Finspreads

Finspreads is a trading name of City Index and provides fair and transparent prices. They guarantee the price that you're quoted will be the price that is filled – so no dreaded re-quotes. They provide an 8 week long training academy which covers everything you need to know to get started and more. The platform is excellent and intuitive and they also provide a mobile trading platform. A decent range of markets is available, with hundreds of US shares being quoted, but spreads and not the tightest in the industry. 24 hour trading is available, as are guaranteed stops but there is no live chat facility or demo account on offer.

As mentioned, the market range is solid without being spectacular, but they do have a good range of countries available for investing in, including shares from the UK, US, Europe, Asia and others.

Their IMRs are not their greatest selling point, but their spreads are competitive . Margins have been improved and Finspreads are now offering margin rates from 2.5% on their twenty most popular shares.

Their FX offering is competitve with 8 major market pairs and many others. Commodities offered by Finspreads include the majors, such as gold, silver and crude oil but also somewhat more 'exotic' commodities such as US lean hogs. Options trading is also available.

• Indices
  
• Shares
  
• 8 major FX Pairs and many others
  
• Commodities, Metals
  
• Bonds/STIRS
  
• Options
  
• ETFs

Now under City Index, the trading platform at Finspreads is top quality. It is entirely web based and extremely easy to navigate through all their markets. Opening and closing positions is simple, as is entering stop-losses and limit orders so you can easily keep on top of your risk management practices.

They operate a feature, 'Our Size', which guarantees no re-quotes up to a certain price level, which when combined with the availability of guaranteed stops and if-done orders makes for a solid, low risk trading platform.The platform boasts 24 hour trading, auto roll-over on rolling bets and position amalgamation. It is ideal for beginners due to risk management techniques and minimum bets starting from 50p per point.

Finspreads have mobile trading available for clients. Their iPhone app enables traders to check the latest prices and market movements as well as open and close positions, set stops, limits, OCO orders, if-done orders and more. Non iPhone users can gain access to the full range of markets and order types available online by installing secure software on their phone to receive the web based application.

The training and education provided by Finspreads is excellent. They provide a number of video tutorials including opening and closing trades, placing stop-loss or limit orders, editing existing orders, accessing charting tools and more.

Free spread betting seminars are on offer to traders that cover all aspects of learning to spread bet, from an interactive 'Introduction to Spread Betting' workshop to using charting tools for short term trading tactics. A downloadable platform guide is also available that covers all aspects of trading with Finspreads, including how to understand the margin requirements. There is an in-depth glossary as well as trading articles that discuss strategies, tips and the psychology of spread betting.

On top of all this, Finspreads provide a Training Academy Course which lasts for 8 weeks. During this time, users are sent information on various aspects of trading including market-specific trading plans. For the 8 weeks that clients are enrolled in the academy they can make trades with a minimum stake of just 10p per point, the lowest in the industry. It should be noted that this 8 week period does not cover FTSE 350, where the minimum bet is £3 per point. Also, stops can't be placed on trades made with a bet of less than 50p per point.

Due to the 8 week training academy course, which is available after opening a live account and depositing £100, a demo account is not available. The minimum opening deposit for a live account is £100.