Instruments guides
Shares, stock indices, commodities, bonds and ETFs: how each market works, how CFDs on them differ, and what moves them.
Basics
What are financial instruments? Asset classes, derivatives and how retail traders access them
Shares, bonds, ETFs, futures, options and CFDs are all financial instruments, but they behave very differently. Here is how they fit together, how retail traders reach them and where each sits on the risk ladder.
CFDs on stocks, indices and commodities: how the terms change by asset class
A CFD on a share, an index and a barrel of oil share the same basic mechanics but very different contract sizes, financing, dividends, expiry, leverage and hours. Here is what changes and why it matters.
Stocks
How stock markets work: exchanges, order books, auctions and what moves share prices
What actually happens between pressing "buy" and owning a share: listing, exchanges and other venues, the order book, opening and closing auctions, market makers, settlement, and the forces that move prices.
Stock CFDs vs real shares: ownership, dividends, costs, leverage and tax compared
A share CFD and a real share move with the same price, but one makes you a part-owner of a company and the other is a leveraged contract with your broker. Here is how ownership, dividends, costs, risk and tax differ.
Dividends and corporate actions: what happens to your shares and CFDs
Ex-dividend dates, splits, rights issues, takeovers and delistings all change the shares you hold or trade. Here is how each one works, and how CFD providers adjust long and short positions.
Indices
What is a stock index? How the S&P 500, Dow, DAX and others are built
A stock index is a rulebook for turning many share prices into one number. The rules differ more than most traders realise, and they shape how each index behaves.
Trading index CFDs: point value, financing, gaps and dividends
Index CFDs look simple: one price, one market. Underneath are contract sizes, cash versus futures pricing, overnight financing, dividend adjustments and opening gaps that decide what a trade really costs.
Commodities
Gold and silver explained: what moves precious metals and how they trade
Gold and silver are quoted like currencies but behave like neither shares nor currencies. Here is what tends to move them, how spot and futures prices fit together, and how CFDs on them are sized.
Oil trading explained: WTI vs Brent, OPEC+, inventories and the futures curve
Crude oil is one of the most traded commodities in the world and one of the most volatile. Here is how WTI and Brent differ, what moves them, and why the futures curve matters even if you only ever trade a CFD.
How commodity futures work: expiry, rollover, contango and roll yield
Most commodity prices you see quoted are futures prices. Here is how futures contracts work, why they expire, what contango and roll yield mean, and how CFD providers turn futures into the commodity CFDs retail traders use.
Bonds & ETFs
Bonds and yields explained: prices, duration, the yield curve and why traders watch them
Bond yields sit behind mortgage rates, currency moves and stock valuations. Here is why bond prices and yields move in opposite directions, what duration and the yield curve tell you, and how government bonds work as a rates signal for FX and equities.
ETFs explained: how exchange-traded funds work, UCITS, KIDs and ETF CFDs
ETFs let you buy a whole index in one trade, but there is more under the bonnet than most buyers realise. Here is how creation and redemption keep prices in line, what tracking difference and the TER cost you, why EU retail investors usually cannot buy US-listed ETFs, and how ETF CFDs differ from owning the fund.