Osbaston, England ( prsafe ) March 13, 2012 - Spread betting is the tax-free, flexible way to take a position on financial markets.

Financial spread betting provides a tax-free way to profit from rising and falling prices on a range of different markets. Financials spread betting was invented by IG Index in 1974 and the firm has since become the UK's largest financial spread betting company. Account holders at IGIndex can take positions on forex pairs, global stock indices, over 7000 shares, commodities, binary bets and more - all from the same account with their smart phone enabled PureDeal platform

The concept of spread betting is simple. If you think a market is set to rise you 'buy' at the top end of our quote (the offer price), or if you think the market will fall you 'sell' at the bottom of the quote offered by IGIndex (the bid price). The position is a bet and therefore free from capital gains tax in some jurisdictions: you never actually own the instrument you are 'buying'.

It is important to understand the risks involved in spread betting. This is because, as spread betting is a leveraged product, it can result in losses which exceed your initial outlay.

IGIndex charges a spread on all the markets they offer. Their FTSE spreads, for instance, begin at just 1 point, Wall Street from 2 points, and oil spreads start at just 4 points. Their spreads start at just 0.1% per side for major shares. Spreads can be volatile and these are illustrative.

Because of the nature of spread betting it is important to manage risk. IGindex offers many risk management tools such as controlled risk bets which enable their customers to specify a level at which they want the bet to be closed should the market move against the customer. There are also a full range of non-Guaranteed Stop and Limit Orders to open and close betting positions. These are available both by phone and online, giving you the freedom to control your betting even while you are away from your desk. Trailing Stops are the latest in this range, and can help you lock in your profits in volatile markets. These Trailing Stops means you no longer need to watch the market and adjust your Stops constantly: your Stop is moved automatically should the market shift in your favour.

Media Contact Information:

Peter Jones

Marketmoves.com

E-mail: peter@marketmoves.com

Website: http://www.marketmoves.com/review/IG-Index/

###