Introduction
Spread betting with justspreads.com couldn't be simpler. Please note that you will need an email address as contract notes are sent via email and your statement is only available online. The following User Manual gives you a step-by-step guide on how to trade online with justspreads.com.
Important notes
- Please note that every trade generates an automatic stop loss, which you can amend after you’ve opened a trade or at a later date via your Order Book or Open Positions. Whilst these stops will be filled at the level you request, in the rare event of the market gapping you’ll be filled at the next best level.
- Please do not assume that we operate our business in the same way as other spread betting companies. Full details of how we conduct our business can be found here, in our terms & conditions.
- If you have a question, please check the Frequently Asked Questions section.
- If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact us either by email on support@justspreads.com or telephone +44 (0)20 7456 7073.
The instructions provided here relate to both a Live Trading Account and Demo Account.
Log into your account
Log in to your account using your chosen username and password in the box on the right hand side of the home page. If you have forgotten either of these please contact us by telephone on +44 (0)20 7456 7073.
If you experience problems logging in, please go to the FAQ section of our website or alternatively, you can email support@justspreads.com us or call us on +44 (0)20 7456 7073.
If you have a Live & Demo account, the two accounts are completely independent of one another and therefore you will require different usernames and passwords. To log into your Demo Account please click on the Demo account section on the homepage.
Trading platform overview
Our trading platform has been designed to make your trading experience as simple as possible.
You will find links to the products that we offer broken down by type of product for example, indices, shares, foreign exchange etc. If you cannot find the product that you want, you can use our Search facility.
On the bottom left hand side of the screen you will see your account number. You will need this if you contact us to make a trade or for any other query on your account.
Split trading screen
In the view below you can see the trading screen is split into two main sections. In this example you can see Popular Markets on top
screen. You can navigate to other markets via the top navigation bar and they will display in the top window.
On the bottom half of the trading screen you can display other tabs such as the Open Positions, Order Book, Trade History or Account Transactions.
You can move the bar in the middle of the screen up or down so you can view more of the markets in the top half of the screen or more of the view chosen by you in the bottom half of the screen.
Select a product and make a trade
There are a couple of ways you can search for a market:
1). Navigating from the drop down menus
If, for example, you want to find gold, you would need to click on the Commodities tab on the top navigation bar. This will then bring up a list of all the commodities we offer in a drop down list so you can refine your selection.
2). Using the Search facility
If you cannot find the product you wish to trade, please use the search facility at the top of the screen.
Type in the name of the product you would like to see and then press the search button. All matches will appear in the top part of the trading screen.
Making a trade
Click the TRADE button and the trade ticket will appear in a new column to the right-hand side.
Now all you need to do is adjust your stake and decide if you wish buy or sell. Live prices will continue to update until you click the buy or sell button.
You can choose your stake by either using the up or down arrow or typing in the stake manually.
At the same time as placing your trade you can set the level at which you wish your mandatory stop loss and limit order (if you want one) to be.
Remember, stop losses* are automatically allocated to every open trade, but you can specify the level yourself at the time of opening a trade.
* Stop losses are not guaranteed so are subject to slippage.
Once you’ve clicked either the buy or sell button and your trade has been accepted you will get on screen confirmation plus confirmation by email.
Trade confirmation
If you notice any discrepancies, please contact us immediately, preferably by telephone.
Multiple trade tickets and tear-off
If you already have a trade ticket open, you can click on TRADE next to another market in order to launch another trade ticket. The second one will be launched above the previous trade ticket in the column on the right-hand side.
You can open as many trade tickets as you want, but it is not possible to open more than one trade ticket in the same market.
You can click the tear-off icon and your trade tickets will be opened in a new window.
Closing a trade
If you decide to close your trade, you can do this by clicking on the "Open Positions" tab to view your open positions. In this page you will see a CLOSE button on the right hand side. If you click this button, you will only be given one option either a buy or a sell depending on the direction of your original trade. For example, if you had a buy position you would need to sell to close so only the sell button will appear when you click on the close button.
Alternatively, you can close your trade by finding the original product that you traded, ensuring that the stake size is equal to your original open position and then making a trade in the opposite direction. For example, if you make a £5 buy to open, you will need to make a £5 sell to close.
Cherry picking which trade you want to close
If you have opened more than one individual trade in the same contract, the total stake will be shown with the average opening price. For example, if you bought £1 per point on the FTSE Rolling at 5050 and then bought another £1 per point at 5100, your open position would show a buy of £2 per point at 5075.
