What Spread Betting Software Should You Use?

Summary: Do you need a specialised spread betting software, or can you trade with the normal systems you use? This page offers some suggestions.

Firstly, we hope it goes without saying that spread betting is a very high risk activity and so any trades ought to be very well researched and thought out in advance.

That kind of preparation for a financial trade probably means that the trader (you?) has a keen understanding of technical analysis: the mathematical factors that move stock markets and the quoted price of a company.

If you are someone that has this expertise, then you probably already have two or three sets of trading software. If you are really serious about it, you may even have a Bloomberg terminal - in which case, you ought to be schooling us!!

If you do not have this level of expertise yet, we would seriously question whether a spread bet is the right type of trade for you.

Watch These Free Videos And Learn How To Trade Financial Markets

The reality, of course, is that selecting a trade uses the same skills whether it is a future, an option or a spread bet. Whatever system you are using, if it works, keep using it!

Once the trade is made, the spread betting companies have ample web based software to help you keep track of the situation, as any trading house would.

There is perhaps one area where the spread betting companies are different though. They have recognised the need for a trader to be able to monitor their position(s) from anywhere at any time. Thus, there are smart phone applications.

The two big firms, IG Index and City Index, both have smart phone applications for the Blackberry and iPhone. Yes, you can spread bet the stock market from your iPhone...

Personally, I don't think I would want to make the decision to open a trade from my iPhone in a coffee shop or parking lot somewhere, but in terms of monitoring the position and possibly selling (if alerts give overly good or bad news), that seems functional and useful.

If you, like me, prefer to trade from a desktop computer and use the mobile platforms to monitor positions then there are several options available to you. All decent spread betting firms offer cutting-edge charting packages which are one of the best, and cheapest, ways to trade without investing in any one software package. Due to the fact that spread betting prices do not always follow the real-time, underlying market price of an asset you are more likely to be able to make more informed decisions using the providers' own charts.

Watch These Free Videos And Learn How To Trade Financial Markets

Many of the industry-leading spread betting firms use charts supplied by IT finance and ProRealTime. These are advanced and highly effective; allowing you to choose from a wide selection of indicators to analyse the markets and look for the high-probability setups. The fact that the platforms that utilise this software, such as IG Index and ETX Capital, are entirely web-based means that you can simply log on from any location and access their powerful software packages. This reduces the necessity to only trade from one location and is great if you are out at work but would like to keep an eye on things whilst in the office.

Another excellent trading platform, requiring no software download in the one provided by CMC Markets. This has both iphone and ipad trading applications if you want to trade in a more mobile way and its web platform is one of the most straightforward and most user-friendly interfaces available. Clean with easy navigation and lots of straightforward features, this spread betting software is one of the most accessible online formats particularly for beginners.

If you are looking for a downloadable and highly reliable software programme to help to filter out trades, and one which will also offer you more features than the standard technical analysis charts provided with your online platform, then ShareScope may be turn out to be a good alternative. Meanwhile software from TrendSignal claims to provide unique signals to give spread betters an edge in the markets. TrendSignal in this respect is not a ‘black box’ system but it offers strategies alongside its automatically-drawn indicators.

The benefit of using a trading software package such as this is that it moves away from the standard indicators used by most traders and gives you the ability to spread bet using a unique form of analysis. TrendSignal in this respect claims to be designed by professional traders and is a possible alternative for those who want a bit of support and guidance in the trades that they choose - albeit mind you it doesn't come cheap!

One of the problems that all spread betters face when looking for spread betting software to enhance their trading experience is the temptation and lure of automatic trading robots as a means to base their trading ‘decisions’. Despite the many thousands of robots around it s true that very few make money consistently across all market conditions. The ‘software’ is often an algorithm designed for one type of market and its performance is reflected in this limited application. My advice for new and intermediate traders looking for an edge would be to find a software package that is free, online and easy to use. This will give you a far more beneficial experience of trade analysis than any ‘black box’ get-rich-quick offer.

If you would like to read more about related topics, please follow these links:

Spread Betting Financial Markets For Beginners

Who Are The Main Spread Betting Companies?

How To Spread Bet - 7 Important Lessons For A Beginner

3 Great Spread Betting Tips

How Easy Is Spread Betting Shares?

Spread Betting Forex Markets

FTSE Spread Betting Information For Beginners

How To Make Successful Financial Spread Bets