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Over 17,000 markets and more ways to trade

Spread bet and trade cfds with IG to take advantage of both rising and falling prices.

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Spread bets and cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and cfds work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk.

The value of shares, etfs and etcs bought through a share dealing account, a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

CFD, share dealing and stocks and shares ISA accounts provided by IG markets ltd, spread betting provided by IG index ltd. IG is a trading name of IG markets ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 04008957) and IG index ltd (a company registered in england and wales under number 01190902). Registered address at cannon bridge house, 25 dowgate hill, london EC4R 2YA. Both IG markets ltd (register number 195355) and IG index ltd (register number 114059) are authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority.

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Investing vs. Trading: what's the difference?

Investing and trading are two very different methods of attempting to profit in the financial markets. Both investors and traders seek profits through market participation. In general, investors seek larger returns over an extended period through buying and holding. Traders, by contrast, take advantage of both rising and falling markets to enter and exit positions over a shorter timeframe, taking smaller, more frequent profits.

Key takeaways

Investing takes a long-term approach to the markets and often applies to such purposes as retirement accounts.

Trading involves short-term strategies to maximize returns daily, monthly, or quarterly.

Investors are more likely to ride out short-term losses, while traders will attempt to make transactions that can help them profit quickly from fluctuating markets.

Investing

The goal of investing is to gradually build wealth over an extended period of time through the buying and holding of a portfolio of stocks, baskets of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other investment instruments.

Investors often enhance their profits through compounding or reinvesting any profits and dividends into additional shares of stock.

Investments often are held for a period of years, or even decades, taking advantage of perks like interest, dividends, and stock splits along the way. While markets inevitably fluctuate, investors will "ride out" the downtrends with the expectation that prices will rebound and any losses eventually will be recovered. Investors typically are more concerned with market fundamentals, such as price-to-earnings ratios and management forecasts.

Anyone who has a 401(k) or an IRA is investing, even if they are not tracking the performance of their holdings on a daily basis. Since the goal is to grow a retirement account over the course of decades, the day-to-day fluctuations of different mutual funds are less important than consistent growth over an extended period.

Trading

Trading involves more frequent transactions, such as the buying and selling of stocks, commodities, currency pairs, or other instruments. The goal is to generate returns that outperform buy-and-hold investing. While investors may be content with annual returns of 10% to 15%, traders might seek a 10% return each month. Trading profits are generated by buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price within a relatively short period of time. The reverse also is true: trading profits can be made by selling at a higher price and buying to cover at a lower price (known as "selling short") to profit in falling markets.

While buy-and-hold investors wait out less profitable positions, traders seek to make profits within a specified period of time and often use a protective stop-loss order to automatically close out losing positions at a predetermined price level. Traders often employ technical analysis tools, such as moving averages and stochastic oscillators, to find high-probability trading setups.

A trader's style refers to the timeframe or holding period in which stocks, commodities, or other trading instruments are bought and sold. Traders generally fall into one of four categories:

Position trader: positions are held from months to years.

Swing trader: positions are held from days to weeks.

Day trader: positions are held throughout the day only with no overnight positions.

Scalp trader: positions are held for seconds to minutes with no overnight positions.

Traders often choose their trading style based on factors including account size, amount of time that can be dedicated to trading, level of trading experience, personality, and risk tolerance.

Advisor insight

Josh brein
brein wealth management, LLC, bellevue, WA

While one could consider their trading activities as investing, for me, the difference between trading and investing has more to do with time.

When you invest in something, you are looking to grow your money. Some people invest for a long time, such as for retirement, while others invest for a short time to hit a specific goal, such as buying a car. A person who owns an annuity, for instance, is investing for a longer time horizon than someone who enjoys trading stocks and moves their money around quite frequently.

Trading, on the other hand, suggests the investor is taking a very short-term approach and is principally concerned with either making quick cash or the thrill of participating in the markets.

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What is a demo trading account?

A demo account is a simulated market environment offered by a trading provider that aims to recreate the experience of ‘real’ trading as closely as possible. This is so that you can get a feel for how different products and financial markets work. The main difference is you won’t be at risk of losing any money, so you can explore and experiment with confidence.

When you open a demo account with us, you’ll get immediate access to a version of our online platform, along with a pre-set balance of £10,000 in virtual funds to practise with.

Why use a trading simulator?

