already have an account open with another broker.

The first thing to look out for when looking at the spread betting companies is the products or bets that they are offering. If the bets aren't what you plan to trade then obviously that will rule them out. This has become less likely over recent years because of the competition factor we spoke about earlier.

Do you know which type of market you want to trade in? Although most spread betting companies allow to trade different markets from the same account, not all do. You don't have to have an account that lets you trade in all the markets, just the ones that you want.

Being able to sort through the spread betting companies should be easy once you have a thorough understanding of your own requirements. Don't settle for second best. Make sure that you get an account that is suited to your needs.

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