CFDs and spread bets are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Trade responsibly

Understand the risks involved

Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are leveraged financial derivative products that allow traders to speculate on the rising or falling prices of global financial markets, such as shares, indices, commodities without owning the underlying product.

At LCG we place a strong emphasis on education, to help you understand the risks involved and help you make informed trading decisions.

If you are new to trading you have the option to open an LCG demo account to learn the basics and practice trading risk-free.

About Leverage

CFDs are a leveraged product, meaning you can gain exposure to the markets by depositing just a percentage of the full value of the trade you wish to place.

However, leverage works both ways. This means that while you could make a potential profit if the market moves in your favour, if the market moves against you, your losses can be magnified. Nonetheless, as a result of the ‘Negative Balance Protection’ (‘NBP’) you may not lose more than your initial investment.

If you are new to trading leveraged products you have the option to open a free LCG demo account to accustom yourself to the prospect of leveraged trading.

Effective use of risk management

Proper risk management is essential to trading. Whether you are new to trading or an experienced trader, the importance of risk management should not be underestimated. Below are some important factors to consider when it comes to risk and money management:

  • Only deal with money you can afford to lose.
  • Use a ‘stop loss’ order. In the LCG Trader platform this can be done at the time the trade is placed and we offer a number of different stop loss tools. Having an order in place to automatically cut your losses when the market moves against you is an essential tool to help guard against large losses.
  • Only risk a small percentage of your capital on each trade. This means no one trade should have a big negative affect on your account balance.
  • Plan how you intend to close your trade at a profit. In the LCG Trader platform you can set a ‘take profit’ order at the time you place the trade. This means if the market reaches your intended profit, it will be taken whether you are logged in or not.

When trading CFDs with LCG, you have access to a full range of risk management tools. This may assist you to effectively manage your risk exposure and cap your losses, before you have even placed the actual trade.