Access to equities key to new CFD traders
Being able to access equities through trading platforms will be crucial for investors looking to make their contracts for difference (CFD) trades assess providers.
Research from Investment Trends found 61 per cent of investors planning to make their first CFD trades over the next 12 months said access to equities was one of the most important features they would consider when selecting their future provider.
Investment Trends senior analyst, Irene Guiamatsia, said that CFD trader numbers grew for the second year in a row, from 42,000 in 2014 to 43,000, despite turbulence in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
"The two per cent growth for the second consecutive year means the Australian CFD industry has nearly recovered from the contraction seen back in 2012/13, when the global leveraged trading industry was marred by volatility drought," she said.
"The healthy state of the industry in the midst of challenges posed by the January 2015 Swiss Franc crisis is a laudable outcome.
"Our research shows there was an underlying shift in product usage with fewer trading CFDs over FX at the benefit of trading CFDs over shares and indices."
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