Spread Betting offers the private investor a fully tax free* alternative to trading the world's financial markets.
A Spread Bet allows an investor to 'speculate' on whether the price quoted for a given financial instrument is likely to go up in value (strengthen) or go down in value (weaken).
Spread Betting differs from share dealing because investors don't actually own the underlying instrument. Investors have to place a deposit into their Spread Betting Account and then they will use this as 'leverage' to speculate solely on price movements. This 'speculating' on price movements is key as it allows them to profit both when a market is rising and also when it is falling.
Spread Betting, however, carries a high degree of risk to the investor. Due to fluctuations in valuation, the investor may not get back the amount of their original investment, and in certain circumstances may be liable to pay a far greater sum.
* Tax laws and regulatory regimes are subject to change.
