Best CFD Brokers in 2023 You’ll Want To Use

Happy 2023! 

What are the New Year resolutions you’ve set?

This year, I want to be much healthier, spend more time with my family, and be more adventurous.

Looking at the stock market, I smell many opportunities. 

The US stock market is bearish.

A famous Wall Street saying goes “The bulls climb the stairs and the bears jump out of the window”. 

What can you infer from this famous Wall Street saying? 

The momentum of the bears is much stronger and explosive in nature.  

As the stock market continues to tumble, it’s timely to look into this powerful and versatile instrument which can help you capture both up and down trends – CFD.

What Is CFD?

CFD is an acronym for Contract for Differences. 

It’s also a derivative of a financial asset, so the price of a CFD closely reflects the price of its underlying financial asset.

Here’s an example: Tesla CFD’s underlying financial asset is Tesla stock. 

If the price of Tesla stock is $100, then the price of Tesla CFD should be $100 too. 

When the price of Tesla stock rises to $105, the price of Tesla CFD should rise to $105 as well. 

Oh, I covered Tesla last week, mentioning that a trading opportunity should present itself real soon. 

Characteristics of CFD

Because CFD is a derivative, it has a handful of distinct characteristics that you need to know:

1. Margin
   1. You just need to put up a small amount as collateral (usually 5-20% of the full contract size) determined by your CFD broker
2. Leverage
   1. Since you only need to put up a small amount as collateral, you can provided with up to 20x leverage 
3. Direction versatility 
   1. You’re able to go long (buy in the hope of making money from the price appreciation) or short (sell in the hope of making money from the price depreciation)
4. Settlement
   1. All CFDs are settled in cash; there’s no physical delivery of oil if you had gone long on oil CFD

What Makes A Good CFD Broker?

Now that you know what CFD stands for, what it is, and its characteristics, you’re ready to discover the factors to help you determine which CFD broker is the best for you. 

This is not a sponsored post. 

#1 Types Of CFDs Available

CFDs can be derived from almost any instrument – bonds, commodities, indices, stocks, forex, and even cryptocurrencies!

So, it’s important to consider the number and types of CFDs made available by your CFD broker. 

Here’s a list of CFD brokers and the types of CFDs they provide:

1. CMC Markets (all are available)
2. IG Markets (no bond CFD)
   1. Open an account with IG Markets using my referral link
3. Phillip Securities (no bond and cryptocurrency CFD)
4. Saxo Markets (no cryptocurrency CFD)
   1. Open an account with Saxo Markets using my referral link

Winner: CMC Markets and IG Markets

#2 Commission And Fees

I’ll cover the commission charges on US, Hong Kong, and Singapore shares CFD that you’ll have to pay as you’ll be trading these shares CFD most of the time as a swing and position trader. 

A) Commission

Let’s compare the commission charges among the 4 CFD brokers – CMC Markets, IG Markets, Phillip Securities, and Saxo Markets. 

US Shares CFD

1. CMC Markets – USD0.02 per share CFD, with a minimum of USD10
2. IG Markets – USD0.02 per share CFD, with a minimum of USD10
3. Phillip Securities – 0.18% commission charge, with a minimum of USD15
   1. Amalgamation of commissions available
4. Saxo Markets – 0.04% to 0.06% commission charge, with a minimum of USD3 to USD7, depending on the account plan chosen

HK Shares CFD

1. CMC Markets – 0.18% commission charge, with a minimum of HKD50
2. IG Markets – 0.25% commission charge, with a minimum of HKD50
3. Phillip Securities – 0.25% commission charge, with a minimum of HKD150
   1. Amalgamation of commissions available
4. Saxo Markets – 0.18% to 0.2% commission charge, with a minimum of HKD30 to HKD50, depending on the account plan chosen

Singapore Shares CFD

1. CMC Markets – 0.1% commission charge, with a minimum of SGD10
2. IG Markets – 0.1% commission charge, with a minimum of SGD10
3. Phillip Securities – 0.128% to 0.18% commission charge, with a minimum of SGD25; 0.2% to 0.25% commission charge, with a minimum of SGD25 for DMA
   1. Amalgamation of commissions available
4. Saxo Markets – 0.08% commission charge, with a minimum of SGD9 to SGD15, depending on the account plan chosen

Winner: CMC Markets, IG Markets, and Saxo Markets

B) Fees

Live Market Price

1. CMC Markets – Free for US, Hong Kong, and Singapore
2. IG Markets – Monthly fee applies
3. Phillip Securities – Free for US and Singapore; SGD25 for Hong Kong
4. Saxo Markets – Free for US; HKD144 for Hong Kong (depending on the account plan chosen); SGD15 for Singapore (depending on the account plan chosen)

Winner: CMC Markets

Holding Costs

1. CMC Markets – Prevailing interest rates +2.5% for long positions; prevailing interest rates -2.5% for short positions
2. IG Markets – Prevailing interest rates +2.5% for long positions; prevailing interest rates -2.5% for short positions
3. Phillip Securities – From 6.25% for long positions, and from 2% for short positions, depending on country the share CFD is listed in
4. Saxo Markets – Prevailing interest rates +2.5% to +3.5% for long positions; prevailing interest rates -2.5% to -3.5% for short positions, depending on the account plan chosen

Be sure to read the fine prints to know if there are more fees that you’ll incur!

Winner: CMC Markets, IG Markets, and Saxo Markets

#3 Bid/Ask Spread 

The bid/ask spread for all 4 brokers are very tight. 

So, let’s have a look at the last factor which you should consider – customer service and technical support.

Winner: CMC Markets, IG Markets, Phillip Securities, and Saxo Markets

#4 Customer Service & Technical Support

All 4 CFD brokers can be reached via their hotlines and email addresses. 

However, there’s 1 broker which stands out. 

Phillip Securities. 

This is because Phillip Securities have satellite offices spread out all over Singapore and Malaysia to assist you. 

Winner: Phillip Securities

Best CFD Brokers In 2023

CMC Markets, IG Markets, Phillip Securities, and Saxo Markets are great CFD brokers. 

Which is truly the best CFD broker for you in 2023? 

There’s no 1 best CFD broker. 

You’ll need to know which CFD broker suits you the best.

If you’re looking for a low cost CFD broker, you can consider CMC Markets, IG Markets, and Saxo Markets.

For the widest range of CFDs to trade, look no further than CMC Markets and IG Markets. 

If face-to-face interaction and guidance are what you need, Phillip Securities suits you. 

Here’s What You Can Do To Improve Your Trading Right Now:

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Trade safe!