You can use a trading simulator, such as a demo account, to enable you to get to grips with a platform, build your strategy and grow in confidence, without having to risk any real money.

Trading simulators aren’t just for newcomers. As an experienced trader, you can use demo accounts to try out new strategies, tools or ideas, safe in the knowledge that your experiments won’t result in any real-world losses.

You’ll often see demo accounts described as ‘paper trading’, which is the term to describe simulated securities trading. With an IG demo trading account, you’ll gain access to over 17,000 markets, including:

As well as a range of other markets including bonds, rates and options.

A demo account will enable you to see the financial markets available with IG, and get used to how they behave. You’ll be able to set alerts on markets you want to keep an eye on, so you can react instantly to any price volatility. The demo account will also help you get used to the IG platform, ensuring that you can read and analyse price charts, fill in the deal ticket and monitor open positions.

If you’re interested in using more advanced software, you can also get an MT4 demo account with us. This enables you to build your understanding of the metatrader4 online trading platform in a risk-free environment.

Yes, you can practise stock trading and forex trading for free with an IG demo account. No need to create a separate forex demo account or stock demo account – you can trade both markets via a single login.

With an IG demo account, you can practise CFD trading and spread betting risk-free. These two products both use leverage, which enables you to gain full market exposure for just a small initial deposit. While this can magnify your returns, it can also magnify your risk – so it’s important to get to grips with how they work before you start to trade on live markets.

There is no difference between a demo trading account, trading simulator or paper trading account. All of these terms are just synonyms for the same type of simulated trading platform.

For your country of residence, you may wish to use <>.

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How to trade forex

Start trading forex – one of the world’s most traded financial markets – today with this step-by-step guide. Starting with how currency trading works, plus how to open your first position.

According to the bank for international settlements, forex markets are more highly traded than any other, with trillions of dollars of currencies bought and sold each day. In this page, we’ll cover how you can find out what makes it so popular first hand.

Get started below, or jump ahead to a section:

How do currency markets work?

Currency markets work via a global network of banks, business and individuals that are constantly buying and selling currencies with one another. Unlike most financial assets – such as shares or commodities – the foreign exchange market has no physical location and trades 24 hours a day.

This is called an over-the-counter market, and it means that currency prices are constantly fluctuating in value against each other, potentially offering a greater number of trading opportunities.

There are four main forex trading hubs: london, tokyo, new york and sydney. When trading stops in one, it starts in another.

However, forex is also traded across zurich, frankfurt, hong kong, singapore and paris.

At city index, you can speculate on the future direction of currencies, taking either a long (buy) or short (sell) position depending on whether you think a forex pair’s value will go up or down. The below video shows you how to trade the EUR/USD currency pair via a CFD.

Forex trading examples

For more information on how forex trading works, look through our list of forex trading examples.

To start trading forex, you’ll need to get to know a few key concepts and terms. Let’s take a look at each in turn.

Base currencies and quote currencies

You'll always trade forex in pairs. That means when you buy one currency, you do so by selling another. And when you sell one currency, you do so by buying another.

When you buy EUR/USD, for example, you're buying the euro while selling the US dollar.

The two currencies in a pair are known as the base and the quote.

The base is the first currency. In EUR/USD, it is the euro

The quote is the second currency. In EUR/USD, it is the dollar

A forex pair tells you how much of the quote currency you'll need to exchange for a single unit of the base. If EUR/USD is trading at 1.1810, then you'll need to sell 1.1810 USD to buy a single euro.

Forex traders look to take advantage of changes in the relative value of the base and quote currency in a pair. You could, for instance, buy euros for dollars when EUR/USD is at 1.1810. If the euro strengthens against the US dollar, then your euros will be worth more dollars – so can sell euros for dollars and keep the difference as profit.

If EUR/USD had dropped in price, though, you might have to sell your euros for less than you bought them. In this case, you would make a loss.

For more information on pairs, take a look at our what is forex trading? Page.

Pips, lots and margin

Pips measure how much a forex pair has moved. A single pip is equivalent to a one-digit move in the fourth number after the decimal point. If EUR/USD moves from 1.1810 to 1.1817, it has gone up seven pips.

One key exception to this rule is when the japanese yen is the quote currency. In this case, a pip is calculated as a one-digit move in the second number after the decimal point. If USD/JPY moves from 110.05 to 110.01, it has fallen four pips.

