Spread betting costs
As well as spreads and margins, there are some other potential spread betting costs to consider. These depend on how long you hold positions open for, which products you trade and your approach to risk management.
FCA regulated
Segregated funds
FTSE 250 company
| Currency | Risk-free / interbank rate |
|---|---|
| AUD | One month bankers acceptance bill |
| CAD | One month bankers acceptance bill |
| CHF | SARON |
| DKK | One month Copenhagen interbank offered rate |
| EUR | ESTER |
| GBP | SONIA |
| HKD | One month Hong Kong interbank offered rate |
| INR | One month deposit |
| JPY | TONAR |
| NOK | One month Norwegian interbank offered rate |
| NZD | One month bank bill |
| SEK | One month Stockholm interbank offered rate |
| SGD | SORA |
| USD | SOFR |
| ZAR | One month deposit |
Holding costs
At the end of each day (5pm New York time), positions held in your spread betting account may be subject to a holding cost, which can be positive or negative depending on the direction of your position and the applicable holding rate.
Holding rates for spread betting on indices are based on the underlying risk-free or interbank rate of the index (see table) plus 0.0082% on buy positions and minus 0.0082% on sell positions.
For spread betting on shares, holding rates are based on the underlying risk-free or interbank rate for the currency of the relevant share (see table) plus 0.0082% on buy positions and minus 0.0082% on sell positions.
Spread bet FX holding rates are based on the tom-next (tomorrow to next day) rate in the underlying market for the currency pair.
Holding rates for spread betting on cash commodities and treasuries are based on the inferred holding costs built into the underlying futures contracts, from which the prices of our cash commodity and treasury products are derived.
Holdings costs for share baskets, forex indices and commodity indices are calculated via a weighted sum of the constituents' holding cost rates, plus CMC's fees on buy positions or minus CMC's fees on sell positions.
Indices, forex, commodity and treasury forward contracts are not subject to holding costs.
Guaranteed stop-loss order charges
A guaranteed stop-loss order (GSLO) works in the same way as a stop-loss order, except that it guarantees to close you out of a trade at the price specified regardless of market volatility or gapping, for a premium. If the GSLO is not triggered then we'll refund 100% of the original premium.
GSLO premium examples
The GSLO premium can be calculated in the following way: Premium Rate x Bet Size (£/point). Amounts are automatically converted into your home currency using the prevailing CMC Markets conversion rate.
Read more about GSLOsForex
For example, if you go short £2/point on GBP/USD, the GSLO premium would be £3 (1.5 x £2/point). If you close the trade yourself, a take–profit is triggered or you remove the GSLO, the £3 premium will be refunded.
| Instrument | GSLO premium rate |
|---|---|
| 1.5 points | |
| 2 points |
Indices
For example, if you go long £5/point on the UK 100, the GSLO premium would be £5 (1 x £5/point). If you close the trade yourself, a take–profit is triggered or you remove the GSLO, the £5 premium will be refunded in full.
| Instrument | GSLO premium rate |
|---|---|
| 1 point | |
| 1.5 points |
Commodities
For example, if you go long £6/point on Crude Oil Brent, the GSLO premium would be £12 (2 x £6/point). If you close the trade yourself, a take–profit is triggered or you remove the GSLO, the £12 premium will be refunded.
| Instrument | GSLO premium rate |
|---|---|
| 2 points | |
| 0.3 points |
Shares
For example, if you go long £45/point on Vodafone, the GSLO premium would be £22.50 (0.5 x £45/point). If you close the trade yourself, a take–profit is triggered or you remove the GSLO, the £22.50 GSLO premium will be refunded.
| Instrument | GSLO premium rate |
|---|---|
| 0.5 points | |
| 41 points |
Dormant account charges
A monthly inactivity charge of £10 (the amount depends on your account currency) will be deducted per dormant account where funds are available. An account is considered dormant if there are no open positions and there has been no other trading activity for a continuous period of one year.
The monthly inactivity charge of £10 (or its equivalent in another currency) will be deducted from a dormant account, usually within the first two (UK) working days of the month, until either:
- The account is closed or
- Trading activity recommences on the account; or
- The balance of the account is reduced to zero.
Once the balance of a dormant account has reduced to zero, we will not deduct further monthly inactivity charges from the dormant account. A dormant account will not incur a negative balance as a result of the deduction of the monthly inactivity charge.
If you decide to reactivate your dormant account by trading again, the inactivity charge for up to three previous months (up to a maximum of £30) where this has already been deducted will be refunded to your account.
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FAQS
Is spread betting tax free?
What free features do I get with my spread betting account?
What are the benefits of spread betting on forwards?
You can discover the advantages and disadvantages of spread betting on forwards in our handy guide.
