Spread betting

An award-winning* provider

We are proud of our history and continued recognition. In 2015, we were awarded ‘Financial Services Provider of the Year’ at the Shares Awards for a third consecutive year. We also won the ‘Best Mobile/Tablet Application’ accolade. These awards, voted for by readers of Shares magazine, reflect our focus on providing our clients with the best possible spread betting experience. We’ve also received a number of other awards over recent years for our trading platform, service and education offering.

Low costs

We aim to provide tight spreads regardless of market volatility, delivering competitive and reliable pricing. We offer attractive spreads right across our product range, from 0.7 points on EUR/USD, 1 point on key indices like the UK 100 and Germany 30, and 0.4 points on Gold. Our margin rates start from 3.3% for forex; 5% for indices and commodities; and 20% for shares and treasuries.

Dedicated client service

Our dedicated Client Management team are available to provide comprehensive support, whenever the markets are open. You can get in touch at clientmanagement@cmcmarkets.co.uk or call us on +44 (0) 20 3003 8588.

*Awarded 'Best Online Trading Platform', Shares Awards 2013 & 2014; 'Best Trading Platform Features', Investment Trends 2014 UK Leveraged Trading Report, based on highest user satisfaction among spread bettors, CFD traders and FX traders. 

In order to open a position you will be required to deposit an amount of money known as margin. The margin required reflects a percentage of the full value of the position. The first step is to establish the margin rate for the instrument you are trading. Margin rates can be found within the trading platform by selecting 'Library' from the main menu (which displays the full list of products), then select the arrow icon next to the specific product which will show a sub-menu. Choose 'Product Overview' from the sub-menu to view the margin rate details. The margin rates are tiered depending on the size of your position. To see the tiered rates, select the arrow icon to the right of the margin rate section.

To calculate your margin requirement, take your margin rate and multiply this by the total value of the trade.  Your estimated margin is also conveniently displayed within the order ticket. Note, margin is independent of the direction of your position and will increase or decrease in line with the level one mid-price point of the product.  If the price increases, your margin requirement will be higher; if the price decreases, your margin requirement will become lower. 

Learn more about how we calculate our CFD trading margins

Your spread bet is based on the movement of the last large number within the price shown in the order ticket. Every movement of that number represents one point movement and one multiple of your stake.

One of the costs you can expect to incur is a holding cost, which is applied where a cash position is held open past 5pm (New York time). The holding cost will be incurred for every day the position is held open at that time. Another cost to be aware of is the spread cost, which is based on the difference between the sell and the buy price. The lower the spread, the less cost is incurred. Learn more about the costs and charges associated with spread betting.

Spread betting share prices change when we add the spread so the price data isn’t directly from the market, whereas CFD share prices are derived directly, and therefore attract a fee when they are offered. The market data subscription fee covers this.