With CFDs, there is no element of ownership. This is not the case with stocks. The advantage of ownership is the range of shareholder perks and benefits. Investment in stocks has a long-standing reputation for the potential to earn big returns for those who can navigate the ups and downs of the trading markets. An investment opportunity that is becoming increasingly popular, however, is the use of CFDs (Contract For Difference). Where purchasing stocks in a business means that you own that stock, a CFD simply matches the value of a stock or commodity without the element of ownership. If you think a course in trading might benefit you, read The Best Stock Trading Courses.
Key Differences Between CFDs and Stocks
What Do You Own?
This is the main difference between CFDs and stocks. When you purchase stocks, such as shares in a business, you own those stocks until you sell them. With CFDs, there is no element of ownership. What you have instead is a contract with a broker. The advantage of ownership, in this context, is the related range of shareholder perks and benefits. For example, voting rights or the option to attend shareholder meetings. Another benefit of stock ownership is the payment of dividends. If you purchase CFDs concerning company shares, the likelihood is that you will be paid a dividend if you have a CFD in place at the time when dividends are released to shareholders. However, the conditions surrounding that dividend, such as the amount paid out, will vary from the dividend arrangement for a stockholder.
Financing the Investment
Once an investor in stock has spent their investment pot, they cannot make new purchases without the sale of their existing stocks. However, a CFD investor has the opportunity to pay a percentage of the stock price and borrow the remaining amount from their broker. This is known as leverage trading. For example, James and Michael each have £10,000 to invest. James uses his £10,000 to buy 19 Tesla shares priced at £502 each, leaving him with £462 unspent. Michael is also interested in Tesla, but instead of using most of his money in a straightforward stock purchase, he arranges a CFD with a 10% margin. He invests £954 and borrows the rest of the money from his broker. Michael then has £9,046 remaining to invest elsewhere. To find out more about Leverage Trading, read What Is Leverage in Forex Trading?
What Can You Invest In?
If you invest in stocks, you are generally limited to purchasing business shares or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An ETF is a collection of securities that are traded on an exchange. By contrast, CFDs can be used for a whole host of trading instruments such as business shares, foreign exchange (forex), indices, cryptocurrency, commodities and bonds. However, when you sell your CFD, or it comes to an end, you will be paid immediately. The benefit to an immediate cash settlement is the speed with which you can reinvest your money or take it as income.
Trading Hours
If you invest in stocks, your trading will be limited to stock exchange hours. This is generally from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday in the UK. Stock exchanges are closed for trading on a weekend and for bank holidays. If you invest in CFDs, however, which are open to a wider range of investment instruments (forex, commodities, etc.), you have access to many more markets. Therefore, you can generally trade for twenty-four hours every day.
Length of Investment
Your decision to invest for a short length of time (be that hours or days) or on a longer basis (stretching from weeks to even years), will inform your choice of stocks or CFD investment. CFDs are suitable only for short-term investments, because many of the investment instruments they trade-ins, such as cryptocurrency or forex, are subject to rapid rises and falls in price.
Tax Liability
In terms of taxation, stocks and CFDs are considered two different things by the HMRC. Stocks are an asset, while CFDs are simply an agreement because of the lack of ownership. Nevertheless, both carry a tax liability.
Stocks
Stocks are taxed in several ways:
Capital gains tax Stamp duty Dividend tax, if appropriate
Where the profit you make from selling stocks is greater than the capital gains tax-free allowance, £12,300 in 2021/22, you will be liable to pay capital gains tax on the portion of your profit over the allowance. The calculation of the amount you pay, however, can be complicated by the rate of income tax you would normally pay. As a basic rate income taxpayer, the amount you pay will depend on how much income you earn, your income tax allowance, and what profit you made from the sale of your stocks. For example, Taxable income (income less personal income tax allowance) – £10,000. Taxable gains (income from the sale of stocks with fewer expenses) – £15,000. Deduct the capital gains tax-free allowance from your taxable gains – £2,700. Add this to your taxable income – £12,700. If the resulting amount is within the basic income tax band, £37,700 in 2021/22, 10% will be paid on your gains, and if it is above, you will pay 20%. In this instance, the amount is within the tax band, and the tax liability is, therefore, £127 (10%). If you are a higher rate income taxpayer, you will pay 20% capital gains tax on your taxable gains. Stamp duty generally comes into effect if you buy shares at a rate of 0.5%. Should you receive dividend payments, these will be added to your income. There is a dividend tax-free allowance of £2,000 (2021/22). Should your dividend earnings be more than £2,000, the percentage you are charged will depend on your income tax band:
Basic tax band rate – 7.5% Higher tax band rate – 32.5% Additional tax band rate – 38.1%
CFDs
CFDs are generally taxed in the same way as stocks, except stamp duty. As the CFD is not an asset and, therefore, no transfer of ownership has taken place, stamp duty does not apply. CFDs are subject to capital gains tax and, where appropriate, dividend tax.
