Trade with the UK's best CFD trading platform¹

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

When investing in shares, you buy and own company shares outright, usually with longer-term investment in mind.

When trading share CFDs, you don't take ownership of the underlying shares. Instead, you speculate on whether share prices will rise or fall. CFDs are leveraged products, meaning you only deposit a percentage of the total position value to open a trade.

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 the latest financial market news and analysis, and discover what's moving the markets, with our news and analysis section. In our platform, check out our 'Insights' section for more analysis.

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

CMC Markets earns revenue through spreads and other applicable fees and charges. The fees and charges that apply may vary depending on the product and account type.