As you may have noticed, even a 50-pip move won't earn you much if you trade 100 or 500 units of currency. That’s why most FX traders buy and sell forex in lots – batches of currencies that enable you to take advantage of even relatively small price moves.

A standard lot is equivalent to trading 100,000 units of currency. Buying one lot of EUR/USD means purchasing 100,000 euros for their value in US dollars. When CFD trading on forex, buying a single CFD is equivalent to trading one lot.

To avoid having to tie up all their capital when opening one position, most forex traders use leverage. With leverage, you only have to put up a fraction of your position's full value to open a trade. The amount you are required to put up is known as your margin.

How to start trading forex

1. Choose a currency pair

The first step to opening a forex trade is to decide which currency pair you wish to trade. There are over 80 to choose from.

Forex pair categories

There are three main categories of forex pair: majors, minors (or major crosses) and exotics.

Majors consist of the world’s biggest currencies against the US dollar, and make up around 85% of forex trading volume. The majors are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, USD/CHF and USD/CAD

Minors are all the other combinations of the world’s biggest currencies, such as EUR/GBP and AUD/JPY. These are also often referred to as major cross pairs

Exotics are pairs that include less-traded currencies, such as the turkish lira (TRY) or mexican peso (MXN)

Most new traders will pick one or two major pairs to focus on, often starting out with euro-dollar (EUR/USD). This is the world’s most traded currency pair, and typically has the tightest spreads.

2. Decide how you want to trade forex

There are two main ways to trade forex: derivatives such as spread betting and cfds, or spot forex trading. They all enable you to go long and short on currency pairs, but they work in slightly different ways.

What is spot FX?

What are forex derivatives?

Spot FX is when you buy and sell currencies – for instance by buying US dollars and selling euros. You open your trade by deciding how much of the base currency you want to buy or sell.

Spot FX is traded in lots, in the unit of the base currency.

Forex derivatives are markets that enable you to speculate on the price movements of forex pairs without buying or selling any currencies. Instead, you’re trading a market that tracks the price of a forex pair.

When spread betting, you bet pounds per point of movement in the underlying currency. When trading cfds, you choose how many contracts you want to buy or sell.

Types of forex market

In addition to choosing how to trade forex, you can pick a different market for each currency pair. The two main types of forex market are spot and futures.

The spot market gives the live price of a forex pair

In the forward market, you agree to settle your trade on a set date in the future

3. Decide to buy or sell your currency

Now you know which currency you’re trading – and how you want to trade it – it’s time to decide whether to go long or short.

All forex is quoted in terms of one currency versus another. As we’ve covered, each currency pair has a ‘base’ currency and a ‘quote’ currency. The base currency is the currency on the left of the currency pair and the quote currency is on the right. Essentially, when trading foreign currencies, you:

BUY a currency pair if you believe that the base currency will strengthen against the quote currency, or the quote currency will weaken against the base currency.

This is a long position, so your profits will rise if the currency pair’s value rises

However, for every point the pair falls below your open level, you will incur a loss

SELL a currency pair if you believe that the value of the currency pair will decrease – meaning the base currency will weaken in value against the quote currency, or the quote currency will strengthen against the base currency.

This is a short position, so your profits will rise if the pair’s price falls

However, for every point the pair rises above your open level, you will incur a loss

What is the spread in forex trading?

The spread is the difference between the buy and sell prices of a forex pair. When you trade FX, you’ll see two prices listed: the first is the sell price (or bid) and the second is the buy price (or offer). The difference between them is the spread, which covers the cost of the trade.

If you want to go long on a pair, you’ll open your trade at the offer price. Then when you want to close your position, you’ll sell at the bid price. If you’re going short, you’ll do the opposite.

4. Manage your risk

Risk management is crucial for successful forex trading – and a key element of risk management is the use of orders.

There are two main types of order: stop loss orders and take profit orders (sometimes called a limit). Both act as instructions to automatically close a position when its price reaches a specific level predetermined by you.

What is a stop loss order?

A stop loss order is an instruction to close out a trade at a price worse than the current market level and, as the name suggests, is used to help minimise losses. There are three types of stop loss orders: standard, trailing and guaranteed.

A standard stop loss order, once triggered, closes the trade at the best available price. There is a risk therefore that the closing price could be different from the order level if market prices gap.

