Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Cybersecurity stocks

Cybersecurity stocks are the shares of companies that are involved in the protection of online systems, such as data and software, against cybercrime. With the importance of cybersecurity increasing due to the growing numbers of online users and internet-connected devices consisting of private data, trading cybersecurity stocks has experienced a growth in popularity. As cyber threats become more complex, companies are always developing new, modern and advanced types of cybersecurity.

Using our award winning* Next Generation trading platform, you can trade on cybersecurity stocks and ETFs by spread betting and trading CFDs. Read on to learn more about cybersecurity shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and how you can trade on their underlying price movements with derivative products.

Investing in cybersecurity

Investing in cybersecurity is becoming increasingly popular and can be achieved in a variety of ways, including investing in stocks and ETFs. In particular, cybersecurity stocks are the shares of companies that engage in protecting data and systems belonging to individuals and organisations from unauthorised access.

With the range of cyber threats and risks of hacking expanding and getting more complex, cybersecurity has become integral online. Individuals and companies are desperate to protect their money and data from an array of online threats, including examples such as phishing, malware, eavesdropping attacks and denial-of-service attacks. Therefore, with a growing importance and demand for cybersecurity, investment in the industry has experienced immense growth.

How to invest in cybersecurity

It is possible to invest in cybersecurity stocks by acquiring shares of cybersecurity companies and holding them for a long period of time in the hope of making a profit. This involves purchasing the share outright and paying the full value upfront. With share dealing, you can also only take one side of the market (going long).

With CMC Markets, our Next Generation trading platform offers alternative ways of investing in cybersecurity. This involves trading on the price movements of underlying shares through spread betting or CFD trading. In particular, spread betting is a tax-efficient** way of speculating on price movements without taking ownership, and does not require you to pay stamp duty or commission fees either. CFDs allow traders to buy or sell a number of units for an instrument, with the difference in price being exchanged at the end of the contract.

Open an account with CMC Markets to start spread betting or trading CFDs on cybersecurity stocks. In order to research the right stocks for you, you can utilise our news and analysis section to keep track of news about the cybersecurity industry. It is also important to understand the risks of derivative trading, so read more about leveraged trading.

Cybersecurity stocks to watch in 2022

McAfee (MCFE)

McAfee is one of the biggest cybersecurity companies in the world. Established in 1987, the Californian-based company is traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange and it provides an array of cybersecurity services. It serves a wide-ranging and global customer base as it offers protection solutions to small businesses, large companies, enterprises and governments. It also offers its services to individuals to protect personal computers and mobile devices. McAfee’s device security provides services such as anti-malware software and identity protection. Its personal protection services include online privacy and internet security.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

Palo Alto Networks. is an American cybersecurity company that serves organisations in over 150 countries. The Californian-based multinational company provides a security platform that consists of advanced firewalls and protects enterprises by securing their data, networks, devices and applications. Known as an innovative company, Palo Alto Networks continuously invents and creates breakthroughs in the segments of artificial intelligence, automation and analytics. Founded in 2005, the company’s platform is suited for many industries and in 2020, it launched a new 5G security offering, making it an interesting 5G stock to watch also.

Fortinet (FTNT)

American network security company Fortinet develops and sells cybersecurity solutions. Brothers Ken Xie and Michael Xie founded the multinational company in 2000 and developed a firewall, FortiGate, which is the company’s main product. Fortinet distributes both hardware and software products to companies and government organisations on a worldwide level. The company’s cybersecurity platform provides a wide range of solutions, which include email security, web application firewall and endpoint security software. Fortinet went public in 2009 and in 2016, it launched its Security Fabric architecture.

Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD)

George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch co-founded the technology company Crowdstrike in 2011. The company was established with the aim of combining intelligence with advanced endpoint protection in order to combat cybercrime and to identify perpetrators. CrowdStrike Falcon, the company’s platform, was launched in 2013. The key purpose of the platform is to prevent breaches, such as malware, by using cloud-delivered technologies. Crowdstrike provides response services and threat intelligence and was involved in several high-profile cyberattack investigations, such as the 2014 Sony Pictures hack.

