Is spreadbetting suitable for swing trading?

[jonsjon]

I hear alot of stories that spread betting isnt good for scalpers, because of the stop hunting. But what about swing trading?

Does it cost money to hold shorts or longs overnight with spreadbetting? Interest?
What is the minimum account size for spreadbetting?
What's the minimum trade size for an index?

Just to let you know, I want to swing trade with 30 point stops, on S&P500 (future), but maybe with size €1000 or smaller.

 

[guidfarr]

Does it cost money to hold shorts or longs overnight with spreadbetting? Interest?

yes a financing fee is charged for each day that you run a position - it is usually charged +2.5/-2.5% over the libor rate. it is not a big fee but it can add up if you keep holding a position for long term periods - for instance for my 50-pt William Hill position I get charged GBP0.67 daily.

What's the minimum trade size for an index?

I guess GBP1.....

You can open an account with just GBP100 but if u're serious u want to put in a few thousands. I consider spread betting like my normal shares dealing...

check here if u are new and want to get a grounding in the subject http://www.financial-spread-betting.com/Spread-trading-faqs.html

 

[tomorton]

I hear alot of stories that spread betting isnt good for scalpers, because of the stop hunting. But what about swing trading?

Does it cost money to hold shorts or longs overnight with spreadbetting? Interest?
What is the minimum account size for spreadbetting?
What's the minimum trade size for an index?

Just to let you know, I want to swing trade with 30 point stops, on S&P500 (future), but maybe with size €1000 or smaller.

If you open, say, a SB position long on the June Dow, there is no charge to hold overnight, all the way to expiry date. If you took this as a 'rolling' spreadbet, there would be an overnight fee, the upside of this being that there is no expiry date. But that's not necessary for 95% of your swing trades, there is no reason to think they would last that long.