Each open position has a “+” symbol next to it which will reveal each individual trade if you have a position with multiple individual trades (as explained in the paragraph above). This allows you to close your trades in any order you want.
If you do not want to cherry pick which trade you want to close, the closing trades work on a first in, first out basis. This means that if you initially buy £1 a point in the FTSE Rolling Daily at 6000 and then subsequently by another £1 a point in the same market at 6005 (leaving you long £2 per point) the first sell you make will close out the first position opened, in this case the buy at 6000. So, if your first sell was at £1 per point at 6010 then you would realise a profit of £10 on that trade. (6010 – 6000). If your second sell was at 6007 then this would close out you second buy (6005) and you would realise a profit on this trade of £2 (6007 – 6005).
Partially closing an open position
If you decide you want to lower your initial stake and partially close a position you can do this by either finding the original product that you traded and adjusting the stake size (which will be less than your original stake) and then make a trade in the opposite direction or by clicking on the close button in Open Positions and using the down arrow to adjust your stake lower. In the example above, you initially made a £5 buy to open and then you decide you want to partially close your position to make your stake size £2. You would need to sell £3 to close this part of your position.
View and/or amend your Stop Loss, Limit Orders and New Orders
You can find details of all stop losses, limit orders and new orders if you click on the Order Book tab.
You can see whether your order is a stop loss, limit or new order.
Click the AMEND button to amend your stop loss. Stop losses cannot be cancelled, they can only amended.
It is also possible to amend any of your attached stop losses or limit orders from the Open Positions window. To do this you have to reveal your open trade by clicking on the "+" symbol and then you will notice that the ORDER button appears.
Please note, whilst stop losses will be filled at the level you request, in the rare event of the market gapping you’ll be filled at the next best level and no stop/order will be filled outside our quoting hours. If you are unsure of our quoting hours, please refer to the Market Information sheet.
As a general note, please be aware that all orders placed or executed on the justspreads.com trading system are "our quote".
Stop Loss Orders
A stop loss order is the method used to limit the losses on an individual trade. It literally means ‘when the loss on a trade reaches the point where I no longer wish to risk any more money then close me out of my position (or 'stop' me out).
justspreads.com automatically apply a stop loss to every new trade. It is important to note that stop losses will be filled at the level you request, but in the rare event of the market gapping you will be filled at the next best level.
Every market has a minimum distance from the current price at which any stop will be accepted. You may move the stop further from the current market price provided your account has sufficient funds to do so. The system will not permit you to move your stop level beyond such available margin.
When a position is closed, the stop loss relating to that trade will be automatically cancelled and you will receive an email to confirm this.
All stops are set to Good Till Cancelled 'GTC', however you can amend this on the order screen.
In order to amend your stop loss and add a limit order right after you have placed a trade, you need to go to either the Order Book or the Open Positions window.
When you click on the AMEND button, you will see this new ticket:
If you do not amend your stop loss level after you’ve traded, your stop loss will be based on 80% of the funds available in your account or it will be set at 80% of the maximum CGSL (maximum computer generated stop loss). Details of the maximum CGSL for each product can be found in our Market Information or if you click here.
On accessing the Order Book on the trading screen you will be able view all the current stop losses and limit orders that are running against your open positions.
New Orders
A 'new order' is an order that is not attached to any existing open position and is independent of any other instruction. A new order is used to open a new trade at a level in the market, which has not yet been reached.
A 'new' order is different from a 'limit' order because a 'limit' order is attached to an open trade and cancelled when the relevant position to which it applies is closed.
The 'new' order functionality is useful for placing orders at critical market points so that you do not have to be watching the markets every moment of every day to ensure that you do not miss an opportunity.
Creating a New Order
1. To create a 'new order' go to the product of your choice and click on the ORDER button. Once you’ve clicked on the ORDER button, the order ticket will appear:
2. Specify your stake, the level at which you want your new order to be executed and whether it needs to be a buy or sell.
3. When placing a new order you can also specify where you would like the contingent stop loss and limit order level, if you wish.
To place a new order you must have available funds when the trade is executed. If, when the system triggers your new order, you do not have your stake multiplied by the minimum IMR your new order will be cancelled.
Calculate the minimum deposit
Before you begin trading, you will need to deposit some funds into your account. You can calculate the minimum amount required by looking at our Market Information sheets or clicking on the "i" button next to each market.