Proofpoint (PFPT)

Founded in 2002, Proofpoint is an American security company. It offers a range of cybersecurity services, such as network sandboxing, email protection and cloud protection. Proofpoint’s security-as-a-service platform includes a range of data protection systems such as incident response, eDiscovery and secure communication. The company’s customer base includes large and mid-sized organisations and it has expanded greatly since its origins of an email security company.

Trade on over 8,000 shares with us

You can trade on these stocks on our Next Generation platform through our derivative products. View our instruments page in order to discover further cybersecurity share prices and details about holding costs, margin rates and trading hours.

Cybersecurity ETFs

We also offer a range of cybersecurity ETFs to trade on. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment funds that consist of a compilation of relevant shares with the purpose of tracking and reflecting the performance of popular cybersecurity stock indexes. This enables traders to indirectly invest in a collection of stocks through spread bets and CFDs for companies that provide cybersecurity services and develop data protection hardware and software.

Our platform offers the following cybersecurity ETFs to spread bet and trade CFDs on:

The above cybersecurity ETFs are what we currently offer, however keep an eye on our trading platform as there may be additional ones to trade on in the future.

It is important to note that leveraged ETFs are complex financial instruments that carry significant risks, such as currency, liquidity risks. Certain leveraged ETFs are only considered appropriate for experienced traders. Read more about trading on ETFs and the risks involved. Before trading on ETFs, it is important to make sure you have understood and followed risk-management guidelines.

Cybersecurity share basket

As well as CFD trading and spread betting on individual cybersecurity shares, our platform also offers traders the opportunity to gain exposure to multiple assets at once with our Cyber Security share basket. Share baskets enable you to trade on some of the leading companies in the industry with reduced holding costs and zero commission fees. Learn more about our innovative share baskets.

Some of the companies included in our Cyber Security share basket include established names such as Cisco, NortonLifeLock, Okta, Splunk, SecureWorks and Palo Alto Networks. You can also practise trading on our share baskets with a demo account before transferring to a live account, with £10,000 worth of virtual funds.

Trade on cybersecurity stocks with CMC Markets

In summary, due to cybercrime becoming increasingly complex and advanced, the demand for cybersecurity has continued to grow exponentially. With the hope that the demand will continue to rise, many traders currently view cybersecurity as an attractive investment right now.

Open an account to start spread betting and trading CFDs on cybersecurity stocks and ETFs. Explore more of our platform features through our library of platform video guides. You can also analyse individual cybersecurity stocks with our news and insights tools, which contains fundamental analysis reports from Morningstar and news updates from Reuters.

FAQ

What are cybersecurity stocks?

Cybersecurity stocks are the shares of companies that engage in protecting the systems and data of both individuals and organisations from unauthorised access. With our Next Generation trading platform, you can invest in the cybersecurity industry by spread betting or trading CFDs on cybersecurity stocks.

What are some examples of cybersecurity stocks?

Examples of cybersecurity stocks include cybersecurity giant McAfee and American network security company Fortinet. View an overview of our financial markets to discover more asset classes.

Can I trade cybersecurity ETFs?

You can trade on cybersecurity ETFs (exchange-traded funds) on our platform with CMC Markets. There are a variety of cybersecurity ETFs you can trade on, including the Global X Cybersecurity ETF and the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF.

How can I invest in cybersecurity?

You can invest in cybersecurity with CMC Markets by trading on the price movements of underlying shares through spread betting or CFD trading, on our Next Generation trading platform.

*No1 Web-Based Platform, ForexBrokers.com Awards 2020; Best Telephone & Best Email Customer Service, based on highest user satisfaction among spread betters, CFD & FX traders, Investment Trends 2020 UK Leverage Trading Report; Best Platform Features & Best Mobile/Tablet App, Investment Trends 2019 UK Leverage Trading Report.

**Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.

Disclaimer: CMC Markets is an execution-only service provider. The material (whether or not it states any opinions) is for general information purposes only, and does not take into account your personal circumstances or objectives. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by CMC Markets or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. The material has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research. Although we are not specifically prevented from dealing before providing this material, we do not seek to take advantage of the material prior to its dissemination.