A guaranteed stop loss however, for which a small premium is charged upon trigger, guarantees to close your trade at the stop loss level you have determined, regardless of any market gapping.

What is a limit order?

A limit order (or take profit) is an instruction to close out a trade at a price that is better than the current market level and is used to help lock in price targets.

Standard stop losses and limit orders are free to place and can be implemented in the dealing ticket when you first place your trade, and you can also attach orders to existing open positions.

Learn more about risk management here.

5. Monitor and close your trade

Once open, your trade’s profit and loss will fluctuate as the market’s price moves.

You can track market prices, see your unrealised profit/loss update in real time, attach orders to open positions and add new trades or close existing trades from your computer or smartphone.

When you are ready to close your trade, you do the opposite to the opening trade. If you bought three cfds to open, you would sell three cfds to close. By closing the trade, your net open profit and loss will be realised and immediately reflected in your account cash balance.

Please note that city index spread betting and CFD accounts are FIFO. To read more about this please visit our help and support section.

What moves forex markets?

One important aspect of trading currencies is learning what affects their prices. Remember, forex pair prices will move based on the relative strengths of both currencies – so keep an eye out for any developments that might move either the base or the quote when trading.

Here are a few factors that often move currency markets:

Economic data

Traders will often flock to currencies backed by strong economies, increasing demand.

Inflation, unemployment numbers, payrolls or other key economic data can often have a major impact on forex prices.

Central banks

Central banks buy and sell large amounts of their own currency, attempting to keep it within a certain level.

They also set interest rates and dictate money flow, which will have a big influence on exchange rates.

The role of politics in driving currency markets has only grown in recent years.

Political uncertainty, for instance, can make ‘safer’ markets such as the swiss franc and US dollar more attractive.

Common forex questions (faqs)

How is the forex market regulated?

The forex market is regulated by several different governmental and independent bodies all around the world. Some of these include:

The national futures association (NFA) and commodities futures trading commission (CFTC) in the US

The financial conduct authority (FCA) in the UK

The financial services agency (FSA) in japan

The australian securities and investments commission (ASIC) in australia

These bodies set the standards by which every forex broker must comply, which helps ensure that currency trading is ethical and fair.

How much money is traded on the forex market daily?

In 2019, there was $6 trillion of forex traded on average each day according to the bank for international settlements. That makes it the biggest financial market in the world by volume – by some distance.

Around $230 billion is traded on the global stock market each day on average, for example. That makes forex more than 20 times bigger.

What are gaps in forex trading?

Gaps in forex trading are when a market moves from one price to another without any trading in between. They occur most often over the weekend – a market may close at one price on friday, then open higher or lower the following monday.

However, gaps can also appear over short timeframes, especially when a market is very volatile.

Is forex trading income taxable?

Forex trading can be taxable or tax free in the UK – it depends on how you speculate on currencies. Spread betting profits are free from tax for amateur traders, while any profits from spot FX or cfds are not.*

* spread betting and CFD trading are exempt from UK stamp duty. Spread betting is also exempt from UK capital gains tax. However, tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Please seek independent advice if necessary.

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Corporation tax: trading and non-trading

Find out about being 'active', trading and non-trading, and being dormant if you’re a new or existing company or organisation.

Overview

HMRC may consider your company or organisation to be ‘active’ for corporation tax purposes when it is, for example, carrying on business activity, trading or receiving income.

In some circumstances, HMRC would not consider your company or organisation active for corporation tax purposes. In this case, your company or organisation is ‘dormant’, for example not active or not trading.

HMRC may also class your unincorporated organisation, such as a members’ club, dormant for corporation tax purposes if it is active or trading but it’s due to pay corporation tax of less than £100 for an accounting period.

What is active for corporation tax purposes

Generally your company or organisation is considered to be active for corporation tax purposes when it is, for example:

Carrying on a business activity such as a trade or professional activity

Buying and selling goods with a view to making a profit or surplus

Providing services

Earning interest

Managing investments

Receiving any other income

This definition of being active for corporation tax purposes is not necessarily the same as that used by HMRC in relation to other tax areas such as VAT, or by other government agencies such as companies house.

It may also not match definitions in the various accounting conventions that are used to prepare audited accounts, such as the financial reporting standards issued by the accounting standards board, or the international financial reporting standards issued by the international accounting standards board.

