CapitalSpreads any good?

[capitalspreads]

jsd

the answer to this question will be posted on the Capital Spreads thread as this is not my forum here and I dont want to take it over.

Simon

 

[Roberto]

I can also think of another way of testing out this theory for myself

why not get in a room with another account holder then take equal and opposite positions in the same market and see what happens. The prices will be the same for both.

Great minds etc. etc.

It will hardly surprise you to know that you passed this test, Simon, and are clearly quoting exactly the same prices regardless of whether people are long or short.

Also, someone I know at the FSA confirms everything you say above, and most specifically that every trade from every client is looked at, and that different prices at the same time _would_ be spotted and _would_ ring loud enough alarm bells to provoke prompt action.

I was originally intending to do the same little test at another couple of SB firms as well, to try to satisfy Spreadbetteur that he must be mistaken about this point, for whatever reason, but on reflection I think it's obvious enough now, and I'm going to lay it to rest. I think the burden of proof here is really on those casting such aspersions of fraud to adduce some evidence, anyway. A _very_ serious allegation was made here, but in the event, not substantiated. .

 

[roberk]

i am only going to comment on this thread if anybody actually says anythingBy the way.. in answer to that actual question on the thread I think we are fab !!!

Simon

OK I opened an account with CS. Will keep the board informed as to how it goes. In the end my decision to go with CS came down to Simon having the guts to answer questions here - much as def does for IB on Elitettrader.
I've had an account with InteractiveBrokers for almost 2 years - on my biggest day their commision was $450- and if I have calculate right that would be well over $10,000 if I had done the same trades on CS.
So obviously this account can only be used for swing trades where entry spread is not such a major factor as in daytrading.
It kind of marks a new era in my trading as I have had a minor revelation and decided to try to turn my mind toward the longer term picture during this next year.

 

[Roberto]

I've had an account with InteractiveBrokers for almost 2 years - on my biggest day their commision was $450- and if I have calculate right that would be well over $10,000 if I had done the same trades on CS.

Must say that I find that absolutely astonishing. I know that different brokers have rather different commissions/spreads on the same instruments, but that seems a really _enormous_ difference to me!

I'm a simple forex and indices trader (mostly forex, these days). I don't have an account with InteractiveBrokers. I have one with FXCM and one with CS, and I can only tell you that on the currencies I trade, the CS spread is always smaller than the FXCM one.

So obviously this account can only be used for swing trades where entry spread is not such a major factor as in daytrading.

To me, comparing small differences in the spreads/commissions pales into insignificance compared with the difference between paying CGT on the profits and having them tax-free. But people's situations and needs differ, obviously. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised, given what you say, that you should be considering using CS at all.

Happy New Year and a successful 2005 trading.

 

[roberk]

Must say that I find that absolutely astonishing. I know that different brokers have rather different commissions/spreads on the same instruments, but that seems a really _enormous_ difference to me!

I'm a simple forex and indices trader (mostly forex, these days). I don't have an account with InteractiveBrokers. I have one with FXCM and one with CS, and I can only tell you that on the currencies I trade, the CS spread is always smaller than the FXCM one.

To me, comparing small differences in the spreads/commissions pales into insignificance compared with the difference between paying CGT on the profits and having them tax-free. But people's situations and needs differ, obviously. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised, given what you say, that you should be considering using CS at all.

Happy New Year and a successful 2005 trading.

I am surprised you didn't know this. Has anyone explained that with a normal broker trading on Eurex or Globex the spread is only a tick.　In fact often I buy or sell and am immediately in the green a tick because the bid and ask alternate rapidly.

I live outside GB and the tax rate on trading is minimal. The only reason I have for using a spreadbet shop is the size of trades..
At the moment if I scale in a position (say 3 cars)on the Dax with IB then the daily range is over $3000. This sort of money means I feel nervous holding it overnight and has pushed me into short term trading.
With the smaller size I can trade with SB shops I can get back in my comfort zone - with regard to holding a postion for days and weeks. I'll keep my IB account for daytrading of course.

 

[gullible]

Roberk,

Interesting post re Eurex and Globex. I do not know much about trading through IB as I have always traded through SB.

I have heard that EUREX and GLOBEX charge interest by the second on any long positions, is this correct? What is the minimum account size and margin requirements for both of these companies?

I assume that there is a Website for both these companies? I will do a search in a minute.

regards

Gullible

 

[roberk]

http://www.cme.com/ for Globex
Interest is negligible/irrelevant when trading futures - because the volatility is hundreds or thousands of times more critical.
On InteractiveBrokers you need about $5000 to trade one contract of Dax and maybe $2000 for sp emini. I have a small $30,000 account which is enough for daytrading but as I explained above not for longer term .
I had another look at the spreads and my first figure was a bit high. On the day I paid $450 commission it would be more like $4500 I would have paid to a SB.

