Deal4free / CMC

[djia]

Deal4Free

Hi

I'm new to spread trading and have recently opened an account with Deal4Free. I've just tried to log onto their website but couldn't so tried to do a search - I found a web page with reviews of Deal4Free and to be honest it was pretty grim reading.

Has anybody any views / experience on this company please?

Many thanks.

Rob

 

[Col_Stiffler]

Hi - I've been asking the same questions about FinSpreads and I'm really getting the feeling that a lot of people are very cynical (just a bit!) about spread betting firms on the whole.

There're a ton of comments in the reviews section of this website for D4F - although that may be where you've already been looking. Some are good, some are not so good.

The suggestion is that at the end of the day all SB companies are just bookies and as such are simply out to take your money "unfairly" (i.e. with the spread offered being massively in their favour) and also that at times they will prevent you executing a trade if you stand to gain a large amount. I have no idea if these comments are true or not, but I am beginning to think twice about using SB as a trading vehicle.

You heard anything like this yourself?

 

[bracke]

I have used Cantor Index, IG Index, Spreadex and now using Capital Spreads.

I have had no problems with any of them but I do not place large bets, my maximum has been £10 a point on the ftse or dow. I also think that the wide spreads on the first three mentioned above mean that they are less likely to close off trading when things move against them ie they have a bit more leeway.

The current Cantor software is a lot better than the previous which use to lock up or crash but it is slow to load initially

The IG loads well and I prefer the layout to Cantor.

Spreadex do not yet offer on line trading - tel only.

I have only recently moved to Cptl Spds because the spreads are a lot lower than the other three. No problems so far

Regards

bracke

 

[Trader333]

One of the reasons for the view that says the SB compaines are just bookies comes from the Annual Report of one of them, (which I cannot remember which but was posted on here quite a while ago), that said something along the lines of:

Profits are lower than expectations because our clients were more fortunate than was expected. We do not expect this situation to continue.

If that is not saying that bets are not hedged then what is ? Also it is only intraday trading that is difficult with SB companies where-as EOD, or position trading, is ideally suited to SB in my view.



Paul

 

[Niall]

I have used Deal4Free for several years and while I found them not very good for any fast intra day stuff they are fine so far on swing trading, altho now more limited number of US stocks that can be traded.. about the top 250 or so of the SP500.

Still not clear why people spreadbet as opposed to trade using cfd's.. cant see any advantage at all to spreadbetting.. maybe someone can explain?

I also use IB for more serious trading but D4F has always proved to be an excellent way to test a strategy out for me before risking more and I tend to now use it alongside IB

 

[Buk]

agree with Niall....sb's have their place in the trading environment, and are fine for position trading. Have used them since last June, and exp no problems!....have also taken 'day' positions with them, and as long as the stake isn't too high, then the "fills" are ok. If you're looking at scalping/shorter day positions, then direct access (due to the speed/spreads) etc might be more appropriate.

 

[PeterTT]

Niall ...
CFD = 40% capital gains tax ...
Spreadbetting = 0% capital gains tax..

Peter

 

[Buk]

djia

just to add to the above (if it helps)....I also heard/read the comments that sb was a waste of time for the 'serious' trader....and made the mistake of "aiming too high" with unrealistic aspirations. Regardless of which platform you use, as a beginner, patience & trading psychology play a major part in determining your path & ultimate success. Start simply & try to plan which route you're looking to take (ie: day trading/swing/position), and research your market & more importantly your platform carefully. I tried to run before I could walk, and was ill prepared for my journey. I'm using sb to gain a live market experience, with low stakes & a platform to test/adjust trading strategy....I also lean towards 'position trading' which suits the sb platform for my use. As my exp grows, THEN I will look to accommodate other area's available.

just a view/opinion, but we make our own mistakes....and trial/error is not such a costly mistake if you go in with eyes wide open......good luck!

 

[Davros]

Niall ...
CFD = 40% capital gains tax ...
Spreadbetting = 0% capital gains tax..

