Why spread bet?

Spread betting offers a number of benefits.

Tax free profits

Spread betting is currently exempt from UK Capital Gains Tax and UK stamp duty, giving you the opportunity to make tax-free gains. It is, however, worth remembering that exemption from Capital Gains Tax also means that you cannot offset any losses against profits elsewhere. However, tax laws are subject to change, and are dependent upon individual circumstances.

Trade global markets

Spread betting provides instant access to financial markets around the world, including a wide range of instruments that would not otherwise be accessible to individual traders.

Profit from rising or falling markets

It is as easy to ‘go short’ (sell) a market as it is to ‘go long’ (buy) a market. If you expect the value of an equity, index, or another market to fall you can use spread betting to sell it today, with the expectation that you can buy it back in the future at a lower price.

Leverage your investment returns

With spread betting you can increase your exposure to an underlying asset from the same capital outlay. This means that you can multiply your potential return, giving you far greater profits (or losses) than if you were to trade the underlying asset directly.

For example, you could choose to take a position worth £10,000, and if the margin rate was 20 per cent you would only need to deposit £2,000 to open this position.