T2W Trading Community

It's futures & options

NO! There are similarities, but they are not futures or options contracts at all - they are very different things. For instance to invest or trade in futures and options you need more capital and to know your market well. Some people that have been very successful with financial spread betting do sometimes move to futures and options as there are some similarities. For instance, they are all highly geared and the power of making money is in the leverage, and you can make money when the price is going up or down. That's about it! Futures, and especially options, are highly complex and I would discourage you from trading in them for a long time yet, regardless of the amount of money you may have now to begin trading.

I will point out though that financial spread betting prices are usually linked to those of the futures (or sometimes the options) market for that particular stock or index. So in effect you are getting the best of both worlds. The potential profitability of futures and options but without the large amount of ready cash required to trade in them.

Also, because most of the time the financial spread betting bookmaker links his price to the futures markets, the prices that you see quoted are somewhat out of sync with the actual index or stock quote. I will talk about this later, but in general, don't worry about this discrepancy.

You need to be wealthy to begin with

Perhaps that was true in the early days, but is certainly not the case now. You can open an account with as little as a £100. Now neither is that sum going to break the bank nor, of course, is trading with that amount going to make you wealthy - no matter how well you do. What it will allow you to do is to learn how to trade. That's what I want to show you to begin with. That's why when we get to the point of opening an account, I only want you to open one with the bare minimum and I will show you exactly where you can do that and how.

When you have begun to prove to yourself that you have the techniques and knowledge to trade with consistent profitability, then - and only then -would I suggest you begin to add to your deposit. Up until that point, just use the £100. Let's not run before we can walk and by doing so we’re guaranteeing that we’re not going to lose the shirt off our backs and stops us from worrying about it too much. Before we even start to trade with REAL money, you should have had a couple of months virtually trading with one of the many virtual accounts that we have listed and ready for you to join. Don't do that just yet though. Learn the techniques and read the book at least once before you start even virtually trading.

Very few people spread Bet!

That is rubbish. At present in the UK alone, there are over 50,000 people who have a financial spread betting account with one of the leading financial spread betting bookmakers. Plus, there are more and more financial spread betting companies entering the fray every month. The market is booming. I think it's because of recent events with people's own investments held in pensions etc. People have realised that the institutions really aren't doing a great job of it and that they can easily empower themselves and do it their own way. Also, there is more and more written about financial spread betting every day, so many of the rumours are starting to be dispelled. Plus, you name me any other method of making money from the markets when they actually go down as well as up! So slap yourself on the back for taking that first REAL step and learning more about a way that CAN make you wealthy.

If it was that easy why isn't everyone doing it?

The fact of the matter is that quite a few people are doing it; it's just that not many people actually shout about it. Usually for the previous reasons I mentioned. That is why I suggest to you that you prove that you can do this first by using a virtual trading account, then move to a small margin with one of the financial spread betting companies I will tell you about later. Only when you have become totally comfortable, confident and making regular profitable trades would I even suggest that you start telling anyone about this.

A great deal of your success in this game is down to your attitude to having winning and losing trades and you will have your fair share of both. The last thing you need is some member of your family or close friends asking you how you're doing, and you say that you have lost a few trades. Their negativity alone will knock your own confidence. So do me a favour, in fact the only one I am going to ask you to do. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!

When your friends, family or colleagues see you driving around in a flash car that you bought for cash, then perhaps tell them about it. Don't be surprised however, if even then they don't believe you. Remember, most people only believe that there is one way of making money and that is to have a job that they don’t like and will spend forever complaining about.

There are millions of myths surrounding financial spread betting. I've just pointed out the key ones that seem to be bandied about these days. Pay little attention to them. Stay focused on what you need to learn. It's not that hard, it just requires a little bit of thinking and once you grasp it, you will wonder what all the fuss was about.