Tim Smith  2016年7月22日

点差交易使投资者和交易者无需拥有标的证券就能对资产价格方向进行投机。盈利或者亏损取决于投机者的预测，而不是固定几率和事先已经确定收益或者亏损投资。

英国的点差交易

英国的点差交易集中受独立监管机构FCA的监管。截止到2016年7月，居民还能享受点差交易税务减免。由于其高风险，点差交易在美国、日本和澳大利亚是被禁止的。寻找大型点差交易的投资者可以考虑以下三个选择。

IG Group Holdings PLC是英国的全球在线交易公司，成立于1974年，向零售和机构客户提供股票、指数和外汇交易。截止到2016年7月，该公司市值为29.8亿英镑，约合39.6亿美元。该公司是英国最大的点差交易提供商之一，占英国市场份额的41%并提供超过10000个市场的准入。该公司向客户提供可以在多种设备上使用的尖端交易技术。

截止到2016年7月，主要产品的最低点差如下，欧元/美元货币对为0.8，FTSE 100指数为1，黄金为0.5。该公司赢得了2014年和2015年最佳点差交易提供商称号。

CMC Markets PLC

CMC Markets PLC提供金融服务并且是一家大型的在线交易公司，为其客户提供股票、指数、外汇和差价合约交易。截止到2016年7月该公司市值2.2058亿英镑，约合10.9亿美元。CMC Markets是Peter Cruddas在1989年成立的。该公司通过其专有交易平台提供超过9500个市场的点差交易。

主要产品的最低点差分别是，欧元/美元货币对为0.7，UK 100 和Germany 30为1。截止到2016年7月最小的报价单位为1英镑每点。该公司向现有和潜在客户提供模拟账户和丰富的交易教学资料。CMC Markets 通过向客户提供止损订单实现风险管理。向进行大规模交易的客户提供现金折扣。

City Index Group成立于1983年，是嘉盛的一家子公司。截止到2016年7月，其母公司市值为3.314美元。City Index Group提供在线点差、外汇和CFD产品。该公司提供超过12000个全球市场。

City Index 具有很强的价格竞争力，提供最小点差为1点的UK 100 和Germany 30指数，然而，其欧元/美元货币对的最小点差为1，是三家公司中最高的。City Index要求的最小报价单位为0.25英镑每点。该公司向所有水平的交易者提供教学视频，并通过免费交易论坛和在线研讨会增强学习。点差交易可以在该公司的桌面或者网页平台进行。City Index同时也提供iPhone、安卓和Windows系统手机设备的点差交易应用程序。

The 3 Biggest Spread-Betting Companies in the U.K. (CMCX, GCAP)

By Tim Smith | July 22, 2016 — 3:00 PM EDT

Spread betting enables investors and traders to speculate on the direction of an asset’s price without owning the underlying security. The profit or loss is determined by the degree to which a spread bettor predicts an outcome, as opposed to a fixed-odds bet where there is a win/loss outcome and a predetermined payout or loss.

Spread Betting in the United Kingdom

Spread betting is concentrated in the United Kingdom and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), an independent regulatory body. As of July 2016, United Kingdom citizens are offered spread betting tax concessions. Spread betting is prohibited in the United States, Japan and Australia due to its high level of risk. Investors and traders who are looking for a large spread-betting company may want to explore the following three options.

IG Group Holdings PLC

IG Group Holdings PLC (OTC: IGGHY) is a U.K.-based global online trading company founded in 1974, providing retail and institutional customers access to stocks, commodities, indexes and foreign exchange (forex). As of July 2016, it has a market capitalization of £2.98 billion, or $3.96 billion. The company is a leading provider of spread betting in the United Kingdom, commanding 41% of the market share and offering access to over 10,000 markets. Customers are provided with cutting-edge trading technologies that can be used on multiple devices.

IG Group Holdings PLC

As of July 2016, minimum spreads for popular products are 0.8 of a point for the euro/U.S. dollar (EUR/USD), 1 point for the FTSE 100, 0.5 point for spot gold and 0.1% per spread side for U.K. and U.S. stocks. The minimum stake size is £0.50 per point. The company won the What Investment Readers' Awards for best spread-betting provider in 2014 and 2015.

CMC Markets PLC

CMC Markets PLC (LON: CMCX) provides financial services and is a leading online trading company, acting as principal and market maker to its clients for stocks, indexes, forex and contracts for differences (CFDs). The company has a market capitalization of £820.58 million, or $1.09 billion as of July 2016. CMC Markets was founded by Peter Cruddas in 1989. The company provides spread-betting access to over 9,500 markets through its proprietary trading platform.

Minimum spreads for popular products are 0.7 of a point for the EUR/USD and USD/JPY, and 1 point for the UK 100 and Germany 30. The minimum stake size is £1 per point as of July 2016. The company offers a demo account for both potential and existing customers as well as extensive trading educational material. CMC Markets facilitates risk management by providing customers with trailing and guaranteed stop-loss orders. Cash rebates are offered to customers who spread bet high volumes.

City Index Group

City Index Group, founded in 1983, is a subsidiary of GAIN Capital Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GCAP). As of July 2016, the parent company has a market capitalization of $331.4 million. City Index provides access to online spread betting, forex and CFDs. The company offers exposure to approximately 12,000 global markets, the most of the three spread-betting companies listed.

City Index Group

City Index is competitive in terms of pricing, offering a minimum spread of 1 point for both the UK 100 and Germany 30; however, the minimum spread for the EUR/USD is 1 point, the highest of the three companies. City Index requires a minimum stake size of £0.25 per point. The company provides educational videos for traders at all levels; the learning process is enhanced with free training seminars and webinars. Spread betting can be executed on the company’s desktop or web-based trading platforms. City Index also has spread betting applications for iPhone, Android and Windows devices.

本文翻译由兄弟财经提供

文章来源：http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/072216/3-biggest-spreadbetting-companies-uk-cmcx-gcap.asp