Check Providers and Spreads in Retrospection.Īs the table below shows, the financial betting industry is poised to grow at a CAGR of 26.33% between 20. There are now over a dozen firms offering spread betting services in the UK. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.Ĭity Index joined the market in 1983 and several others such as Financial Spreads, Cantor Index and Spreadex opened shop during the dotcom boom. Providerįrom 0.50 Indices, 1 pip FX, 0.1% equitiesįrom 0.4 pip Indices, 0.6 pip FX, 0.1% equitiesīetween 74-80% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting. The purpose was to hedge investment positions and the betting was largely confined to those in the financial community.
Popular spread bets were originally based upon performances of the Financial Times, Dow Jones Index and other financial barometers. The concept was launched by Stuart Wheeler who in 1974 founded IG Index so that investors could punt on the gold price without all the expense of buying bullion at a time of penal exchange controls. Spread betting has thrived since the dotcom crash.