Peter

Well I'm happy to pay the TAX :cheesy:

The problem I have with spread betting is that often I am unable to place my stop orders where I want them. So you either operate without a stop or you have to place them too far away, thus loosing more than I want too.

 

[Miki]

How many times have we seen posts with “ I’ve opened account with XYZ…what do you think about it?” theme.

Why do people open trading account without proper research is beyond me!

 

[ajgriff]

How many times have we seen posts with “ I’ve opened account with XYZ…what do you think about it?” theme.

Why do people open trading account without proper research is beyond me!

I posted a request for information about trading CFDs with Saxo Bank but unfortunately there have been no responses. Maybe nobody does! In which case I'd love to know why not. My reasons for favouring Saxo for CFDs, having researched many others, are as follows:

1. The spread is fixed at 0.1% either side of market, which is more than some but rather less than GNI, for example.

2. Saxo is not acting as a market maker and has nothing to gain from my success or failure.

3. The platform (demo) seems solid and reliable with useful support information.

4. Saxo has a good reputation with regard to forex.

5. The people are pleasant and helpful.

Any thoughts or comments from more experienced site members would be appreciated, before I take the plunge.

Many thanks.

 

[fitu2]

Spreadbetting

I think that companies that do host spreadbetting do make money when the trader looses ans also whenever the trader takes a position. from this stand point, these companies will be interested in the number of trades a client makes since the more the trades, the more money they make. so whether the client makes profit after profit, the company is bound to make money. lets not forget that this is a speculative business so profits made by one client are bound to be offset by losses made by another. therefore, the spread betting company is bound to make loads of profit. Theoretically atleast!!!

 

[gcb01]

Deal4Free - delays

I had a problem last thursday when I ended up with three open bets that I thought I had closed. It turns out that D4F had executed stop orders on these bets but this was not reflected in my open positions blotter nor in the pending trades blotter where I was allowed to cancel stop orders that had been executed more than an HOUR earlier. Anyone else suffered this?

 

[ivor31]

cmc trouble

Hi
Is anyone else having trouble logging on to cmc.Im frequently getting logged on then it intermittently disconnects/connects never choosing one or the other.Very annoying.

JB.

 

[Orion]

I haven't noticed anything over and above the regular hiccups with logging on to cmc but has anyone had experience of their "alerts" system? I tried an experiment the other week and duly received an e-mail when the "test" alert level was hit but a "live" alert today failed to be actioned. Could it be that cmc's alerts are less than reliable?

 

[darrenf]

The alerts are terrible.

Sometimes they work sometimes they don't! They are not to be relied upon!

When I have asked why they are not working, the usual ineffective customer service response is to be fobbed off with "it's being worked on" or "it will be back up soon but we don't know when"

It's really very poor and personally I suspect their alerts system "stops working" intermitently as it will help them make more money as customers are unable to react to price levels being hit as they planned. :!:

 

[Orion]

Thanks, darrenf, for your comments. I appreciate your reply and advice. I'm particularly interested in alerts for the major UK and overseas indices. Any thoughts on who else might be relied upon for such a service? I've tried ADVFN but they seem limited in their overseas coverage.

 

[JTrader]

I have heard the term steal4free!

 

[paulrockhopper]

I use cap spreads and cant fault them re customer service or closing positions, for my modest trade size. I have been looking into cmc for their comprehensive charting, and liked the idea of alerts, however going off what people have said it appears they may not be quite what they seem. I suppose if 50 punters have alerts set at the breakout of a particular move then I suppose its 50 punters giving advanced warning of a propsed position! I have been looking on shareware sites for some time,for some form of software to take a signal from a particular screen coordinate and set an alert of this, but have had no success. Anybody know how to do this/software or is it pie in the sky

Regards
Paul

 

[JTrader]

Has anyone who has held an account with D4F/CMC had to end the association and choose a new broker as a result of shenanighans on their behalf, in terms of making it difficult or impossible to trade profitably? If so, what happened?