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A contract for difference (CFD) is a derivative product which enables you to trade on the price movements of underlying financial assets (such as forex, indices, commodities, shares and treasuries). It's an agreement to exchange the difference in the value of an asset from the time the contract is opened until the time it's closed.

With a CFD, you never actually own the asset or instrument you're trading, but you can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss should the market move against you.

Trading CFDs involves trading on leverage, which means that you can enter a position with a set initial deposit, known as the margin requirement. It's important to remember that leverage amplifies your gains and losses in equal measure, based on the full value of the trade, and not just the initial margin amount.

The main difference between CFD trading and share trading is that you don't own the underlying share when you trade on a share CFD. With CFDs, you never actually buy or sell the underlying asset that you've chosen to trade, but you can still benefit if the market moves in your favour, or make a loss if it moves against you. However, with traditional share trading, you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the shares for money, and you own this equity.

When trading CFDs, it's important to understand the risks associated with financial trading in general, as well as the risks that are specific to trading CFDs. The main risks associated with trading CFDs relate to trading with leverage, account close-out, market volatility and market gapping.

Stay on top of breaking economic news events and discover what's moving the financial markets, with commentary from our global market analysts in our news and analysis section.

There's no cost when opening a live trading account with us. You can also view prices and use tools such as charts, Reuters news or Morningstar quantitative equity reports, free of charge. However, you'll need to deposit funds in your account to place a trade.

Yes, CMC Markets Canada Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). CFDs are distributed in Canada by CMC Markets Canada Inc. acting as principal.

As a CMC client, your money is held separately from CMC Markets’ own money and is held on trust in segregated bank accounts with a Canadian bank. This account is opened and maintained in the name of CMC Markets Canada Inc. We do not use client money to hedge our positions or to meet the trading obligations of other customers. This offers you financial security and you can rest assured that your money with us is protected.

Our income primarily comes from our spreads, while other fees, such as overnight holding costs, make a minor contribution to our overall revenue.