ChartMan
I understand from the spreadbetting companies that most of their clients lose money, and even those who do not lose in a short term period of time, do lose over time
I have studied the spread betting companies and their systems extensivly to see if there was anyway to arbitrage between their prices and future contracts etc, but my conclusion is that there isn't, since they hold the upper hand in the price they untlimately give you and more importantly, when they give you a price, and of course this can affect you going into a postion and getting out of the position - a double whammy
I dont think the amount of the spread is the biggest problem with spreadbetting companies, its mainly the inconsistency in the delay in getting a price from them which is the problem, and causes major slippage, again, both in opening and closing a position. This also makes it difficult to know the risk reward of any position.
There are a number of reasons why trading the Dow, as against the S&P. many appear "easier", but these are real technical reasons which i suspect only a professional trader understands, and the risk/reward ends up the same, you just need to use a slightly different technique to trade the Dow, as opposed to the S&P
I know whenever i have spoken to people who trade with spreadbetting or CFDs for that matter, that they always say that the make money, but i know from their lack of knowledge and also what the spreadbetting companies tell me, that there is just about no one making money with them, but i would appreciate your own comments and experiences, for your own trading and the others you speak with.