Benefits of Spread Betting
Spread Betting offers a number of benefits.
Tax free trading
For UK residents, the profits you make from Spread Betting are free from UK capital gains and income tax giving you the opportunity to make tax-free gains. However, tax laws can be changed or may differ depending on your personal circumstances.
Commission free trading
With Spread Betting there are no commissions to pay, no matter how often you trade.
No stamp duty
Unlike traditional share trading, Spread Betting incurs no stamp duty on UK Shares.
Profit from rising or falling markets
Traders can profit from bull and bear markets. Because you are trading on the price movement of a financial instrument without physically owning it, it is as easy to initially sell the instrument as it is to buy it. This is known as ‘going short’ and allows you the opportunity to profit from a fall in the instrument’s price by selling high and buying back cheaper.
You can view examples of going short in our Examples section
Margin trading
Spread Betting is a leveraged product which means that you only have to put up a percentage of your total exposure to the market. This is an efficient use of your money because you only need to allocate a small proportion of the value of your position to secure a trade.
In effect, you are able to magnify the returns on your investment. Losses too will be magnified so margin trading is not necessarily for everyone. Typically margins with Galvan vary between 1% and 10%.
Trade global markets
Spread Betting allows you to trade on a whole host of global instruments all from one account. Spread Bet on Shares, Indices, Commodities, Sectors, Treasuries and Foreign Exchange 24 hours a day.