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The Traded Scale

One ruler for every market.

Every entry on this site is measured the same way: eight questions, each scored from 1 to 5, each pointing in the same direction — higher is more demanding. That means a gilt and a whisky cask, or an ETF and an airport slot, can finally be compared on the same terms.

The eight axes

Right half: how the market behaves. Left half: who you are dealing with, and whether you can get in.

01 Exit difficulty How hard is it to turn this back into cash at a fair price? 1 Sold in seconds at a quoted price5 Months to sell, or no buyer at all 02 Volatility How far does the price move? 1 Barely moves5 Can halve or double in months 03 Leverage How much borrowed exposure is normal here? 1 Bought outright5 Leverage is the product 04 Carry cost What does it cost simply to hold it? 1 Costs nothing, or pays you5 Holding it erodes it 05 Fraud risk How common are fakes, scams and misrepresentation? 1 Negligible5 Endemic 06 Protection gap If it goes wrong, how little recourse do you have? 1 Regulator, compensation scheme and ombudsman5 No recourse at all 07 Barrier to entry How hard is it for an individual to take part at all? 1 Anyone, with a few pounds5 Closed to individuals 08 Expertise needed How much specialist knowledge do you need not to be fleeced? 1 Hard to get badly wrong5 Deep specialist knowledge

The scale measures how demanding a market is to take part in. It says nothing about whether a market will make or lose money, and a low score is not a recommendation. Scores are editorial judgements against a published rubric, reviewed alongside each other so they stay consistent.

