An alternative to online stock trading is contracts for difference. Contracts for difference are a contract between two parties concerning the price of an underlying. They are similar to futures contracts but don’t have a fixed size or expiration. They do require margin. Typically, the margin is about 1% to 10% of the underlying. A daily financing charge is assessed like margin trading. the financing charge fluctuates with the underlying value.Contracts for Difference are not regulated by the SEC. Typically, it is a foreign traded market. A good primer for beginners can be seen at CFD for beginners.

One of the CFD providers is One Financial. At One Financial a client can trade FOREX crosses, international indices,ETFs, soft commodities, and a products similar to major futures markets.

Advantages of trading through One Financial include the following

• lowest margins
• tightest spreads
• fastest execution
• free charting
• news and analytics
• 24 hour customer support via chat,phone,or email.

Beginners

They offer a free demo account for beginners. A good place to start is the Academy workshops. They offer classes covering CFD basis, charting, technical analysis, and strategy trading. The software is state of the art and easy to use.

Account types

If you are unfamiliar with CFD, then open a demo account. It allows simulated trading to familiarize yourself with the software and differences between CFD and conventional trading. Upgrade to the private client status and receive more services including… The next higher level is VIP which includes all of the Private services but includes more services like …

Free Commentary

One financial offers free commentary on several topics including energy, FOREX,international and Arabic markets. Click on the analysis section for examples.