Specialising in brokering derivative trades across futures and options, Westcote Capital also offer clients managed fund opportunities, allowing private investors to take advantage of the high-level service expertise within the firm.  The move into the CFD market will help both diversify the available options for managed funds, while providing self-managed account holders with an alternative investment instrument to capitalize on the growing trend of CFD transactions.

Founded in 2001, Westcore Capital remains a little known but well regarded European broker, despite the competitive commissions of as little as 0.8% offered on CFD trades.  While not regulated by the Financial Services Authority, Westcore remains a credible institution, regulated by the relevant authorities in Luxembourg to provide both trading consultancy, investment portfolio management and online brokerage services.

The move follows countless other high profile strides into the CFD market, including Richard Farleigh’s H20 Capital, following the growing popularity of the instrument as a credible investment tool across the financial services industry.

Short selling is a very important part of what keeps a financial market liquid and responsive and it would have to be a truly vindictive and economically illiterate government that would do this to the City of London.  And true to form the European Union is looking at doing this.  So far we only have rumours and if the past form of the European Union and the City of London has anything to go by then there will be a draconian proposal, shocked outrage and a harsh “compromise” that will simply relieve the City that they are being strangled slowly rather than shot.  And the British government will not be able to do much to stop it.

If this does happen will this affect spread betting and contracts for difference?  Spread betting looks like it is not going to be caught straight away as it is done on a closed exchange; however Contracts for Difference could be hit.  The basic rule seems to be to allow a European regulator the power to ban the short selling of certain shares and bonds without any reference to parliament.  It will be very hard to maintain this ban when contracts for difference are creating a parallel market, and while nothing is clear about the powers they will have to extend over derivatives such as contracts for difference.

Owned by the London Capital Group, Capital Spreads is one of the UK’s largest spread betting brokers, and has made the move into CFD trading to diversify the range of tradable instruments open to its private and institutional clients.

An on-trend move from the broker, the CFD offering comes at a time when a spate of new CFD brokers are entering the market, helping to solidify Capital Spreads’ position with existing customers while ensuring its in the hunt for market share as the CFD industry continues to explode.

Relying on the same unified trading portal for investors spread betting and trading CFDs, Capital Spreads have taken innovative and proactive steps to encourage trading on its new multi asset platform as competition in the sector continues to tighten.

With only one account and one trading portal necessary, it is hoped that existing spread betting clients will broaden their horizons into CFD trading through Capital Spreads as awareness of the benefits of trading contracts for difference heightens.

The much anticipated trading platform, which combines a completely new visual with improved trading functions has been praised by new traders, analysts and existing CMC clients alike, many of whom have publicly said it builds on the success of the previous CMC offering.

Proclaiming the arrival of ‘the next generation of spread betting’, the CMC markets platform has been several years in the making, with an extensive investment in research and software development behind the scenes to make it arguably the most advanced consumer spread betting platform in the world.

The platform allows traders to research and read up on the major spread betting markets CMC Markets offer, in addition to its drag-and-drop interface which allows, for the first time, true off-chart trading.

The brainchild of experienced broker Peter Cruddas, CMC Markets with its new trading platform look set to live up to expectations in reinventing the method of spread betting through the CMC platform online.

The London Capital Group, parent company of Capital Spreads, Pro Spreads and InterTrader, has maintained that in spite of the long-awaited launch of the new platform, which many have forecast will shake up the online trading industry and grow to rival the London Stock Exchange, their core business areas will remain strong and largely unaffected.

The news comes off the back of healthy first half revenue and profit figures for the London Capital Group, showing a considerable jump in their bottom line directly attributable to volatility across trading markets – good news, particularly in light of several profit warnings across 2009.

Going further, Chief Executive Simon Denham suggested that it may even turn out to be beneficial for LCG and its various businesses, allowing it to capitalize on the hype of the LMAX launch and pick up some of the new business driven by the high-profile consumer launch of the LMAX brand.

With new accounts up by almost 30% over the last year, and millions already poured into the development and marketing of the LMAX brand, only time will tell whether the LMAX launch will drive up worldwide demand for CFD trading, and whether this will have positive impacts on the market for CFD brokering as a whole.