A contract for difference (CFD) is an agreement with a broker to exchange the difference in an asset's price between opening and closing a trade. You never own the asset. This path covers how CFDs are priced, what they cost, how margin and stops behave, how the rules differ by country, and how to avoid unregulated brokers.
Read this first. CFDs are leveraged and most retail accounts lose money. In the EU and UK, providers must show the percentage of their retail accounts that lose money trading CFDs with them. Depending on your country and account type, losses can exceed your deposit. CFDs are restricted or banned for retail clients in some countries (the US is one), and rules, leverage limits and protections differ between regulators. Check your local regulator before anything else. This is education, not advice.
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1
What a CFD is
The product, who you trade against, and what you do and do not own.
2
Costs and leverage
What a trade costs, how margin works, and what happens when it runs out.
3
Execution and risk
Stops, slippage, dividends, and the risk of the firm on the other side.
4
Rules and alternatives
The same trade can be legal, restricted or banned depending on where you live. Then, how CFDs compare with other ways to take the same view.
5
Staying safe
How to avoid bad brokers and how to start small, with a plan.
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Education, not financial advice. Nothing here says what to buy or sell, and rules and product availability differ by country. All roadmaps.