 

[gullible]

Roberk,

Thankyou for the helpful post. The difference in commission is staggering- I shal look into cme further.

best regards

Gulible

 

[Uncle]

FX and Index, though I assume on all products they offer.

Remember they are bookmakers and that is their business model.

May I suggest you read the profile of the Parent Group of Capital Spreads................HARDLY A BOOKIE in my opinion!!!!

John

 

[gullible]

Uncle,

Whether we agree with the sentiment behind 'Business Model of a Bookmaker' or not - it is a question of fact that SB companies are bookies albeit Financial Bookmakers.
Like winnings from traditional bookies, winnings from SB are tax exempt. The name also gives us a clue - Spread Bet.

Whilst I do not know anything about parent company of CS, I can imagine web sites of William Hill (Plc) would look quite slick.

regards

Gullible

 

[Uncle]

Uncle,

Whether we agree with the sentiment behind 'Business Model of a Bookmaker' or not - it is a question of fact that SB companies are bookies albeit Financial Bookmakers.
Like winnings from traditional bookies, winnings from SB are tax exempt. The name also gives us a clue - Spread Bet.

Whilst I do not know anything about parent company of CS, I can imagine web sites of William Hill (Plc) would look quite slick.

regards

Gullible

Methinks you have chosen a very apt name in subscribing to this Board. If thou cannot take the trouble to look at the Home Page of C S and see who is behind the company, then no wonder you are GULLIBLE !!!!

Here's hoping you prosper in 2005.

John

 

[gullible]

we will have to agree to differ on this one. The word bet has been splashed all over CS - the law (FSA, tax law etc) also recognises spread-betting as betting. No underlying security is traded, instead BET is placed. The parent or indeed a holding company may have several interests, however, a subsidiary specifically setup to take bets makes the subsidiary a BOOKMAKER.

Did you know that CS is a limited company it self? No matter how strong a parent company is - ah forget it .

I share your sentiments - may we all prosper in 2005

 

[roberk]

I have to agree with you Gullible. I think CS make no secret of the fact that they are in the gambling game - as the book.

 

[roberk]

Update:
I put a small amount in my account - had a problem with them accepting my credit card online and had to phone in the details.
Have made 10 trades and all were executed at the exact price I was quoted. The spread on oil was really bad but the spread on sp500 pretty good. It obviously depends on how popular a market is as to how much they can narrow the spreads.
So far I haven't tried forex during a breakout move but will be looking to soon.

 

[roberk]

complaint

One thing that is needed is the code of stocks.
I am mainly a daytrader and so I am not used to looking up the names of all the stocks I trade. My usual trading platform only gives the official stock code. For some reason Capital spreads don't have the code and you have to look up the name of the stock on another site to find its code. Time consuming and opposite to the way direct access brokers do it.
I couldn't find Sohu and SIna at all - does anyone know if they are listed?

 

[DaveJB]

Sohu Com inc, SINA Corp. Both are Internet sector companies, beyond which I know squat, but presumably they can be found on many a financial site's areas?
Dave

 

[roberk]

Thanks Dave, actually I was meaning that CS don't seem to offer either SINa or Sohu which surprised me as they are big volume nasdaq stocks.
However I tried my first stcok trade on Friday and I think I see why they only have a few stocks:
1. The spread is BAD.
2. They didn't open trading for US stocks until 10 minutes after regular trading started!! That really mucked me up. On my direct access platform I can trade before the regular market opens.

So I won't be trading stocks with CS - hard to see why anyone would?

But I am happy with the sp500, and if they can narrow the gap on Dax and Gold I'll use them for those too.

 

[DaveJB]

Ah, gotcha.
Yes, I find it a bit annoying too - if it's any use to you I have an Excel sheet with the shares listed that they offer Daily Rolling bets on, although you might not need it now! (Symbol, name, IMR columns).
Spread varies - 0.3% is the quoted rate, I tend to compare what's on my esignal chart to their quote to see not only how big the spread actually is, but whether it's centred on the actual price or slipping the odd cent to one side as well. What sort of spread where you seeing ?

I don't trade the first 10 mins - it's one of the periods in the day where I avoid trading anyway, but it would annoy me if I did... in my case it's the end of the day I'd appreciate them staying open.... going to close a trade at 20:58 and finding you can't can annoy - I have an alert set for 20:55 as a result.

I think, if SB is going to be a noticeable component of your trading, there's a case for having several accounts with several companies where one is better than another for a particular spread or the range of shares on offer. Like you I've gone to see what the price on XYZ is, and been surprised to discover they don't quote it!

Dave