Spread betting

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25. Conclusion

Spread betting is an exciting way of betting on a variety of events - financial, sporting and "general". For the investor used to investing in shares, it has some key advantages:

• Leverage
• Hedging
• No tax
• Potentially profitable whichever way the market is heading

But betting successfully is not as simple as transferring your skills in share investing to a slightly different game. The rules are different, the risks are different, and the route to success is different.

Respect these differences, take it slowly, and you have a chance of developing a profitable and fascinating sideline.

You have now completed the course. To test your knowledge, take the Assessment test.

1. What is spread betting? 2. A brief history 3. Spreads on individual equities 4. Spreads on an index 5. Performance spreads 6. Other financial spreads 7. Practical advantages - leverage 8. Practical advantages - going short 9. Practical advantages - hedging 10. Practical advantages - volatile markets 11. Practical advantages - tax 12. Dynamics - think short term 13. Dynamics - the size of the spread 14. Dynamics - upside and downside 15. Dynamics - length of bet 16. Strategy - bet only what you can afford 17. Strategy - cutting losses 18. Strategy - stop losses and limited risk bets 19. Strategy - taking profits 20. Strategy - arbitrage 21. Opening an account 22. Placing a bet and managing your account 23. Regulation 24. Some more tips 25. Conclusion

• The Investors Guide to Financial Spread Betting