Contracts for Differences ("CFDs") products were developed to allow customers to enjoy all the benefits of holding a Stock, Index, ETF, Forex, Option or Commodity position without having to physically own the underlying instrument. A customer enters into a CFD at a quoted price, the difference between that price and the price of the CFD when the position is closed is settled in cash, hence the term "Contract for Difference" or CFD.

CFDs have grown in popularity over the past few years and it is arguably becoming the preferred way to trade the financial markets. Some of the trading benefits of CFDs include no exchange charges and no stamp duty. Many of the inefficiencies of trading the underlying shares on an exchange are eliminated. The costs and delays of physical delivery of the shares, their registration and any holding or safe custody charges made by a broker are all avoided. The other major benefit of trading CFDs is that customers can trade using leverage on margin. CFDs trading means customers can trade a portfolio of shares, indices or commodities without having to tie up large amounts of capital. Moreover, any financial entitlements, such as dividends, are adjusted for in cash, directly to your account. However, any voting rights available to the holder of an equity share are not available to the holder of an equivalent CFD.

There are a number of risks involved in trading CFDs. These risks may lead to unfavourable financial outcomes for you. Monitoring of all risks associated with your trading is your responsibility.
You should not use our services unless you fully understand the financial products, and the benefits and risks associated with them. Some of the risks associated with using our CFD trading facilities include:

You should familiarise yourself with the following definitions:

To open a position, go to the “Trade” screen on the Plus500 platform, choose the instrument you wish to trade on, click Buy/Sell

To close a position, click on the “Close Position” button on the main screen or in the “Open Positions” tab. Once you have clicked this button, a pop-up box will appear and you will need to confirm or cancel your request to close the position. In this pop-up box, you also have the option to partially close your position. For example, if you have a position on Natural Gas of 2000 contracts, you can choose to close 1000 contracts and to be left with a smaller position.

An Order is a request to open a position at a specific rate (price). New positions cannot be opened outside the instrument's trading hours, however, you can open future Orders. To open an Order, click on “Advanced” in the position screen (when using the Windows and Web Trader) → check “Buy (or Sell) when rate is” → set the required rate (price) → Click Buy/Sell. The Order will automatically open a position once the requested rate is reached or surpassed - the Order is not guaranteed as the rate (price) can change by more than 1 pip at a time. Real orders will expire in 90 days if a position has not been opened (30 days for demo orders).

Positions can be closed by any of the following: margin call, execution of a predefined Stop Order, expiry* or manual closure. You can find the specific reason in the “Closed Positions” tab, under “Close Reason”.

You can use 4 types of “Stop Orders”:

This feature allows you to set a specific rate (price) at which your position will close, in case the price moves against you, in order to minimise your loss. Once this rate is reached or passed (as sometimes the price can ‘gap’ and move past the designated level), the Stop Order will be triggered and your position will be automatically closed. This feature is free of charge.
There is no guarantee your position will close at the exact price level you have specified, because of ‘slippage’. Slippage can occur due to volatile price movements. When the market reaches or surpasses the specific price you set for the position to close, the position will close at the next available price.