Every market, ranked

67 markets · most demanding first · reverse

# Market Exit Swing Leverage Carry Fraud No recourse Barrier Expertise Difficulty
1 Classic carsCollectibles & physical goods 4 4 1 5 4 5 3 5 72 Extreme
2 Fine artCollectibles & physical goods 5 4 1 4 4 5 2 5 69 Extreme
3 Carbon credits & allowancesRights, claims & intangibles 3 4 3 3 4 3 4 5 66 Extreme
4 Commercial propertyProperty & land 5 3 4 4 2 3 4 4 66 Extreme
5 Shipping freightServices, time & capacity 3 5 4 2 2 3 5 5 66 Extreme
6 Airport slotsRights, claims & intangibles 5 3 2 3 1 4 5 5 63 Extreme
7 CocoaCommodities 3 5 4 3 2 3 4 4 63 Extreme
8 Contracts for differenceDerivatives & contracts 2 5 5 5 4 3 1 3 63 Extreme
9 Distressed debtDebt & fixed income 4 5 2 2 2 3 5 5 63 Extreme
10 Insurance & reinsurance riskServices, time & capacity 4 4 3 2 2 3 5 5 63 Extreme
11 Natural gasCommodities 2 5 5 5 2 3 2 4 63 Extreme
12 NickelCommodities 3 5 4 3 2 3 4 4 63 Extreme
13 Non-fungible tokensRights, claims & intangibles 5 5 1 2 5 5 1 4 63 Extreme
14 Patents & intellectual propertyRights, claims & intangibles 5 4 1 4 2 3 4 5 63 Extreme
15 CoffeeCommodities 3 5 4 3 2 3 3 4 59 Tough
16 EtherCurrencies & digital assets 2 5 3 1 5 5 1 5 59 Tough
17 Financial spread bettingDerivatives & contracts 2 5 5 5 3 3 1 3 59 Tough
18 OptionsDerivatives & contracts 2 5 5 3 2 2 3 5 59 Tough
19 Radio spectrumRights, claims & intangibles 5 2 3 3 1 3 5 5 59 Tough
20 Residential propertyProperty & land 5 2 4 4 2 3 4 3 59 Tough
21 Whisky casksCollectibles & physical goods 4 3 1 3 5 5 2 4 59 Tough
22 BitcoinCurrencies & digital assets 2 5 3 1 5 5 1 4 56 Tough
23 Luxury watchesCollectibles & physical goods 3 4 1 2 5 5 2 4 56 Tough
24 Private company sharesShares & funds 5 4 1 1 4 4 2 5 56 Tough
25 Timber & forestryProperty & land 5 2 2 3 2 4 4 4 56 Tough
26 Weather derivativesDerivatives & contracts 4 4 2 2 1 3 5 5 56 Tough
27 Agricultural landProperty & land 5 2 3 2 2 3 4 4 53 Tough
28 AluminiumCommodities 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 4 53 Tough
29 Crude oilCommodities 1 4 5 4 2 3 2 4 53 Tough
30 Fine wineCollectibles & physical goods 3 3 1 3 4 5 2 4 53 Tough
31 Fishing quotaRights, claims & intangibles 4 3 2 2 1 4 5 4 53 Tough
32 Interest rate swapsDerivatives & contracts 1 3 4 2 2 3 5 5 53 Tough
33 Trading cardsCollectibles & physical goods 3 5 1 2 4 5 1 4 53 Tough
34 WheatCommodities 2 4 4 3 2 3 3 4 53 Tough
35 CopperCommodities 2 4 4 3 2 3 3 3 50 Demanding
36 ElectricityServices, time & capacity 2 5 3 1 1 2 5 5 50 Demanding
37 Foreign exchangeCurrencies & digital assets 1 3 5 4 4 3 1 3 50 Demanding
38 Futures contractsDerivatives & contracts 1 4 5 3 2 2 3 4 50 Demanding
39 LithiumCommodities 4 5 2 2 3 2 2 4 50 Demanding
40 UraniumCommodities 4 4 2 2 3 2 3 4 50 Demanding
41 Used carsCollectibles & physical goods 2 3 3 5 4 3 1 3 50 Demanding
42 Water abstraction rightsRights, claims & intangibles 5 2 1 2 1 4 5 4 50 Demanding
43 Ground rents & freehold reversionsProperty & land 4 3 2 2 2 4 2 4 47 Demanding
44 SneakersCollectibles & physical goods 3 4 1 2 4 5 1 3 47 Demanding
45 Domain namesRights, claims & intangibles 3 3 1 4 3 4 1 3 44 Demanding
46 Music royaltiesRights, claims & intangibles 4 2 1 2 2 4 3 4 44 Demanding
47 Prediction marketsDerivatives & contracts 4 5 1 1 4 3 1 3 44 Demanding
48 Grid flexibility & demand responseServices, time & capacity 4 4 1 1 1 2 4 4 41 Demanding
49 Advertising inventoryServices, time & capacity 1 4 1 2 4 3 1 4 38 Moderate
50 Cloud compute capacityServices, time & capacity 2 4 1 3 2 3 1 4 38 Moderate
51 Event ticketsRights, claims & intangibles 2 5 1 1 5 3 1 2 38 Moderate
52 High-yield bondsDebt & fixed income 3 4 1 1 2 2 3 4 38 Moderate
53 Peer-to-peer loansDebt & fixed income 4 2 1 2 3 4 1 3 38 Moderate
54 SilverCommodities 2 4 2 3 3 3 1 2 38 Moderate
55 Retired LEGO setsCollectibles & physical goods 3 2 1 3 2 5 1 2 34 Moderate
56 GoldCommodities 1 3 2 3 3 3 1 2 31 Moderate
57 Barter & mutual creditServices, time & capacity 4 2 1 1 2 5 1 1 28 Moderate
58 Corporate bondsDebt & fixed income 3 3 1 1 1 2 3 3 28 Moderate
59 StablecoinsCurrencies & digital assets 1 1 1 1 4 5 1 3 28 Moderate
60 Freelance labour & timeServices, time & capacity 2 2 1 1 3 3 1 3 25 Moderate
61 Investment trustsShares & funds 2 4 2 2 1 1 1 3 25 Moderate
62 Index-linked giltsDebt & fixed income 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 4 22 Moderate
63 Personalised registrationsRights, claims & intangibles 3 2 1 1 2 3 1 2 22 Moderate
64 Real estate investment trustsProperty & land 2 4 2 1 1 1 1 3 22 Moderate
65 Ordinary sharesShares & funds 1 4 2 1 2 1 1 2 19 Gentle
66 UK giltsDebt & fixed income 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 9 Gentle
67 Exchange-traded fundsShares & funds 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Gentle

The atlas of shapes

Every fingerprint on the site. Small and tight is undemanding; large and spiked is not.

Commodities

Gold Silver Copper Aluminium Crude oil Natural gas Wheat Coffee Cocoa Lithium Uranium Nickel

Shares & funds

Ordinary shares Exchange-traded funds Investment trusts Private company shares

Debt & fixed income

UK gilts Index-linked gilts Corporate bonds High-yield bonds Peer-to-peer loans Distressed debt

Currencies & digital assets

Foreign exchange Bitcoin Ether Stablecoins

Derivatives & contracts

Futures contracts Options Contracts for difference Financial spread betting Interest rate swaps Weather derivatives Prediction markets

Property & land

Residential property Commercial property Real estate investment trusts Agricultural land Ground rents & freehold reversions Timber & forestry

Collectibles & physical goods

Fine art Classic cars Luxury watches Trading cards Fine wine Whisky casks Sneakers Retired LEGO sets Used cars

Rights, claims & intangibles

Domain names Carbon credits & allowances Music royalties Patents & intellectual property Event tickets Non-fungible tokens Fishing quota Airport slots Water abstraction rights Personalised registrations Radio spectrum

Services, time & capacity

Electricity Shipping freight Cloud compute capacity Freelance labour & time Grid flexibility & demand response Barter & mutual credit Insurance & reinsurance risk Advertising inventory