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Put up to four markets on the same ruler. The shapes do most of the explaining.
| Contracts for difference | Financial spread betting | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit difficulty | 2 | 2 |
| Volatility | 5 | 5 |
| Leverage | 5 | 5 |
| Carry cost | 5 | 5 |
| Fraud risk | 4 | 3 |
| Protection gap | 3 | 3 |
| Barrier to entry | 1 | 1 |
| Expertise needed | 3 | 3 |
| Difficulty | 63 Extreme | 59 Tough |
| In a sentence | A bilateral bet on a price move with your broker, leveraged, financed daily, and losing money for the substantial majority of the people who use it. | A CFD in different legal clothing: a tax-free bet on a price move for UK residents, which is both its main attraction and a warning about how it is classified. |
| Unit | One contract per unit of the underlying | £ per point of movement |
| Smallest realistic trade | Fractional positions on most platforms | From around £0.10 per point |
| Settlement | Cash difference on closing; no ownership at any point | Cash, on closing the bet |
The fingerprint measures how demanding a market is to take part in. It is not a rating or a recommendation.