Tell HMRC your company or organisation is now active

You must tell HMRC within 3 months of starting your tax accounting period if your limited company is within the charge of corporation tax and is now active.

The best way to do this is to use HMRC’s online registration service. You will need to sign in with the company’s government gateway user ID and password. If you do not have a user ID you can create one when you register.

You can also register for corporation tax in writing. Your letter must include:

The company’s name and registration number

The date the company’s accounting period started

The date to which the company intends to prepare accounts

The company’s principal place of business

The nature of the business being carried out by the company

The name and home address of each director of the company

If the company has taken over another business, the name and address of the former business and also the name and address of the person from whom the business was acquired

If the company is a member of a group of companies, the name and registered office address of the parent company

If the company has been obliged to comply with the income tax (pay as you earn) regulations 2003, the date on which that obligation first arose

Signed by a company director or company secretary

Include a declaration that the information is correct and complete to the best of their knowledge

Corporation tax services
HM revenue and customs
BX9 1AX
united kingdom

Unincorporated organisations such as clubs, societies and associations must also tell HMRC if they become active. This should be in writing to the address above.

What is not active for corporation tax purposes

There are a number of circumstances where HMRC would generally consider your company or organisation not to be active for corporation tax purposes.

When your company or organisation has not yet started trading

HMRC considers that your company or organisation has not yet become active or started trading if it has not yet engaged in any business activity (business activity means carrying on a trade or profession, or buying and selling goods or services with a view to making a profit or surplus).

Your newly-formed company or organisation may not be active for corporation tax purposes. However, you may still carry out activities (known as ‘pre-trading activities’) or incur costs (known as ‘pre-trading expenditure’) before you officially open your business without HMRC deeming that you have started trading.

Activities or expenditure to do with setting up a business that are not considered trading by HMRC for corporation tax purposes include:

Preliminary activities such as writing a business plan or negotiating contracts

Preliminary expenditure such as incurring costs with a view to deciding whether to start a business

When your company or organisation has previously traded but has stopped trading

HMRC generally considers a company or organisation to be dormant for corporation tax purposes if it’s no longer carrying out any business activity.

If your business is a company, you should normally already have notified companies house that your company is dormant.

What does dormant for corporation tax mean

Dormant is a term that HMRC and companies house use for a company or organisation that is not active, trading or carrying on business activity. But HMRC and companies house use the term dormant in slightly different ways.

For corporation tax purposes, HMRC views a dormant company as a company that’s not active, not liable for corporation tax or not within the charge to corporation tax.

A dormant company can be, for example:

A new company that’s not yet trading

An ‘off-the-shelf’ or ‘shell’ company held by a company formation agent intending to sell it on

A company that will never be trading because it has been formed to own an asset such as land or intellectual property

An existing company that has been - but is not currently - trading

A company that’s no longer trading and destined to be removed from the companies register

When HMRC will treat clubs and unincorporated organisations as dormant

HMRC may treat your club or unincorporated organisation as dormant for corporation tax purposes if it’s active but both the following conditions apply:

Your organisation’s annual corporation tax liability must not be expected to exceed £100

You run your club or organisation exclusively for the benefit of its members

For each year of dormancy your organisation must not have any:

Allowable trading losses for which it may want to claim relief

Assets it’s likely to dispose of, which would give rise to a chargeable gain

Interest or annual payments to pay out from which tax is deductible and payable to HMRC

HMRC will write to you proposing to make your organisation dormant. They will not send you a ‘notice to deliver a company tax return’ and they’ll review this at least every 5 years. HMRC may also apply this treatment to your flat management company.

But HMRC will not treat your organisation as dormant if it’s a:

Privately owned club run by the members as a commercial enterprise for personal profit

Housing association or you’re a registered social landlord (as designated in the housing act 1986)

Trade association

Thrift fund

Holiday club

Friendly society

Company which is a subsidiary of, or is wholly owned by, a charity

If you have not informed HMRC you are dormant you will still be required to submit a CT tax return. Failure to do so may result in penalties being raised against the company.

Information has been added for companies who have not told HMRC they are dormant but who must still submit a CT tax return to avoid penalties.

The section headed tell HMRC your company or organisation is now active has been updated with a new link to the online registration service.

The section about how to tell HMRC your company is now active for corporation tax has been updated.

