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.

Shares trading

Spread bet or trade CFDs on 10,000+ shares with leverage, on our award-winning platform*. With tight spreads, lightning-fast execution and 24/5 UK-based customer service.

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FCA regulated
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Segregated funds
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LSE listed

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More than a trading platform

Your favourites in one place

Spread bet or trade CFDs on 10,000+ shares, including the 250 biggest UK shares and the most popular from the US.

Professional research

Free access to quantitative equity analysis from Morningstar.

Minimal slippage

With fully automated, lightning-fast execution in 0.0030 seconds**.

No partial fills

All orders are fully executed without dealer intervention, regardless of your trading size.

UK-based client services

UK-based customer service, online 24/5, whenever you're trading.

No currency risk

Avoid the risk of currency fluctuations which may otherwise impact returns, when you spread bet.

Over 10,000 shares

Get exposure to the world’s largest companies, from Apple to Lloyds Banking Group, through spread betting in the UK and Ireland, or CFD trading, with spreads from as low as 0.10 points.

Other popular instruments

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Pricing is indicative. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Our CFD share trading costs and fees

Whatever you trade on, costs matter. That's why we're committed to competitive pricing and transparency, whether you trade on blue-chip shares or penny stocks.

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1When trading share CFDs on our platform a commission will be charged upon execution of any order. Minimum commission charges may apply.
2The minimum commission that is payable to trade a share CFD and one of the costs associated with trading a share CFD. 

EXCLUSIVE TO CMC

Looking for an opportunity? We've analysed the trends driving the market and grouped shares into topical buckets like Driverless Cars or Renewable Energy, allowing you to spread bet or trade CFDs across a trending theme with a single position.

The platform built for trading on shares

Fast execution, exclusive insights and accurate signals are vital to your success when you spread bet or trade CFDs on shares. Our award-winning trading platform was built with the successful share trader in mind.

Pattern recognition scanner

We automatically scan over 120 of our most popular instruments every 15 minutes for emerging and completed chart patterns, such as wedges, channels and head & shoulders formations, and overlay them on to your charts to alert you to potentially emerging trends.

Client sentiment

Our client sentiment tool shows you where traders are bullish and where they’re bearish, based on real-time trades. Identify trends based on how that sentiment changes over time across our whole client base or just our top traders.

Hot product list

Industry-leading charting

WINNER2023

No.1 Web Platform

ForexBrokers.com Awards

WINNER2022

Best Mobile Trading Platform

ADVFN International Financial Awards

WINNER2022

Best CFD Provider

Online Money Awards

News

Opto Sessions: Jack Schwager’s market misconceptions

PODCAST

Jack Schwager, renowned author of the Market Wizards book series, reveals a major misconception in investing.

Powerful trading wherever you are

Trade like you’re on a desktop, from your mobile. Our award-winning mobile trading app* allows you to seamlessly open and close trades, track your positions, set up notifications and analyse mobile-optimised charts.

FAQs

New to trading?

Is it free to open an account?

There's no cost when opening a live spread betting or CFD trading account. You can also view prices and use tools such as charts, Reuters news or Morningstar quantitative equity reports, free of charge. However, you will need to deposit funds in your account to place a trade. You can find out more about the costs of placing a trade.

What are the costs of trading on indices?

There are a number of costs to consider when spread betting and CFD trading, including spread costs, holding costs (for trades held overnight which is essentially a fee for the funds you borrow to cover the leveraged portion of the trade), rollover costs for expired forward trades, and guaranteed stop-loss order charges (if you use this risk-management tool). Find out more about our costs

Is CMC Markets regulated by the FCA?

Yes, CMC Markets UK plc (registration number 173730) and CMC Spreadbet plc (registration number 170627) are 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.

Is CMC Markets covered by the FSCS?

Yes, your eligible deposits with CMC Markets are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensations Scheme (FSCS), the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. If CMC Markets ever went into liquidation, retail clients would have their share of segregated money returned, minus the administrator's costs in handling and distributing these funds. Any shortfall of funds up to £85,000 may be compensated under the FSCS.

