ThinkMarkets has introduced spread betting on its proprietary, ThinkTrader, trading platform, for its UK clients. The new product allows traders to speculate or bet on price movements in financial markets, without the need to take ownership of the underlying assets.
What’s more Spread betting offers tax advantages over other forms of margin trading to UK taxpayers.
That’s because any profits generated through spread betting are not subject to UK capital gains tax, or stamp duty, under current legislation.
Though, by the same token, any losses made through spread betting cannot be offset, against capital gains, made elsewhere.
ThinkMarkets & Spread Betting
Spread betting is a popular margin trading product among traders in the UK.
One that allows traders to speculate, or bet on the price movements in a wide range of financial markets.
Including Forex, indices, precious metals and individual equities.
When spread betting, traders don’t ever take ownership of the underlying assets they are betting on.
Instead, they wager on whether the price of an asset will rise, or fall in value, over the lifetime of the bet or contract.
If the trader’s prediction is correct, they can earn a profit, however, if it’s incorrect, then they can incur a loss.
Unlike traditional betting, the profit and loss profile within spread betting isn’t confined to the stake wagered and the odds offered.
Instead, it’s determined by the size of the bet, and movements in the price of the instrument, that the contract is over.
So for example a £10.00 per point bet on the FTSE 100 which is trading at 7670 has a notional value of £76,700.00.
It follows that If a client buys £10.00 a point, in the the FTSE 100 index at 7670, and it rises by 20 points, to 7690, where the trader closes their position.
Then he or she will have made £10.00 *20.0 points = £200.00
However, if the index price falls by 30 points, to 7640, then the trader would have incurred a £300.00 loss
To set up a spread betting account with ThinkMarkets, traders can simply go to the ThinkPortal, select ThinkTrader as their platform, and choose the Spread Betting option.
Who are Think Markets?
ThinkMarkets is a global, multi-regulated online brokerage that offers clients quick and easy access to 4,000+ CFD instruments across FX, indices, commodities, equities, and more, through its award-winning ThinkTrader platform.
ThinkMarkets has offices in London, Melbourne, and Tokyo, and hubs in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and South Africa.
With over 35 years of finance experience, Darren is a highly respected and knowledgeable industry expert. With an extensive career covering trading, sales, analytics and research, he has a vast knowledge covering every aspect of the financial markets.
During his career, Darren has acted for and advised major hedge funds and investment banks such as GLG, Thames River, Ruby Capital and CQS, Dresdner Kleinwort and HSBC.
In addition to the financial analysis and commentary he provides as an editor at GoodMoneyGuide.com, his work has been featured in publications including Fool.co.uk.
As well as extensive experience of writing financial commentary, he previously worked as a Market Research & Client Relationships Manager at Admiral Markets UK Ltd, before providing expert insights as a market analyst at Pepperstone.
Darren is an expert in areas like currency, CFDs, equities and derivatives and has authored over 260 guides on GoodMoneyGuide.com.
He has an aptitude for explaining trading concepts in a way that newcomers can understand, such as this guide to day trading Forex at Pepperstone.com
Darren has done interviews and analysis for companies like Queso, including an interview on technical trading levels.
A well known authority in the industry, he has provided interviews on Bloomberg (UK), CNBC (UK) Reuters (UK), Tiptv (UK), BNN (Canada) and Asharq Bloomberg Arabia.
