Spread Betting Online within Ltd Company

[lindsay~]

Thanks for all your interesting comments.

I've been looking at financial spread betting rather than the horses. I think it is a little more scientific and if it looks like if you are losing you can always get out unlike horse racing.

Interesting - I had a chat with my accountant about trading shares through the company. He said it was probably not worth it because as the previous poster said CGT is chargeable on any profits without thresholds. (Although losses could be offset which is an advantage for the novice!)

But I'm not sure whether spread-betting attracts CGT - it doesnt for the individual. I've e mailed my accountant for clarification.

IR35 avoider - thanks for the links I'll study them in detail. At this stage of contemplating such action I need all the info I can get.

But I'm tempted with the downturn in the markets spread betting short sounds like a great way to make money. I intend to paper trade/spread bet for a while to find my feet and also will be read read reading up on all I can get my hands on. I think i've got a bit carried away as I spread bet the FTSE100 going down £10 per point and just pocketed £1500 - not bad for a few minitues work albeit only paper trading Share portfolio still in the black but by not nearly so much.

Wondering what the markets are going to do tomorrow with this US bank bail out probably agreed by then - but now I really am appealing to any trading geeks out there....

Thanks again guys

L

[lindsay~]

If only I had been trading for real - I would've made a killing on a spread bet short.

Sigh - there is always tomorrow

L

[max]

Originally Posted by DimPrawn

I've built-up £150k in the company bank account. Most of it is owed to HMRC.

Can I blow the lot on Lotto tickets?

How'd you manage that, Dim? 1 years corporate tax? sprinkled with a quarter of VAT and 10% cap gain?

[Moscow Mule]

I don't understand why individuals hold shares when:

"Buying" a spread bet costs you less for a given exposure.

Spread bet profits are not taxed.

Capital gains (through holding shares) are taxable.

If you're in it for the long term, take a long term spread bet. 12 month bets are available and can be rolled over - the dividend you don't get is worked out in the price you buy at.

[SantaClaus]

Originally Posted by lindsay~

Thanks for all your interesting comments.

I've been looking at financial spread betting rather than the horses. I think it is a little more scientific and if it looks like if you are losing you can always get out unlike horse racing.

Interesting - I had a chat with my accountant about trading shares through the company. He said it was probably not worth it because as the previous poster said CGT is chargeable on any profits without thresholds. (Although losses could be offset which is an advantage for the novice!)

But I'm not sure whether spread-betting attracts CGT - it doesnt for the individual. I've e mailed my accountant for clarification.

IR35 avoider - thanks for the links I'll study them in detail. At this stage of contemplating such action I need all the info I can get.

But I'm tempted with the downturn in the markets spread betting short sounds like a great way to make money. I intend to paper trade/spread bet for a while to find my feet and also will be read read reading up on all I can get my hands on. I think i've got a bit carried away as I spread bet the FTSE100 going down £10 per point and just pocketed £1500 - not bad for a few minitues work albeit only paper trading Share portfolio still in the black but by not nearly so much.

Wondering what the markets are going to do tomorrow with this US bank bail out probably agreed by then - but now I really am appealing to any trading geeks out there....

Thanks again guys

L

I am willing to bet here that you will hand that £1500 back to the spreadbetters today or this week.

Here's my advice:

Step 1.
-------
Open a demo account. Trade a maximum of 2% of your account per trade. Only take trades with a risk/reward of 1:2 and try to triple your account.

Only then are you ready to trade with real money.

Step 2.
-------
When you have ignored the advice in step 1 and blown your live account, go back to step 1 and repeat.

[lindsay~]

Santaclaus - how right your are!

Not even a week just a few hours and I lost the lost speculating a further dive of the FTSE after the DJ plummeted yesterday. Ah - but its all part of the learning curve of paper trading.

Thanks for your advice I think its sound from experience perhaps?

[moorfield]

Originally Posted by lindsay~

Having small kids it was hard and now I am back home looking after them full time but I do have some free time to play the markets.

Lindsay your plan sounds unhinged to me. Hope you know what you're doing.

Small Kids + Free Time + Tendency to Gamble + Credit Crunch => Repossession + Divorce !


PS. That reminds me. New Steve Coogan series Sunshine coming up on the Beeb soon.

[SantaClaus]

Originally Posted by lindsay~

Santaclaus - how right your are!

Not even a week just a few hours and I lost the lost speculating a further dive of the FTSE after the DJ plummeted yesterday. Ah - but its all part of the learning curve of paper trading.

Thanks for your advice I think its sound from experience perhaps?

Hi Lindsay,

Yes its from experience of many blown accounts and numerous strategies.

I did very well buying the FTSE yesterday and selling the euro today. But this is after a lot of experience.

There is no Holy Grail in trading. The only Holy Grail is yourself. No indicator or strategy works all of the time. You need to develop an intuition by scanning years worth of charts. Certain patterns will happen again and again. But each time they will look different.

And risk management is the key to success.

Maybe I should set up a trading blog for ex-contractor wanabee traders

Simon

[thunderlizard]

wow - I always wondered what Santa Claus did the rest of the year. Now we know that and his real name too!

[SantaClaus]

Originally Posted by thunderlizard

wow - I always wondered what Santa Claus did the rest of the year. Now we know that and his real name too!

Yep, until now, only Mr YouKnowWho knew my real name.
Now he knows he wont be getting any more tax from me unless he invents a retrospective tax on spreadbetting.