How does CMC Markets protect my money?

As a CMC client, your money is held separately from CMC Markets' own funds, so that under property, trust and insolvency law, your money is protected. Therefore your money is unavailable to general creditors of the firm, if the firm fails.

How does CMC Markets make money?

Our income primarily comes from our spreads, while other fees, such as overnight holding costs, make a minor contribution to our overall revenue.

We never aim to profit from our clients' losses. Our aim is to build long-term relationships by providing the best possible trading experience through our technology and customer service.

New to share trading?

What is share trading?

Share trading in the underlying market is the buying and selling of company shares with the aim of making a profit. Shares represent a portion of ownership of a public company. At CMC Markets, we offer the opportunity to spread bet or trade CFDs on shares, so you don’t actually own the underlying share.
Learn more about share trading

What is leveraged trading?

One of the features of spread betting and CFD trading is that you only need to deposit a percentage of the full value of your position to open a trade, known as trading on leverage. Remember, trading on leverage can also amplify losses, so it’s important to manage your risk.

What is spread betting?

Spread betting allows you to trade tax-free on a wide range of financial markets 24 hours a day, from Sunday nights through to Friday nights. Trade on your phone, tablet, PC or Mac on a wide range of instruments using leverage. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change or may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.

How does spread betting and trading CFDs on shares actually work?

When you spread bet or trade CFDs on shares on our platform, you don’t buy or sell the underlying share. Instead, you’re taking a position on whether you think the company’s share price will go up or down.

With spread betting, you buy or sell an amount per point movement for the share instrument you are trading, such as £5 per point. This is known as your stake. With CFD trading, you buy or sell a number of units for a particular instrument. For every point or unit that the price moves in your favour, you gain multiples of your stake, and vice versa.

As an example, say you wanted to buy £1,300 worth of Lloyds shares at £65 per share. For the spread betting equivalent of this trade, you would specify a stake size of £20 per point to get the same exposure as you would if you bought 20 Lloyds shares at £65 through traditional share dealing. Due to the leverage available with spread betting (5:1 in this case), you would be able to enter this position with an initial outlay of £260, instead of £1,300. However, remember that your profits and losses are based on the full value of the trade (£1,300). As a retail client, you will never lose more than the amount in your account.

How does the additional spread on share spread bets work?

Share spread bets have an additional spread added either side of the existing spread. See our UK and US share spread bet examples below.

UK shares example:

CFD price/underlying sell/buy price: 250p / 255p
CMC 0.1% additional spread to be added either side, widening the spread:
250p – (0.1% of 250) / 255p + (0.1% of 255)
Spread bet sell/buy price = 249.75p / 255.25p

US shares example:

Share price | Cost
$0-15 | 1 cent (each side)
$15-25 | 2 cents (each side)
$25-35 | 3 cents (each side)
$35+ | 4 cents (each side)

CFD price/underlying price: $25.50 / $25.58
Share price falls into bracket three: $25-35.
So, 3 cents is added to both sides, widening the spread:
$25.50 – $0.03 / $25.58 + $0.03
Spread bet sell/buy price = $25.47 / $25.61

Do spread bets on shares attract dividends?

When a stock goes ex-dividend, the value of that stock effectively falls by the dividend amount. This means if you hold a spread bet or CFD position on a company which announces a dividend, your account will be credited or debited on the day the stock goes ex-dividend.

If you were long (holding a buy position), you would have been disadvantaged by the drop in the market caused by the pay out of the dividend, so we would credit your account with the dividend amount, less any applicable dividend withholding taxes. If you were short, you would benefit from the drop in the price, so the equivalent amount would be deducted. So, overall, you don't lose or gain anything from the adjustment. There are no withholding taxes on short positions. The dividend will appear as a 'Price Adjustment' in your account history within the platform.

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