Accounts (including a joint account option) can be opened on-line and funded with the usual cards. The mininum trade size across all the website's spread betting products is then £1 per point.
Spread bets can be placed on the major UK, US and global stock market indices. In addition there is a wide array of single company shares on which to take a position.
Unusually, punters can also take a view on the performance of major UK stock market sectors. These are made up of a selection of similar stocks from the same industry category (say telecoms or pharmaceuticals) and punters can then use them as a speculative or hedging tool, depending on how other aspects of their investment portfolio are constructed.
Other spread betting opportunities come via the Forex and bullion markets, via treasury stocks and on commodities as well.
Deal4Free says its aim is to keep dealing spreads as tight as possible and part of its site is given over to spread comparisons to allow the punter to decide for him or herself where the best value lies.
The company's Daily Rolling Cash bet option is a means of allowing active traders to benefit through greater price transparency. Deal4Free says short to medium term professional traders are able to compare deal4free.com spread bet prices with quotes from the physical (cash) market, allowing them to make more informed trading decisions and that the bulk of the spread bets (95 per cent plus) transacted by the company are done this way.
Deal4free also lets customers limit their risk by providing them with the opportunity to use a Controlled Risk Bet (CRB). This facility, which carries a small premium, means that a customer is guaranteed the closing price of an open position at a level they have pre-selected, in spite of dramatic market movements.
The website also invites clients to attend free spread betting seminars during the course of the year. The next one is scheduled in London for the 31 March 2004.
Verdict: A wide array of betting opportunities. But you get the idea that this website will always appeal to the more savvy spread bettor.
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