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CFD Providers – Australia

How do the CFD Providers stack up?

CFD Providers in Australia have always been fiercely competitive in this rapidly growing
market. Advertising budgets for some CFD providers run into the millions as they look to
grab the largest share of the CFD market locally.

Australian CFD Provider Comparision Chart Below

The market forCFD providers in Australia hasn’t all been smooth sailing though. For
example during the 2008 Australian Market Meltdown CFD providers came under intense
heat as margincalls hit all time highs. Short selling was to blame for driving the share
price down on many wellknown companies, like ABC Learning centers and all eyes were
firmly planted on Australia’s CFDproviders.

Despite many financial share brokers (Opes Prime) hitting hard times, the Australian CFD
providers have weathered the storm and are forging ahead strongly.

So which CFD Provider is right for you?

Which CFD Provider is by far the most common question that is asked time and time again.
If you ask 10 people you’ll get 10 different answers and they are all correct. The most critical
thing you can do is identify the type of service your CFD trading plan will need to be successful trading CFDs.

Once you identify the exact style of CFD trading you will be doing then the right CFD
provider will appear.

To make life easier for you, we have built each CFD provider profile based on some critical
services they should be providing you with. Here are questions you should be asking your
current or future CFD provider.

What are the key things to look for when selecting a CFD provider?

Can you access to the top 300 ASX stocks. Most active CFD traders only trade the top
300. Having access to additional CFDs outside this range is not paramount and
margins run close to standard share trading – 100% up front.
Can you short sell the top 200 ASX stocks?
Do they use Direct Market Access (DMA) or a Market Maker model?
Is the platform easy to operate?
Do you get access to customer support around the clock?
What are their standard brokerage rates?
What are their discount brokerage rates for large volume/active traders?
Do they give you access to global markets?

CFD Provider Comparison Chart - Australia

	MF Global	CMC Markets	IG Markets	FP Markets	Macquarie Prime	Etrade	GFT	City Index
--Basics _	-----______	---------____	--------------	--------__	---------__-	-------____	--------------	_________
DMA or MM	DMA	MM	DMA	DMA	DMA	DMA	MM	MM
ASX CFDs Offered	500+	500+	1,000	2,000	950	500+	500	300
Pre Open Auction	Yes	No		Yes	Yes	Yes		No
Platform Used	eMPower	MarketMaker ®	IG Pure Deal	WebIress	MQ Prime	Power E*Trade	Dealbook® 360	City Index
Account Opening $	$5,000	$1,000	$0	$5,000	$5,000	$5,000	$2,500	$100
Software Demo Trial	21 days	14 days	14 days	14 days	14 days	20 days	20 days	No
Margin Rates	5-80%	3-50%	5-50%	5-100%	5-80%	5-80%	5-50%	5-100%
Commission	__________	__________	__________	________	_________	_________	__________	_________
%	0.125%	0.10%	0.10%	0.10%	0.12%	0.1195%	0.10%	0.10%
Phone Orders	0.175%	0.10%	0.10%	0.10%		0.175% +$38.50	0.10%	0.10%
Vol Discounts	0.08-0.10%	0.06-0.08%	$8 or 0.1%	Neg%	0.07-0.1%	0.10%	0.07-0.10%
Min Commission	$12.50	$10	$8	$10	$10	$11.95	$10	$10
_Financing_	--------------	_________--	--------------	-----------	-------------	------------	--------------	------------
Long CFDs	MBR +3%	RBA +2%	RBA +2.5%	RBA +3%	RBA +2.5%	RBA +3%	LIBOR +3%	RBA +2%
Short CFDs	MBR -3%	RBA -2%	RBA -2.5%	RBA -3%	RBA -2.5%	RBA -3%	LIBOR -3%	RBA -2%
Interest Paid	MBR -1%	RBA-2% >$US10K		RBA -1%	7.25%
--Markets -	-------------	--------------	-------------	-----------	-------------	------------	-------------	------------
Int CFDs	7 Int	19 Int	20 Int	17 Int	No	No	12 Int	14 Int
CFD Indices	No	20	29	No	No	No	35	17
Forex	30+	72	64	Yes	No	No	123	64
Commodities	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Futures	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Options	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Warrants	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
ASX Equities	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Shares as Collateral	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
-- Fee's--	-------------	--------------	-------------	-----------	-------------	------------	-------------	------------
ASX fee	$41.25	$38.50	$37.50	$38.50	$41.25	Free	Free	Free
Platform fee	$40.70	Free	Free	$50	Free	$79.90	Free	Free
OrderTypes	-------------	--------------	-------------	-----------	-------------	------------	-------------	------------
GSL	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

GSL: Guaranteed Stop Loss Order

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