Stocks

Each year public companies announce how much profit they will share with a class of stock holders. This is called a dividend. They can be in several forms: cash, more shares or other assets.

When trading shares, dividends will be credited/debited from your account after the market closes. Shares CFDs usually gain or lose value before this expected announcement and it reflects on the market. So, this increase or decrease in price usually offsets the dividend credit/debit.

Shares (also called Equities or Stocks) are a percentage of a company’s ownership. When a company is successful, their shares gain value. Otherwise, investors lose money. But ‘trading shares’ is different: you can take either a long or a short position in the market. This means you can profit even if the company shares are losing value.

Trading CFDs on company shares allows you to open and close a position any time. This lets you react to the changes of a stock’s value instantly. When you purchase the ownership of a company’s shares, you expect it to raise in value and profit. This may not always be the case.

Assume that you are expecting a company’s shares to decline in value for some reason. But you don’t own those assets. This means your insight is wasted. With trading CFDs on shares, you could use your insight and knowledge about stocks markets even when the price of a stock is falling.