Taxation Example One:
Jane’s taxable income is £7,000. She sells the stock and makes a profit of £19,000. In the current tax year, she also received dividend payments of £1,995. Once the capital gains tax-free allowance has been deducted from her taxable gains, the remaining amount is £6,700. When added to her taxable income, this results in an amount of £13,700. As this amount is within the basic income tax band, 10% is applied. Her capital gains tax liability is £137. Her normal tax rate will also be applied to her taxable income. There is no tax liability on her dividend payments because they are within the dividend tax allowance.
Taxation Example Two:
Marie invests via CFDs. Her taxable income is £10,000. Trading CFDs, she makes a profit of another £10,000. She receives no dividends. The amount of her CFD earnings is lower than the capital gains tax-free allowance and results in zero capital gains tax liability. However, her normal tax rate is applied to her taxable income. Factors to consider include:
Do you actively want to own shares in a business and enjoy the privileges that bring, such as voting powers and dividend payments? In which case, investing in stocks is the path for you. Are you more, or at least equally interested in being involved with a particular business over making a profit? If yes, then stock trading is your best choice. CFDs are a good choice if you want to invest in instruments not available to stock traders, such as commodities or cryptocurrency. Do you want to make a short-term investment, selling after a couple of days? Again, CFDs are your best choice. How much money do you have to invest? Using leverage trading, CFDs may give you access to the same opportunities as buying stock but for a smaller initial outlay of money. Do you want to trade at any time, or are you happy to trade within stock exchange trading hours only?
CFDs vs Stocks: Advantages and Disadvantages
If you are still unsure which type of investment will suit your needs, maybe you should consider the benefits and downfalls of each option:
CFDs
Here are some great options: eToro also features an online community in which you can join discussions with fellow traders and learn more about trading. 80.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Plus500 offers a free app for trading on the go, which provides a demo mode to learn how to trade before you make an actual investment. Trading with CFDs is suitable only for short-term investments
XTB offers investors and traders the opportunity to trade commodities, stocks, metals, forex, indices and cryptocurrencies, as well as ETFs and CFDs, and it is regulated in top-tier jurisdictions by FCA, CySEC, IFSEC and KNF. Traders can easily open an account online and can choose between the commission-free Standard account or the Pro account that includes tighter spreads, but there is a commission that needs to be paid on all trades. Deciding what platform to use to make your trades depends on your location – in most countries, you can choose MetaTrader 4 or the proprietary platform xStation (although MT4 is not available to UK customers). XTB is a great choice for beginners thanks to the huge range of educational materials, categorized by level (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and the customer service options that are available only on weekdays. There is a fully functional demo account so beginners can practice strategies and get used to using the platforms. The more experienced trader will enjoy a huge range of research resources, including trading signals, technical analysis, details about different instruments, and even a heat map and market sentiments. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% 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. Its strong points include:
No minimum first-time deposit No commissions Several payment methods for deposits and withdrawals Tight spreads from 0.5 pips
It offers one of the best execution speeds in the industry with low latency below 0.004s. It utilizes the most advanced technology to improve users’ trading efficiency – users can automate trades, build integrations and create trading apps using ActivTrades’ market-leading CFD and spread betting technology. Exceptional trading infrastructure is available on ActivTrader and MetaTrader 4 and 5. ActivTrades invests deeply in specially developed educational materials for its clients – including webinars, regular outlooks, manuals, etc. Type of offers: ActivTrades focuses on well-developed products in its trading portfolio. Customers can choose from over 1,000 CFD or spread betting instruments across forex, indices, shares, commodities, financials and ETFs. It also offers investing solutions for its institutional partners. Spread betting allows UK residents ONLY to trade the prices of financial instruments, including forex, indices, commodities and LSE shares. Spread betting and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread betting and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money Vantage Markets offers access to the markets through the popular MT4 and MT5 platforms, and a feature-stuffed mobile app. There are three account types:
Standard STP: Perfect for novices, this is a no-commission account that works across all trading instruments, with a minimum spread of 1.4 pips. The minimum deposit is $200. Raw ECN: Designed for more experienced traders, this account charges commission at $3 per lot per side but the spreads start at 0.0 pips. The minimum deposit is $500. Pro ECN: This is for professional, high-volume traders, and offers commission at $2 per lot per side, with spreads from 0.0 pips. The minimum deposit is $20,000.
