FAQ
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What is spread betting?
Financial spread betting is a derivatives product that allows you to trade on the price movement of a financial market or instrument.
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What is a spread?
As with all forms of trading, we quote two prices for our spread bet products – a "buy" price and a "sell" price. The spread is the difference between the buying and selling price of each instrument.
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What are the advantages of spread betting?
- Tax free profits in the UK*
All profits gained from financial spread betting are exempt from capital gains tax, income tax and stamp duty in the UK.
- No commission
Alpari (UK) does not charge commission on any spread betting products.
- Profit from rising or falling markets
Spread betting gives you the flexibility to speculate both ways in the market. If you think the market will rise, you can "buy", and if you think the market will fall, you can "sell".
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What is the difference between a Forex trade and a spread bet on Forex?
Both spread betting and Forex trading are the exchange of one currency for another on the foreign exchange market, and with both you speculate on whether the market will rise or fall. However, any profits gained from spread betting are tax free* unlike with Forex trading. Spread betting is only available to residents of the United Kingdom.
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What is the minimum trade size?
The minimum trade size is 10 pence per point.
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How much does it cost to place a spread bet?
When placing a spread bet with Alpari (UK) the only cost involved is the spread.
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What is the margin requirement?
Spread betting is a leveraged product. Alpari (UK) offers leverage up to 1:500.
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How is the margin requirement calculated?
GBPUSD price is 1.60283. You decide to buy with a stake of £1 per point at a leverage of 1:500.
Your margin requirement will be based on your leverage, which means that you will only have to put forward a small percentage of the total trade value from your own funds as initial margin. By placing a spread bet at £1 per point when the price is 1.60283, the value of the trade would be £16,028.30. So, in this example, your initial margin will be £32.06 (16,028.30/500). Remember, if the price moves against you, it's possible to lose more than your initial £32.06 margin.
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Do you charge commission for spread betting?
Alpari (UK) does not charge commission on any spread bet products.
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What are the products available for spread betting?
We currently offer 34 currency pairs and seven major index futures on the MetaTrader 4 platform. Please click here for the pairs we offer and here for index futures.
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Can anybody open a spread betting account?
Only residents from the United Kingdom can open a spread betting account with Alpari (UK).
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What is the minimum deposit?
The minimum deposit is GBP250. Please note that there is no maximum.
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Can I use my existing Micro or Classic account to spread bet on MT4?
Existing clients from the UK will need to open a new spread betting account with Alpari (UK).
*Any profits you make from spread betting are completely free of capital gains tax, stamp duty and income tax (for UK residents). UK tax laws are subject to change and individual circumstances may vary.
