FinSpreads

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Col_Stiffler

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I've been looking around the forums for information re:financial spread betting companies. I've been using FinSpreads, experimentally, and wondered if anyone had anything good or bad to say about them, as I have nothing to compare them against - and I don't really want to open loads of accounts just to make a comparison between different companies if I can help it. It seems a decent enough service to me, but I wonder if anyone out there has had a bad experience with their service, or can give solid reasons why I should use any of the other companies (capital spreads, D4F etc) instead?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Cheers.
 
I've been with Fins for a year or so and they're OK, however Capitalspreads are a good comparison and with tighter spreads and low margin requirements, I'll be opening an account with them too - handy to have a couple open just in case. Their demo platform is excellent imo, just hope when trading for real the thing hangs together just as well - there is a CS review on T2W which has a favourable rating thus far.

Good luck.
 
Fin Spreads are ok. I have been dealing with them for 6 months or more now. The only thing is , sometimes when the market starts jumping around they go to telephone trading only or if there is still online trading, then it can take ages to get a fill.
But most of the time they are fine.
No real nasties to report.
 
Thanks for the comments - I'll take a look at Capital Spreads as well. Probably is a good idea to have a couple of accounts, good point.

Cheers.
 
Hi Col.

I've only used fins since spring 03 but they're helpful when you need them. I use their stops facility and so far they have always closed positions at the stops set (I haven't found it necessary to use the guaranteed stops feature) as a result).

It is a good idea to have a second SB account with another firm. Then if you can't get through to the main firm to close a position running against you, you can at least open a contrary position with the back-up firm to make your exposure neutral.
 
Col,
I suspect Tom (in his post above) is referring to U.K. in general and the FTSE in particular. His comments may not be applicable to the U.S. market - especially the Nasdaq. There, prices can gap up/down 2, 3, 4 or 5 dollars or more and your stops are unlikely to get filled at the price you specify! Just something to bear in mind.
Tim.
 
Last edited:
On Finspreads,

This is a personal comment (when isn't it?) and others may disagree: finspreads was, from my own experience, a much better company to trade/bet with when it was owned by its original management four or five years ago.

Although this was also a time when 'all' the spread betting companies were sending out the information to their clients that they were not similar to any traditional bookmaker, as all the trade/bets placed by their clients were hedged in the market - so they wanted 'everyone' to win. Times have changed, methinks.
 
Okay - that opens up a whole new can of worms for me then. According to the blurb I've read, the SB companies hedge to cover themselves and therefore have no objection to clients making money. I'm not too keen on bookmakers in general, for obvious reasons (i.e. they have it all stacked in their favour), so are we saying the SB companies are nothing but glorified bookmakers for the financial markets?

Re: US markets - I did have a problem when experimenting with small trades on the DJI the other day - it dropped down by 50 or 60 points in a few seconds and I couldn't get out of a trade I was in - it tooks minutes to retrieve a price and allow me to execute, which was all way too late for me. Luckily this was only a small position as I was experimenting at that stage (I wasn't using a stop loss as I was trading under 50p a point).

So are the apparent advantages of SB trading (i.e. no tax, commissions etc) really just a false attraction?
 
Spreadbetting companies are ideal for position trading, ie trades that are held over several days or longer. In my view the shorter the timescale that you trade and the greater number of short term trades you make the less attractive SB becomes because the costs in the spread offset any tax advantages and the more trades you make the worse this becomes.

As a daytrader I would rather pay tax on a proft than no tax on a loss and I have never encountered the sorts of problems you are describing using a direct access broker.


Paul
 
Col the SBs rarely hedge if they think you've got it wrong - they'll just take your money. As you say, they are just bookies.

If they think you've got it right they'll (if your betting big) have a tendency to obstruct your ability to get a decent price - or a fill at all.

I'm surprised about the problem with FS - I heard they were pretty good on the speed of exceution side of things.
 
Thanks again for the replies - interesting/useful stuff.

Apart from zero commissions and no tax, the other advantage of using SB as a trading vehicle was that I could sell short. I have a trading account with Comdirect and I can't do that. Are there any online brokers I can use that will allow shorting? If there are, are the commissions higher and/or are the accounts expensive to run?

If you're ultimately aiming at being able to trade for a living, what is the best way to go about it in terms of the vehicle(s) you should use?
 
By the way, the experience I had with FS re:not being able to execute trade - I had put that down to the fact that as the DJI went into free-fall, everyone was trying to get a piece of the action and their servers were unable to cope with the demand. I could be wrong, but it seemed like a reasonable explanation. Other than that one occassion, I can't complain about FS's service at all, it's been very good.
 
Col - I doubt you would be so reasonable if you were trying to get out of a position rather than in.

imo SB offers a cheap way to live trade the markets while learning how you make a profit. Once you have a good long term track record with SB then I would move to futures and up the stakes.
 
Col_Stiffler said:
By the way, the experience I had with FS re:not being able to execute trade - I had put that down to the fact that as the DJI went into free-fall, everyone was trying to get a piece of the action and their servers were unable to cope with the demand.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...that'll be it.
 
Well there you go - guess I shouldn't have given them the benefit of the doubt... :confused:

Thanks for your help, people.

Colonel.
 
Finspreads Trading Codes

I would be grateful if anyone could help me.

Does anyone know what the code CVH means for Finspreads when it is beside a closed trade. I think it usually occurs when Finspreads, (or their computer systems), take it upon themselves to close a trade without your knowledge.

If anyone can tell me what this code means I would appreciate it.
 
Oh dear, oh dear!!

CVH are the initials of one of their desk-based dealers - Catherine Horsewill, who was originally at City Index.

Hope this helps
Simon
 
As mentioned earlier in this thread, do be very very careful with Finspreads.

I cannot make a direct comment, however ask yourself why they are losing staff at the moment to their competitors....

When Finspreads started as a division of Sporting Index, the direction and commitment was strong and directed, hence why they reached their client numbers so quickly. Since the demise of Sporting Index and their purchase by IFX, things have not been quite so easy, perhaps explaining their current problems...

Regards
Simon
 
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