Vantage Markets is seen as a good, reliable broker that offers social and copy trading – without being prohibitively expensive in terms of non-trading costs or commission. Vantage Markets offers trading on Stock Index, Stock, and Commodity CFDs, with leverage of up to 1:500 available on some trades. Vantage Markets also offers several social trading features through partners like ZuluTrade and DupliTrade. Trading Forex and CFDs involves significant risk of losing of your invested capital and is not suitable for all investors. 64.86% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should not invest more than you can afford to lose and should ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. Before trading, please take into consideration your level of experience, investment objectives and seek independent financial advice if necessary. In practice, Admirals is a broker that offers several forex and CFD trading instruments in most currencies. Founded in 2001, Admiral Markets is regulated by JSC, FCA, EFSA and CySEC, and offers traders access to both MetaTrader 4 and 5, with the opportunity to have several active accounts with different base currencies to take advantage of price instability. There are several account types available, depending on the platform that you want to use. On MT4, you can choose a standard account known as Trade.MT4. The minimum deposit for this account is 100 USD/EUR/GBP or equivalent, and you can trade 37 currency pairs as well as metal, energy, future, stock and bond CFDs. In this account, the trading fees come from the spread, apart from with single share or ETF CFDs, which have a standard commission of 0.02 USD. The Zero.MT4 account offers tighter spreads, with more currency pairs (45) but fewer CFD options. The commission on forex and metal CFDs is 1.8 to 3 USD per lot, cash indices are 0.5 to 3 USD per lot, and energy CFDs are 1 USD per lot. If you prefer the upgraded MT5, you can also have an Invest.MT5 account, alongside the Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5. MetaTrader 5 accounts have access to more trading instruments in both Trade and Zero, but the Invest.MT5 is designed purely for buying stocks and ETFs, with more than 4,350 stocks and 200 ETFs available and a minimum deposit of 1 EUR/USD/GBP. Deposits are free using bank transfer, card, PayPal or Klarna, but there is a 0.9% fee (or $1 minimum) for deposits made using e-wallets like Neteller or Skrill. You can have one free withdrawal a month as a bank transfer, but two if you use PayPal or e-wallets. Admirals is available as a trading app on mobile as well as web and desktop, and the user interface and real-time trading that is available across platforms offer a seamless user experience. The research and analytics are extensive, with technical and fundamental analysis alongside trading news, market sentiment and a market heat map. Access to MetaTrader Trading Central and a weekly trading podcast is also provided. Admirals takes learning seriously with two separate courses aimed at beginner traders. The Zero to Hero course consists of 20 video lessons, a Q&A and a live session as well as a well-crafted trading strategy. Forex 101 is a three-stage course to take beginners through to experts using a structure that includes a video lesson with detailed notes and a quiz to check knowledge. Forex & CFDs are complex products, not suitable for everyone and come with the high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. In addition to its service provision, City Index also offers training videos and tutorials on trading.
