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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. Learn more about CFD trading

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 physically 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.

With CFDs, you also trade with leverage, which means your initial deposit is smaller, although any profits or losses you make are based on the trade's full value. With traditional share trading, you enter a contract to exchange the legal ownership of the shares for the full value upfront, and you then own this equity.

The main risks associated with CFDs are trading on leverage, which means your profits and losses are amplified based on the full value of your trade, and slippage, or market gapping, which can occur in volatile markets. It's important to manage your risk carefully as part of your overall trading strategy.

As a retail (non-professional) client, your account is protected by negative balance protection, which means that you can't lose more than your account value. Learn about the risks of trading CFDs

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.

CMC Markets Germany GmbH is a company authorised and regulated by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). CMC Markets complies with the requirements of §84 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) regarding client funds.

CMC Markets Germany GmbH is a broker regulated by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). It holds funds of private clients separately from its own funds in separate bank accounts. In the unlikely event that CMC Markets Germany GmbH is unable to meet its financial obligations, the EdW would cover any claim for damages by claimants up to €20,000, provided that certain criteria are met.

Retail client money is kept in separate trust accounts. By keeping retail client money separate from CMC Markets' own funds, it ensures that retail money is not owned and cannot be used by CMC Markets, as it is held on trust for retail clients. Learn more about client money regulations.

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