Flexible and accessible, CFD trading is an alternative way to go long or short on a huge variety of financial markets.
CFDs are a leveraged product and can result in losses that exceed deposits. Trading CFDs may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks and take care to manage your exposure.
CFD trading
Why trade CFDs with IG?
It takes less than five minutes to fill out the online form, and all you need is a minimum deposit of $300.
-
Join the world's No.1 CFD provider1 for superior service and support
-
Competitive rates: FX from 0.6 points, indices from 0.4 points, shares from 0.1% commission
-
Never miss an opportunity, wherever you are, with our mobile trading app
-
Opportunities in over 15,000 markets: indices, forex, shares, commodities and more
-
Limit your risk with a choice of stops, limits and alerts
-
Access our free research tools to become a better-informed trader
Discover more advantages of using CFDs, and see some working CFD examples.
What are CFDs?
A contract for difference, or CFD, is a derivative product which enables you to speculate/trade on the difference in price of a financial market between when the contract opens and when it closes. The profit or loss you make depends on the extent to which your forecast is correct.
- Importantly, CFDs are a leveraged product. This means you only have to put down a small deposit for a much larger market exposure
- Leverage comes with significant benefits and risks: your investment capital can go further, but you can also lose more than your initial deposit
While this means the product is very flexible, it also requires a high level of risk management. It's important to remember you're trading contracts with IG, not physically trading in the underlying market, so don’t actually own any assets.
How do you trade CFDs?
To trade CFDs, you’ll first need to set up a CFD trading account. Once approved, you can then fund your account and start trading using an online trading platform. This is where you’ll see all the available markets, as well as view the prices for each contract.
We set prices based on the underlying market. For most markets, you are given a 'buy' and 'sell' price either side of the underlying market price. For equities, you will be charged commission. You can take a position on a market going up (known as 'buying' or 'going long') or going down (known as 'selling' or 'going short').
Who trades CFDs?
CFDs are suitable for a wide range of traders:
- Shares traders looking to diversify their portfolio by trading on indices, commodities, forex and more
- Professional forex traders looking to gain exposure to deep liquidity with direct market access (DMA). To trade with Forex DMA, you’ll need to qualify for an IG professional account
- Indices traders looking to take a position on entire sectors, from banking to mining
- Plus commodities and ETP traders looking to access the markets without committing a lot of capital up front
What are the advantages of CFD trading?
- Flexible: Speculate on market price movements without buying or selling the underlying market, eliminating the need for brokers, forex providers and futures exchanges
- Go short and long: Trade markets you think are about to fall in value, not just those you expect to rise. This makes CFDs particularly useful for hedging existing positions in your portfolio
- Make your capital go further: CFDs are a leveraged product, meaning you only need to put up a fraction of the value of the market – its margin – to gain exposure to the full value of your trade
- Out-of-hours markets: Close positions overnight with 24-hour trading on a number of markets, or trade over the weekend with weekend trading
- Accessible: Whether you’re an experienced trader or relatively new to the markets, you can set up a free online trading account and get started
Our charges
It's completely free to open an account with IG. Once you've funded your account and started trading, our main charge on each trade is the spread or a small commission for shares trades. Find out more about the spread.
You choose your price per contract, and put down a margin payment. This allows you full exposure to a market with only a fraction of the total capital you'd normally need, though remember with leverage comes increased risk.
Learn more about our charges and fees
| Number of individual markets | Minimum spread | Margin rates for professional accounts from |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Indices |
68 |
0.2 |
0.5% |
Forex |
100+ |
0.6 |
0.5% |
Cryptocurrencies |
7 |
1 |
15% |
Shares |
10500+ |
0.10% |
10% |
Commodities |
47 |
0.6 |
15% |
CFD risk management
Like all forms of trading, CFDs carry risk. You’ll lose money if a market moves against you, and, if you fail to adequately manage your risk, these losses could increase suddenly and significantly. Keep in mind that CFDs are leveraged products, meaning you could lose more than the initial deposit you put down to open your position.
This is why it’s essential you do your research before you go into any trade, and that you have an effective risk-management strategy in place. IG offers a range of tools and features to help you manage your risk, as well as educational resources to refine your understanding of the potential pitfalls.
Awards
Shares Awards
Best CFD provider
2016, 2017
ADVFN Awards
Best finance app
2016, 2017, 2018
Online Personal Wealth Awards
Best Overall Personal Wealth Provider
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Open an account now
It's free to open an account, and there's no obligation to fund or trade.
CFD FAQs
You might be interested in
-
Execution and pricing
Get fast, reliable execution and the best available prices
-
Web and mobile apps
Our dealing platform is available on desktop, tablet and mobile
-
MetaTrader 4
Fully integrated functionality for fast, reliable trading
1 Based on number of primary relationships with CFD traders (Investment Trends UK Leveraged Trading Report released August 2018).
Example CFD Share Trade
Buying Barclays
| CFD | |
|---|---|
| Our price | 289.56/290 |
| Trade | Buy at 290 |
| Trade size | 2000 shares |
| Margin required | £580 Number of shares x price x margin rate (10%) |
| What happens next? | The market rises steadily to 295.05 |
| Underlying market | 294.85/295.05 |
| Close | Sell at 294.85 |
| Gross profit | 294.85 – 290 = 4.85p Gross profit = 4.85p x 2000 shares = £97 |
| What if... | If the underlying market fell to 282.25 instead, and assuming same costs: -7.75p x 2000 shares Gross loss = £155 |
Help and support
Get answers about your account or our services.
Or contact us on +971 (0) 4 559 2100 or helpdesk.ae@ig.com.
Our office is open 5 days a week, Sunday to Thursday from 8am to 7pm (Dubai time). Support line is available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, except for Saturday from 1am to 11am (Dubai time).
CFDs are a leveraged product and can result in losses that exceed deposits. Trading CFDs may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks and take care to manage your exposure.
