Financial Future

There are many Contract for difference providers in Australia to choose from, meaning CFD traders have a variety of alternatives, but choice can be confusing. Here we will provide you the CFD trader with an overview of the key differences of each CFD provider being their software. Regularly novice traders become overwhelmed by the variety of trading platforms to choose from and can often become confused by the huge array of financial products some providers offer on their CFD software and fail to consider whether or not the software suits their trading strategy. This evaluation will help you pick the right CFD platform that fits your trading technique without needing to download multiple demonstration trading platforms.

Deal book 360
Deal book 360 is the CFD and Forex trading platform offered by GFT, the software is a downloadable application. Once you open the software the first thing that you will notice are the graphs, this software has magnificent charting features. I tested the charts for both Forex and CFDs and found the forex graphs to be accurate and consistent with those on other CFD platforms in the group. When comparing the CFD graphs to others in the group I observed that the prices did not always mirror what the others showed, this is most likely because GFT is a market marker and their rates are not a true reflection of the underlying instrument on which the CFD is based. If you seeking for a good Forex charting package that is free GFT can offer you this in their deal book 360 platform, however I recommend that you stay away from the CFDs on the software.

Pure Deal
Pure deal is the online CFD trading software used by IG Markets, the trading platform is web based, straightforward and easy to use. I gave this trading platform a good trial run, what I liked about this software was that there were so many instruments to trade, the draw back of this however was that many of them did not suit my trading strategy and after a while the complicated instrument search tree became frustrating mainly when I wanted to get a CFD trade on quickly and the Contract for difference was not in my watch list. The charts on this trading platform are very simple and if you want more complex graphs you have to pay for them. Aside from the problem with the CFD instrument tree the platform is a first-class all round platform for the amateur trader that needs web based software. For someone that wants that little extra in their platform Pure Deal would not be a sensible option.

Web IRESS
The web IRESS platform is obtainable from Comsec and Etrade in Australia, this software was one of best in the group when it comes to trading DMA CFDs. The trading platform is web based and easy to use, it has several advanced order varieties like trailing stop loss orders which are great for CFD trading. The downside of this software are its graphs, they are simple with very not many indicators. If graphs are not imperative to you and you are looking for a CFD trading platform that will offer you DMA CFDs on ASX listed CFDs on-line this would be an exceptional selection, though it comes at a price. Both Comsec and Etrade will charge you around $55 per month to use this trading platform, this combined with $38.50 in exchange royalties makes this software an expensive proposition given there are other platforms out there can offer you the comparable and even better features free of charge.

Market Maker
The Market Maker platform is offered by CMC Markets, the trading platform is downloadable and has some good functionality like being able to back test on 10 years worth of past price data. This was the most difficult software of those reviewed to install, the download file was huge. Once I was up and running, I found the interface very user friendly and the graphs easy to use, however after being logged into the trading platform for 30 minutes the graphs froze. Once I was back up I checked the quotes of some ASX CFDs against the other platforms and observed that price updates on the trading platform lagged by about 2 seconds. My experience with the market marker trading platform was less than enjoyable and I can’t imagine that the troubles were isolated to my notebook. This is a trading platform that I suggest you stay away from, from my own experience it is plagued with technical issues, the worst nightmare for any on-line CFD trader.

Pro Deal
The Pro Deal platform is offered by International Capital Markets (IC Markets), the trading platform is downloadable but also has web and mobile versions. This was the easiest CFD trading software of the group to set up. Once the trading platform was set up the quick start videos guided me through the workspace setup. The workspace was trouble-free to navigate and not cluttered with CFDs that I would never trade. The software has both DMA CFD as well as over-the-counter (OTC) CFDs, with both types I was able to trade the ASX cash and day trade using DMA CFDs watching my orders flow onto the underlying market. The charts on the software have numerous indicators, and are not overly complex to use. The best thing about this trading platform is that it is free of charge.

So which CFD trading platform is for you?
After my assessment all 5 trading platforms it is easy to see that every trading platform has their niche. If you trade Foreign exchange Deal Book 360 would be the one for you, if you like simple web based software go for Pure Deal, if you only invest in ASX CFDs then web IRESS (although pricey) could be for you, but if you want an easy to use and reliable all round online trading platform you cannot go past IC Markets Pro Deal software.

Prior to trading CFDs you should always understand how to use the CFD trading platform you select, remember that the most suitable CFD platform for you will depend entirely on your trading strategy. You should Download a Pro Deal CFD demo account, the trading platform that I have chosen to use, and see if it is the right CFD platform for you.