Trading

Trading 212 is a london based fintech company that democratises the financial markets with free, smart and easy to use apps, enabling anyone to trade equities, forex, commodities and more.

We disrupt the stock brokerage industry by offering the first zero commission stock trading service in the UK and europe, unlocking the stock market for millions of people.

Our mobile app has more than 14 000 000 downloads, which makes it one of the most popular trading apps in the world.

Since 2016 we’ve been the UK’s #1 trading app, and in 2017 we reached the #1 spot in germany.

We are authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority (FCA).

Trading 212 is a trading name of trading 212 UK ltd. And trading 212 ltd.

Trading 212 UK ltd. Is registered in england and wales, authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority, FCA (register number 609146).

Trading 212 ltd. Is registered in bulgaria and is authorised and regulated by the financial supervision commission (register number RG-03-0237).

For your safety and in compliance with our regulations, all clients’ funds are kept separately in segregated bank accounts and are covered by the financial services compensation scheme, FSCS (trading 212 UK ltd.) and the investors compensation fund, ICF bulgaria (trading 212 ltd).

In the unlikely event of default, the FSCS compensation is up to GBP 85 000 and the ICF bulgaria compensation is up to 90% (but limited to EUR 20 000 ) of the client’s funds. Each client will be compensated if one of our companies fails to comply with its obligations to the clients due to its financial state.

United kingdom

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Argentina

Australia

Österreich

België

България

Chile

中国

Colombia

Hrvatska

Κύπρος

Česká republika

Danmark

Eesti

Suomi

France

Deutschland

Hellas

Magyarország

Ísland

Éire

Italia

日本

Latvija

Liechtenstein

Lietuva

Lëtzebuerg

Malta

México

Nederland

Norge

Polska

Portugal

România

Россия

السعودية‎

Singapura

Slovensko

Slovenija

South africa

España

Sverige

Schweiz

الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة

United kingdom

International

Free investing in stocks & etfs. Zero commission, zero fees.

Active trading with leverage and zero commission. Stocks, forex, indices, and more.

Invest tax-free in a zero commission stocks and shares ISA.

Investments can fall and rise. You may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change.

Cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Trading 212 is a trading name of trading 212 UK ltd. And trading 212 ltd.

Trading 212 UK ltd. Is registered in england and wales (register number 8590005), with a registered address 107 cheapside, london EC2V 6DN. Trading 212 UK ltd. Is authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority (register number 609146).

Trading 212 ltd. Is registered in bulgaria (register number 201659500). Trading 212 ltd. Is authorised and regulated by the financial supervision commission (register number RG-03-0237).

The information on this site is not directed at residents of the united states and canada, and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

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Plus500uk is authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority (FRN 509909)

Plus500 ltd is a UK FTSE 250 company listed on the london stock exchange’s main market for listed companies

Your funds are kept in segregated bank accounts

* some of the payment methods may not be available in your country.

Take control

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Trader's guide

Plus500 in 2019

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Trade anywhere, anytime using our various platforms.

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Cfds are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.4% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how cfds work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Plus500 is mainly compensated for its services through the bid/ask spread. Check our fees & charges

1 by total number of relationships with UK CFD traders. Investment trends 2020 UK leverage trading report.
Plus500 is a trademark of plus500 ltd. Plus500 ltd operates through the following subsidiaries:
plus500uk ltd is authorised and regulated by the financial conduct authority (FRN 509909). Cryptocurrency cfds are not available to retail clients. Office address: plus500uk ltd, 8 angel court, copthall avenue | london EC2R 7HJ.
Plus500cy ltd is authorised and regulated by the cyprus securities and exchange commission (licence no. 250/14). Cryptocurrency cfds are not available to UK retail clients.
Plus500au pty ltd holds AFSL #417727 issued by ASIC, FSP no. 486026 issued by the FMA in new zealand and authorised financial services provider #47546 issued by the FSCA in south africa.
Plus500sey ltd is authorised and regulated by the seychelles financial services authority (licence no. SD039).
Plus500sg pte ltd (UEN 201422211Z) holds a capital markets services license from the monetary authority of singapore for dealing in capital markets products (license no. CMS100648-1).

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So, let's see, what we have: IG in the UK provides financial spread betting, contracts for difference (cfds), stockbroking and forex to a substantial client-base. At trading