Its mobile trading app, suitable for both iPhone and Android, makes trading on the move an easy option. 77% of Retail CFD or Spread Betting Accounts Lose Money. This community-driven platform is focused on a great mobile trading experience, with sleek interfaces on the web, desktop and a mobile application that gives a consistent user experience. As a broker, Webull has no minimum deposit and does not charge fees for withdrawals or deposits unless made by wire transfer. There are no commissions on stocks, options or ETFs, and no contract fees on options. Webull makes its money through interest rates on margin accounts, and these range from 3.99% up to 6.99% depending on trading volume. The web and desktop platforms are similar in layout and are quite simple to customise so users can create an interface that works for them. There are charting tools available, and a unique ‘Market Replay’ feature that can show the market activity over a certain time frame. Research comes from news headlines, consolidated analyst ratings, a screener and a community-led private Twitter feed, where clients can comment and react to news and price movements, as well as predict future movements. The mobile platform works in much the same way, with fully optimised apps for both iOS and Android which makes for an almost seamless user experience across all devices. For new traders, there is not much in the way of education other than some basic articles, but there is a virtual portfolio that can be used to practice new trading techniques. Although Webull has a limited portfolio of US-based stocks, the commission free trading is a great draw for many users. Stocks can be traded on NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX markets, and there is also the opportunity to buy fractional shares – a proportional amount of a share starting from as little as $5, which is great when you want to buy a share that might cost a couple of hundred dollars for one share.
The easy-to-use proprietary platform is available on the web, desktop and mobile, and you can trade indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, shares and currency pairs with the best in technical indicators, charts and multiple order types at your fingertips. In addition, the AI technology analyses your trading behaviour to help you make more powerful decisions. Capital.com has no fees for traders – which means that you can deposit, withdraw and trade without commissions or costs. Capital.com make their money for the platform through the spread, which is like many other brokers. The spread cost is completely transparent, with the costs incorporated into the quote, not as an additional cost. There are three different accounts available, and the one you choose depends on the minimum deposit, which starts at just $20.
Standard accounts have a minimum deposit of up to $3,000 The Plus account is from $3,001 – $9,999 The Premium account is from $10,000
User experience is the same in all account types, so you will enjoy the same trading no matter what your deposit level. One of the most impressive parts of the Capital.com offering, especially for beginners, is education. With a custom-built app called Investmate, users can set goals for their learning and the pace at which they want to learn – and have the trading knowledge that they need in their pocket. 30+ courses using varied learning materials are all in the application, to be used as and when they are needed. You can also find a glossary, guides on different trading instruments and strategies – including how to trade using spread betting and margins. The Capital.com trading platform is speedy, intuitive and simple, with a smooth interface and great customisation options, and with a demo account and premium research, education and trading experience it is an excellent choice of platform with minimal negatives. 76.72% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. As stock trading does not cover the forex market, this provider is only suitable for CFD trading in this instance.
When buying a stock in a business, the investor pays the full price for each share. They take ownership of that stock, effectively owning a small stake in the company. With a CFD, the investor agrees to match the value of a stock or commodity, without any element of asset ownership. It is possible to trade on leverage, which means you can enter trades with lower initial capital. In CFD trading, the underlying security can be a commodity, currency, cryptocurrency or stock. CFD is an advanced trading strategy that is popular with experienced day traders. CFDs are riskier than stocks because of their low liquidity, minimal industry regulation and the requirement to maintain an appropriate margin as a result of leveraged losses. To maximise your chance of making a profit, you will need to have an effective trading strategy. You will also need to be disciplined and patient in your approach to trading. Trading CFDs generally works in the same way as directly trading shares. For example, when the value of the shares increases by 10%, the value of your CFD contract increases by 10%. If you are a trading novice, you might consider using a platform such as eToro, which provides useful learning resources and a helpful online community. 80.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. However, there are some countries where CFDs are traded such as Canada, Australia, the UK and South Africa. Sometimes, there will be restrictions associated with the trading of CFDs, although this will vary from country to country. The decision on which to choose will, however, depend on your personal situation, your trading expertise and what you want to achieve in the short or long term. WikiJob does not provide tax, investment, or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. ESMA risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
