Spread Betting

[dibbly_dobbler]

Evening All.

I have been having a play with the above on 'igindex'. Just small amounts until I get the hang of it but thus far it seems like a bit of a no-brainer in comparison to actually buying the shares of the company one wants to invest in.

You can put in guaranteed stops, limits etc and also you have a much greater degree of flexibility with regard to gearing. Also no CGT !

So what am I missing - any thoughts/experiences to share ?

[dibbly_dobbler]

ShadownINja said:

It's been about a week since we've had one of these threads.

Oh sorry - well at least I checked this forum

ShadownINja said:

The bit you're missing is how to get the best entry so you don't get stopped out minutes after entering a "trade".

www.financial-spread-betting.com is a good start. You might want to make yourself a cup of coffee before starting. It's quite long.

Thanks for the tip. Most of the 'trades' have a preset minimum stop distance (15% iirc) so one is unlikely to be stopped out right away but I take your point.

Just need to think of something to have a punt on now - anybody got a tip for me ?!


PS - why is there a capital 'IN' in your name ? Some mysterious pun ?

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ShadownINja said:

The problem with the 15% thing is that it's a general setting for all of them; you need to work out what is the best stop size for a particular instrument/stock. They all have their own characteristic so what is acceptable for one might be too tight for another.

Yes completely agree with that.

ShadownINja said:

As for tips, always do your own research.

Yeah I suppose so. Boring though isn't it ? And nobody else to take the blame

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ShadownINja said:

Ok, buy Toad. Or whatever they've become. TG21 PLC? I think they've just renamed again. I've got 500 shares and am staring at a huge loss so please buy them and tell all your mates. Ta.

Thanks for the tip oh shadowy one but alas it is not listed on my gambling site - oops I mean tax-efficient flexible finance-based trading platform...

[dibbly_dobbler]

Well I've had an 'interesting' few weeks after an initial honeymoon period - basically doing everything wrong: buying at the wrong time, getting out when I should stay in, lowering my stops rather than take a loss etc etc. Generally making an ar*e of it tbh.

The amounts are piddly but it has brought it home to me that I ain't cut out for this lark - hats off to any amateur who can make money at it without suffering a nervous breakdown !

Will probably be cleaned out sometime soon and give up in the huff

[dibbly_dobbler]

Chilli said:

Wanna discuss your strategy, or your logic beind your decisions? Sometimes there is just a feeling you might have, and no logic behnd it, but I'll offer advice if I can.

Thanks mate, that's a kind offer.

I think half (or more !) of the problem is that I dont really have a strategy at all - I made a few quid on the banks when they were on the way up a month or two ago (a chimp could have done this) then stayed in too long and lost most of it.

Now in Oil+Gas as I thought they looked cheap and that the oil price was on an upward trend in general. Doing ok-ish on this so far but spirits are flagging as I'm finding it rather stressful (which is ridiculous given the amounts involved) so I am wondering whether to give up and blow the remains on a night out or maybe a night in depending on how things go !

It was just for a bit of fun to begin with but the fun factor has been distinctly lacking of late...

[dibbly_dobbler]

limpsfield said:

ShadownINja said:

Thanks for the reply, limpsfield. More simply put, as long as I don't use my entire account and place a stop loss (ie such that I am risking no more than 1-2% per trade), I shouldn't get a nasty bill if things go tits up?

the only thing you have to worry about is slippage - where a market gaps and you end up getting filled at a worse price than expected. This has never been a concern for me and in my own personal experience it is rare but if you wanted to absolutely nail down the risk you can use a guaranteed stop and pay a slightly wider stop.

http://www.igindex.co.uk/spread-betting/superior-r...

Interesting. I have a limited risk account with IG so only guaranteed stops are available. As you say one is oblidged to maintain a wider gap to the stop (which is actually a pain in the arse at times) but I was also suspicious that the bid/offer spreads were bigger so that each trade costs a bit more - anybody know ?

Cheers, DD

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The Contrarian said:

dibbly

just email IG index. They're really helpful. I spoke to a really help bloke called David Million - very apt name!

Cheers John - I suspect I will get it changed over to a normal account and live with the risk of 'slippage' which seems to be rare.