The financial spread betting industry is ever-growing, and while the average trader remains white, male, middle-aged and professional, not everything has stayed consistent.
Joshua Raymond, Chief Market Strategist of spread betting firm City Index, states: "Ten years ago, the standard spread bettor would be 45 years old, usually male and with a work background in the city.
Today, they are slightly older at 48, still male and with a share dealing background but their backgrounds are much more diverse."
Financial Spread Betting Traders - Different Profiles
Mr. Raymond continues: "Today, for every banker opening a spread betting account, there are two engineers. For every engineer there is one chartered surveyor. For every chartered surveyor there is a taxi driver, and so on and so forth."
Investment Trends recently reported around 83,000 traders were active in the spread betting industry last year.
Financial Spread Betting Traders - More Women Traders
Between 2001 and 2007 City Index saw an increase of 124 per cent, year-on-year, of new female traders. This increase declined by 71% from 2007 to early 2009 before rising again, a statistic Joshua Raymond attributes at least partly to the differing trading mentalities between men and women.
"[The rise in 2009] appears to indicate that despite the fact you can make money from bear markets by spread betting, by going short or selling prices, women appear to be more risk-averse then men, and this may be why we saw a fall in the amount of new women traders between 2007 and March 2009, a time when the FTSE 100 lost 48 per cent."
The suggestion that women are more strategic in their planning than men is supported by Sandy Jadeja, City Index's Chief Technical Analyst, who has observed increasing numbers of women attending his spread betting and CFD trading seminars.
Mr. Jadeja comments: "Just over 12 years ago, the attendees at our spread betting seminars were 100 per cent male. Now that figure has dropped to about 70 per cent."
Spread betting and CFD trading carry a high level of risk to your capital with the possibility of losing more than your initial investment and may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.
Content approved / provided by City Index Limited which is a company registered in England and Wales, number: 1761813. Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FSA Register Number: 113942.
Note - Spread Betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you can lose more than your initial investment, it may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you only speculate with money that you can afford to lose and that you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
'Financial Spread Betting Traders', Review by D. Jones, last update: 17-Oct-11
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Spread Betting carries a high level of risk
to your capital and you can lose more than your initial investment,
it may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you only
speculate with money that you can afford to lose and that you fully
understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
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