Spread Betting was devised as an alternative to the traditional wager, which is based on a fixed odds, or ‘win-lose’ scenario.  So rather than betting on whether a particular stock or index will go up or down, a spread is a range of outcomes, and the bet is whether the outcome will be above or below the spread, whilst allowing increased return on capital.

Stop Losses are an invaluable tool in the armoury of the Financial Spread Betting trader.   But how do they work and what are the pitfalls?

Most good Spread Betting accounts offer stop-losses, limit orders, trailing stops and take-profit orders, which are triggers that allow you to protect profits you have made, and limit losses in the making.