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FXOpen: The best CFD trading platform for experts

Contract for difference (CFD) trading first emerged in the early 1990s and has since become a firmly established concept among investors. It is often seen as high risk compared to other strategies, and as such most successful CFD traders are experienced individuals backed up by a wealth of expertise and acumen in the field.

Advantages of CFD trading in Australia with FXOpen

One platform with multiple instruments and markets

With us, you can use one CFD trading account and one platform for commodities, shares, indices, forex and cryptocurrency.

We’re an ASIC-regulated CFD trading broker

We’re authorised and regulated by ASIC in Australia and keep client funds in segregated Australian bank accounts.

Highly customisable

to your individual trading style and strategies, meaning you are in complete control of your CFD trading.

Access to automated trading

Our platforms can be tailored to your trading style and strategies, putting you in complete control of your CFD trading.

Access anytime, anywhere

Access commodity trading online via the desktop, web-based or mobile version of the MT4, MT5 and TickTrader trading platforms.

Access to a wide range of analysis

50+ built-in indicators and graphic tools for technical analysis of markets for CFD trading, plus a quotes history centre, strategy tester and news, all designed to help you increase your knowledge.

Open a CFD trading account

What is CFD trading?

CFD trading is where a buyer and a seller enter an agreement to exchange the difference between the value of an asset at the time the contract opens and when it closes. CFD traders do not own the underlying asset, which is a key distinction from traditional trading. Instead, traders are essentially speculating on an asset’s price either rising or falling.

CFD trading is done on margin, meaning you only have to put up a percentage of the position’s value rather than its entire worth. If you think an asset’s value will rise, you can open a buy position. If your prediction proves correct, you can choose to close the contract and sell, thus making a profit. But if the price falls below what you paid, you need to make a decision over whether to close the contract and accept a loss or hold and see if the value recovers.

It works the same way in reverse too. If you believe an asset’s price is due to fall, you can open a sell position. If the market trends as you forecast it would, you’ll make a profit. But if the asset’s value confounds your expectations and rises, you’ll stand to make a loss.

Which instruments can you access with CFD trading?

By opening a CFD trading account with FXOpen, you’ll be able to access several CFD trading markets including:

Forex

the conversion of one currency into another

Commodities

the exchange of assets – metals and energy– based on the price of a physical product such as gold or oil.

Share CFD trading involves buying and selling stocks in publicly listed companies.

Indices

the trading of a group of shares within a certain sector or niche.

Cryptocurrencies

where you buy and sell the underlying coins or speculate on their price movements.

The risks and rewards of CFD trading

Before you start, it’s vital that you have a thorough understanding of what CFD trading is. Most successful CFD traders are vastly experienced operators with well-formed strategies that have been honed over a number of years. It’s smart to conduct plenty of research and analysis before entering the world of online CFD trading.

As with any form of trading, there are opportunities for reward as well as risks. For example, because CFD trading is done on margin, professional clients could stand to lose more than the initial capital they put up to take a position. Retail clients benefit from FXOpen’s negative balance protection, which means they can’t lose more than they deposit.

Being aware of other influential market factors such as fluctuations in supply and demand or geopolitical issues will also help you understand the risks of CFD position trading. You can put that knowledge to good use by creating robust strategies to mitigate those risks.

CFD trading with FXOpen

Register for an account with FXOpen and gain access to one of the best CFD trading platforms in Australia and beyond. You can trade multiple instruments – forex, indices, shares, commodities and cryptocurrency – all from one account. We’re fully authorised and regulated by ASIC in Australia too, so we’re one of its trusted CFD trading companies.

Your online CFD trading journey starts here, so why not contact us today or open an account. Just fill out our simple registration form and verify your ID to begin.

What factors can affect CFD trading?

It’s important to remember that in most CFD trading markets prices will move up and down based on supply and demand. Because CFD trading can be used to execute trades across a wide range of instruments such as forex, shares and more, there are several factors that can impact prices and your potential to make a profit or a loss.

Economic and geopolitical issues can affect productivity levels and supply chains, as can government legislation. Being aware of relevant determining factors in your chosen markets will help you decide on a strategy for running your CFD trading account.

How does CFD trading work through our platform?

Our most popular CFD trading platform works on an ECN model, where there is no dealing desk and trades are always executed at the best possible price. With an ECN account, traders are charged a small commission on their trades. We also provide an STP account where that commission is already built into the spread to keep pricing simple.

Our CFD trading platform enables you to trade several instruments including forex, shares, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies. There is a minimum deposit of Micro ECN – AUD 200; Standard ECN – AUD 1,000; VIP ECN - AUD 25,000; STP – AUD 10; Crypto ECN - AUD 400 and demo accounts are available to help you to get a feel for online CFD trading.

How to trade CFDs successfully

CFD trading is complex and comes with a high risk of losing money due to leverage. Most successful CFD traders are vastly experienced veterans who have honed their skills over years of operating in the markets. But being new to CFD trading doesn’t mean you can’t achieve success.

What’s important is defining what that success looks like and how you plan to achieve it. You need to take your emotions out of the equation and make cold, calculated decisions based on your in-depth analysis and research. If you manage your expectations and form a strategy that enables you to mitigate against losses, you too could discover a formula for how to trade CFDs successfully.

Open a CFD trading account