Online share trading

More and more people are trading shares online, in the form of share CFDs. This allows you to take advantage of price movements without actually owning the shares you trade. The stock market is extremely volatile and every change in the price of a specific share, up or down, means an opportunity for online traders. Why? Because when you trade with iFOREX you can choose to either ‘short’ or ‘long’ your position, potentially taking advantage of any price change.

Need a visual explanation?

Take a look at this video.

Which share CFDs can you invest in?

Many leading companies and corporations are traded in the stock market. Banks, airplane companies, online shopping sites, technology companies, fashion brands, the list goes on and on. At iFOREX you have an opportunity to invest in over 100 shares of world leading brands including tech giants such as Google and Facebook, vehicle companies such as BMW and Honda, fast food and beverage corporations such as McDonald’s and Coca Cola and many, many others.

To view our full list of shares, visit our trading conditions page.

How to decide which shares to trade

With such a large variety of leading share CFDs, it is easy to understand why some traders feel a bit confused when they have to choose, not knowing where to begin. We wish we could tell you which share to start with, but there isn’t one, clear answer. You see, choosing which share or shares to invest in depends completely on your own preferences. Novice traders often prefer to start with shares they know well or can easily obtain information about. More experienced traders might choose to diversify their portfolio by investing in a wider variety of shares. Take your time looking through your options and then make an informed decision.

Trading shares with leverage

One of the greatest benefits of trading share CFDs with iFOREX is that you can open large deals with a relatively small investment. This is thanks to a unique tool called 'leverage', which enables you to boost your trading power by up to 20 times. So, if you invest $500, you can open a deal on shares of up to $10,000. Amazing, right?

This means that for every $1 you invest, you have $20 in trading power.

Leverage can help you maximize your trading power. However, using leverage requires some experience, because when you amplify your trading power, you also take on increased risk, and you need to learn how to use this tool to your advantage.

The key elements of online share trading

There are many key benefits to trading share CFDs with iFOREX, and here are just a few:

• Trade shares with leverage of up to 20:1
• You can trade regardless of whether a share price is rising or falling
• Trade with automatic trading tools such as Stop Loss and Take Profit
• Receive free personal training and education resources
• Invest in shares with ease with advanced trading platforms

Keep in mind that when you trade with the bank, for example, many of these elements don’t exist. Banks charge commission at their own discretion, they don’t offer leveraged trading and rarely supply you with free resources and training.

Short Term vs. Long Term investing

At iFOREX you can take advantage of both short term investments (for example, Day Trading, which is a deal that opens and closes on the same day) and long term investments. Which is better? That’s completely up to you. Some online traders prefer to stick to short term investments, others opt for long term and then there are those who diversify their portfolio with a variety of instruments and deals, which is a sure way to minimize exposure to risk.

Here is an example of trading sentiment, suggesting what other investors are doing right now.

How to open your first share CFD deal

Are you ready to open your first deal on share CFDs? Excellent! Let’s see how it’s done in three simple steps.

1. Choose a share
   Yes, we know it’s not easy, but in this case, let’s say you choose McDonald’s and that one McDonald’s share costs $119.
    
2. Choose your deal size
   Thanks to leverage, you can buy up to 20 times more shares with your investment. For example, with a $500 investment, you can buy up to $10,000 worth of McDonald’s share CFDs. In this example, this means about 80 contracts, using 20:1 leverage.
   $500 × 20 = $10,000
    
3. Choose a direction
   As we said earlier, when you trade share CFDs with iFOREX you can take advantage of any price change, up or down. If you think the price will move up, choose ‘Buy’. If you think price will fall, choose ‘Sell’. In this example, let’s go with ‘Buy’. Now what?
    

Close your deal and collect the profit
Let’s say the price of McDonald’s has moved up, as you predicted, increasing from $119 to $121 and you decide to close your “Buy” deal.




$2 isn’t much of a profit, we know, but remember: You bought 80 contracts, so you actually made a profit of $160 with a $500 investment.

What affects the price of shares?

Many factors can impact the price of shares, including:

1. Quarterly reports and announcements
2. Decisions regarding dividends
3. Changes in the company’s main clients
4. Changes in the company’s main suppliers
5. Political changes
6. New taxation
7. Economic slowdown
8. Changes in management
9. An acquisition
10. A stock ‘split’ or ‘reverse split’ (merge)

Because so many factors can impact share prices, information is extremely important for traders. A change in revenue forecast, an announcement of an acquisition, or even a natural disaster can all affect the price of a specific share. Investors need to stay informed by following market news and analysis and react quickly to changes and opportunities.

To learn more, view iFOREX’s news and analysis.

Shares and indices

On top of investing in single shares in the form of CFDs, you also have the opportunity to invest in leading index CFDs such as the US Tech 100, US 500, the Germany 40 and many others. Indices are essentially composed of different share rates and offer information about a specific part of the economy. For example, the US 500 is based on the market capitalization of 500 leading companies that are traded in the US.

Do you need a lot of experience to invest in share CFDs?

You don’t need a financial degree in order to start trading shares. You can find an abundance of trading tools and education resources at iFOREX and can start investing in share CFDs from your home, in your own free time.