Dazzc 

Thanks for the info. One point - if the actual CFD moves and tracks exactly the same as the underlying exchanged product with my broker would you consider this being a massive issue? The broker is a well known one within the UK ... I am carrying out my analysis on the underlying exchange product so I can see footprint, delta, order flows and DOM etc.. then carrying out the execution on the CFD ... I am mostly SIM trading at the moment, or very small amounts on CFDs as I am able to reduce my risk to really low levels. My plan is to be profitable with small amounts then slowly ramp up the risk or move to a futures contract/mini on underlying exchange.

I'm glad you're doing your due diligence research; my general answer is to repeat what I said before, that I have never traded CFD's, and obviously not with your broker, so I can't respond in detail. I try not to talk too much about things I don't know much about.

I do know some of the general cautions, and wanted to make sure that you did, too.

As with anything else, experience will probably be your best guide, once you have taken all available information into account and have thought over its meaning for you.

Good luck, and I hope to read about your successes.

Bob.

neil 

My only wish is for a USA type broker like those mentioned above , to open a UK office so that we (UK and maybe other Euro countries) can trade Micro's etc AND can fund an account using debit card or SEPA rather than expensive wire etc. I think, with the advent of the Micro's etc. that there is an untapped market for a FUTURES broker in the Uk/Europe to cater for us small time scalpers etc. Even IB, which has a UK office insists on Wired funds!

I was thinking of moving to IB. I know you mentioned AMP to me, I'd be interested to know your advices with IB if you did have any experience using them. I suppose also you are more protected with a UK office as it would have to be FCA regulated.

Dazzc 

I was thinking of moving to IB. I know you mentioned AMP to me, I'd be interested to know your advices with IB if you did have any experience using them. I suppose also you are more protected with a UK office as it would have to be FCA regulated.

I do not know a lot about IB but they have been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and like them, are a very big company :-)
They do not go in for hand holding and are for people who are confident in what they do. I have not heard bad reports about them. I will not promote who I am with in case I transgress some thread rule.
FCA relates to UK entities but USA are just as good, if not more strict.
My main point was that it is a pity we ( in the UK) do not have a Futures broker for some products like the Dow etc that caters for the little guy AND accepts funding via Debit card. Yes, IB has a UK office but only accepts wires not debit cards ( notice I said "debit" not "credit"). Funding would be so much easier. Being a tightwad I like to avoid bank charges for wires. Yes, I have a US broker but I funded via an intermediary such as Torfx to get a better exchange rate to fund my USA account in dollars. Should my profits permit, I can reverse engineer dollars to Torfx and convert back into pounds sterling.
I think some brokers in the USA allow you to fund a USA account from the UK via 'SEPA' ( The USA broker utilises a UK bank via SEPA to fund your USA account) - Google it and check with your bank for accuracy. Some brokers allow the use of the likes of Torfx to fund a USA account ( thus better exchange rate and lower charges) which means US brokerages are not out of reach or awkward to fund
Me thinks I have strayed off your original topic so I will stop.
Please bear in mind I am a small time Micro Index trader with little experience of the bigger world of trading or complicated trading approaches outside of long/short and win or lose.

Dazzc 

I'd be interested to know how you have developed in terms of turning the corner in terms of any advice/websites or strategies you think I should be looking into.

I'll come back to you on that as until I actually have consistency with real money, I am like everybody else who thinks they are "almost there", and within a few posts this will have turned into a thread with everybody recommending their chosen indicator, or educator/methodology etc.

Some people swear by order flow, others think there is too much spoofing in the order books, or hedging activity to make the traded volume readable, so prefer indicators, or news/macro catalysts etc.
All I can suggest is look around at things and only consider something if it actually make logical sense to you as to why that methodology might be profitable. At the end of the day you only make money on long positions if other people want to buy the market after you have and vice versa (and your trading time frame determines how quickly you want them to do that).

bobwest 

Good luck, and I hope to read about your successes. Bob.

Cheers Bob and thanks for your input on my questions much appreciated as always.

neil 

I do not know a lot about IB but they have been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth, and like them, are a very big company :-) They do not go in for hand holding and are for people who are confident in what they do. I have not heard bad reports about them. I will not promote who I am with in case I transgress some thread rule. FCA relates to UK entities but USA are just as good, if not more strict. My main point was that it is a pity we ( in the UK) do not have a Futures broker for some products like the Dow etc that caters for the little guy AND accepts funding via Debit card. Yes, IB has a UK office but only accepts wires not debit cards ( notice I said "debit" not "credit"). Funding would be so much easier. Being a tightwad I like to avoid bank charges for wires. Yes, I have a US broker but I funded via an intermediary such as Torfx to get a better exchange rate to fund my USA account in dollars. Should my profits permit, I can reverse engineer dollars to Torfx and convert back into pounds sterling. I think some brokers in the USA allow you to fund a USA account from the UK via 'SEPA' ( The USA broker utilises a UK bank via SEPA to fund your USA account) - Google it and check with your bank for accuracy. Some brokers allow the use of the likes of Torfx to fund a USA account ( thus better exchange rate and lower charges) which means US brokerages are not out of reach or awkward to fund Me thinks I have strayed off your original topic so I will stop. Please bear in mind I am a small time Micro Index trader with little experience of the bigger world of trading or complicated trading approaches outside of long/short and win or lose.

Cheers Neil thats some good info me to to research there thanks for letting me know

matthew28 

I'll come back to you on that as until I actually have consistency with real money, I am like everybody else who thinks they are "almost there", and within a few posts this will have turned into a thread with everybody recommending their chosen indicator, or educator/methodology etc. Some people swear by order flow, others think there is too much spoofing in the order books, or hedging activity to make the traded volume readable, so prefer indicators, or news/macro catalysts etc. All I can suggest is look around at things and only consider something if it actually make logical sense to you as to why that methodology might be profitable. At the end of the day you only make money on long positions if other people want to buy the market after you have and vice versa (and your trading time frame determines how quickly you want them to do that).

Cheers Matthew, thanks for the advice and best of luck going forward.