In the early days in the UK where CFDs started out they were referred to as SWAP contracts. It wasn’t until approximately 2001 that CFDs grew to become popular with retail investors. It was CMC Markets and IG Markets, two large spread betting providers based in London that bought CFDs to the forefront in the retail investors arsenal. CFDs suddenly grew to be well-liked in the United kingdom as they didn’t attract any stamp duty.

In 2002 both CMC Markets and IG Markets opened offices in Australia and started to actively market CFDs to Australian traders, the popularity of CFDs peaked in 2007. Because of their popularity amongst Australian traders and investors many offshore CFD providers saw the potential in Australia and opened up offices. There are over 13 CFD providers operating in Australia and an estimated 35,000 retail CFD traders.

In recent times CFDs have received much negative exposure because of traders incurring losses due to overexposing themselves to the market during volatility. This combined with the recent collapse of CFD provider Sonray Capital Markets has led to increased scrutiny by the Australian financial Services Regulator ASIC relating to how CFD providers handle client money.

At present CFDs remain by far the most widespread financial product for retail traders in Australia, although unconfirmed it’s estimated that CFD volumes account for around 35% of ASX exchange turnover. As CFDs are an over-the-counter product it is hard to verify this number.

CFDs in Australia are largely traded online through a selection of proprietary CFD trading platforms offered by the major companies. A lot of of these platforms were initially developed for forex CFD trading however due to the similarities between share CFDs and forex CFDs the platforms have be tailored to suit share CFD traders.

As Australia has the highest proportion of share ownership in the world on a per capita basis it’s not unexpected that almost all CFD traders have experience trading shares online. The historical growth of the Australian share market has made share and CFD trading a common pass-time for Australians.

Before you run out and join the 35,000 CFD traders in Australia you must ensure that you’re completely aware of the risks involved in CFD trading. Like all leveraged financial product CFDs offer sizeable benefits however these don’t come without risk. You must make certain that before you jump into CFD trading you understand the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) obtainable from your CFD provider that outlines the disadvantages and benefits of trading CFDs.

The spread of equity CFDs are often the same as the spread of the underlying security on which the CFD is derived however when trading shares this is known as the bid and ask price. Many CFD providers may widen the spread of share CFDs when there is a lack of liquidity in the underlying instrument over which the CFD is derived, others may factor their commission rate into the spread. When choosing a CFD provider it’s imperative that you make sure the spreads of the share CFDs offered emulate the spread in the underlying equity. Often CFD providers that widen the spread of CFDs over liquid shares as well as charging a fee are earning extra revenue by making the most of their client’s lack of awareness of the price of the underlying instrument on which the CFD is quoted.

Spreads are also often applied to Index CFDs. The spreads applied to index CFDs work very in a different way to the spreads applied to equity CFDs in that some CFD brokers offer CFDs over index futures contracts even when the exchange on which they are traded is closed. Often the price of an index CFD is based on the fair value of the futures contract or cash price, CFD providers will take the price of the index and add a spread which is often wider than the spread in the underlying index futures contract. When the exchange on which the futures contract is quoted is closed CFD providers will often widen the spread as they’re not capable of hedging their customer orders. The spreads applied to index CFDs will vary depending on the exchange and liquidity of the underlying futures contract.

The spreads applied to forex CFDs work in a similar manner to the spreads applied to index CFDs however as the forex market is the largest market in the world, there is a vast amount of liquidity and spreads are often very tight. It is important to be aware that some CFD providers will take advantage of forex traders by quoting tight spreads for small trade volumes or during quiet market periods, but widen the spread during busy periods or when the trader becomes more active. It is not uncommon for CFD providers to differentiate themselves from by quoting variable or fixed spreads, however both have their advantages and disadvantages.

When trading forex CFDs with fixed spreads traders don’t have to worry about being re-quoted or spreads widening over periods of high volume, they are also able to calculate their profit or loss accurately without being at the mercy of the CFD provider. Trading forex CFDs on fixed spreads can be advantageous over variable spreads especially in periods of volatility where providers offering variable spreads will show enormously wide spreads, however trading during periods of low volume will cost more. Fixed spreads are often suited to forex scalpers or day traders who trade frequently during volatility.

Dealing in forex on variable spreads also provides advantages in that customers are often able to enter the market during quite times at better prices, however all traders should beware that variable spreads are not always beneficial in that should the trader wish to exit the position the CFD provider may show a wider spread than the spread shown when the trade was opened. Variable spreads are suited to longer term strategy traders who do not trade during volatile periods.

In conclusion it’s vital that as a newbie trader you understand how CFD companies can use the spread to their advantage. As always it is important to make sure that you opt for a CFD broker that is able to offer you CFDs which will fit your trading system as the incorrect choice may well be an expensive learning experience.

Before you start trading Contracts for Difference you should understand how CFD spreads can impact your CFD trading profits, it is imperative that you consider this prior to choosing a CFD provider.