ETF trading

When you spread bet or trade CFDs on ETFs with us, you don't buy or sell the underlying ETF. Instead, you’re taking a position on whether you think the ETF's price will go up or down.

With spread betting, you buy or sell an amount per point movement for the ETF instrument you’re trading, for example, £5 per point. This is known as your stake. With CFD trading, you buy or sell a number of units for a particular instrument.

You gain for every point or unit that the price moves in your favour, and lose for every point or unit the price moves against you.

Read about the differences between ETFs and CFDs.

There are a number of costs to consider when spread betting or trading CFDs on ETFs, including the spread, holding costs (if you hold a trade overnight), commission (applicable to share and ETF CFDs) and guaranteed stop-loss orders, if you choose to use this risk-management tool. View our trading costs for more details.

ETF trading offers better value when compared with trading each individual constituent of an ETF. There’s no cost to open an account with us, and no minimum deposit.

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

Yes, CMC Markets UK plc (registration number 173730) is fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. Retail client money is held in segregated client bank accounts and money held on behalf of clients is distributed across a range of major banks, which are regularly assessed against our risk criteria.

Under the FCA's Client Money rules, we're required to segregate client money (unless you agree with us otherwise) from CMC's own funds. The funds held in segregated bank accounts do not belong to CMC, and will be held in a way that enables it to be identified as client money. Learn more about client money regulations

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