To calculate your minimum deposit, select the product you wish to trade and then multiply your stake by the minimum IMR detailed in the Market Information.
For example, if you wish to trade on the FTSE Rolling with £1 per point, you would multiply £1 x 30 (minimum IMR for FTSE Rolling), your initial deposit would be £30. If you want to trade on a share, you can find details of the minimum IMR on our website in the information button located to the right of the product.
Your automatic stop loss is calculated as 80% of the funds on your account or if you have sufficient funds on your account, the system will generate a stop loss calculated at 80% of the maximum CGSL (computer generated stop loss). If your stop loss is set at the maximum CGSL level, you can move it closer in or further away by amending your stop loss (see details to follow).
In the FTSE Rolling example above therefore, your stop loss will be set at 24 points away from your opening trade. More information about stop losses follows.
Deposit funds online
Funds can be deposited online using a debit or credit card (2% fee for credit cards) or over the telephone. To deposit fund online, click the "My Account" button and follow the instructions. Further details about depositing funds can be found in the FAQ section. Please click here for more details.
Add products to "My Portfolio"
Once you have located a market, you can click the “+” symbol to the right of each market to save it to My Portfolio. This information will be stored in the My Portfolio section of your account for the next time you log in.
To access My Portfolio you need to click on the button in the top right-hand corner of the trading platform.
You can remove markets from My Portfolio you simply click on the “-“ symbol to the righ of the market and it will disappear.
Trading Tools
Your justspreads.com account also provides you with an extensive research area that gives charting and fundamental data as well as extensive technical analysis information.
Technical Analysis
Although we cannot advise clients about what to trade in we can provide you with the very best technical research from third party providers. Their trading models provide many recommendations each day on the major markets that we offer.
Fundamental Data
There is also a full research area providing you with an economic calendar detailing all the economic and corporate data due to be released, heat maps, historical charting, top and bottom market movers and UK sector analysis.
justspreads.com accepts no responsibility for and has no control over the content (including legality, suitability, accuracy, timelines, reliability or availability) of any linked websites. The provision of third party content is for general information purposes only and nothing in this section should be construed as providing investment advice or a solicitation to purchase or sell any investment.
Charts Overview
These charts are built from the quotes made by justspreads.com on its trading platform. This in effect means that from the chart point of view any activity that occurs outside of our trading times is deemed not to have happened!
Most of the chart functionality is self-explanatory and you will find that you learn most about its possibilities by practice.
1). Opening a chart
To open a chart in the desired market you merely click on the chart icon to the right of the ORDER button
This will open the default chart selection in the desired market. This default setting is currently a 10-minute candlestick chart with no technical analysis attached.
2). Using the chart features
The charting package has a number of features allowing you to manipulate the data and display it in different formats:
Zoom 1  |
You can use your cursor and select an area of the chart that you wish to zoom into. |
Zoom 2  |
In the bottom right hand corner you can use these icons to zoom in and out of the whole chart. |
Draw a line  |
Use this feature to draw straight diagonal lines over your chart, which is useful for identifying trends. |
Horizontal lines  |
Horizontal lines can be added using this icon and can be used to mark support or resistance levels. |
Fibonacci  |
Fibonacci retracements can be placed by choosing a starting and ending point of the trend you are applying the analysis to. |
Edit analysis  |
By clicking on this icon you can then choose a line to adjust and replace on your chart. |
Parallel lines  |
By clicking on this icon you can then choose a line to adjust and replace on your chart. |
Delete analysis  |
Delete any lines or Fibonacci retracements you’ve added to your charts by selecting this icon. |
The Settings menu
From here you can select a number of settings from how you want the style of the prices to be displayed to what technical indicators you want added to the chart.
By filling in the various boxes your desired analysis will immediately appear on the screen. These settings can be saved as either an individual chart save (see below) or the individual analytical tools can be saved using the save icon.
Once you have created the analytical tools required you just click on the save icon and then click on delete/save. A new box will appear.
Click on "Delete/Save" and a template box will appear.
- Enter the name you would like to call your template in the "Templates to be saved or deleted" box.
- Click on "Save" at the bottom.
- You new template name will appear under "List of Saved Templates".
When you next click on the save icon the new name of your template will appear in the menu.
Saving your Chart
To save a chart simply click on the file icon in the bottom left hand corner of the chart. justspreads.com servers will save any single chart per market. The save button will save your chart with all its lines and analysis but when you click on the 'chart icon' again the chart will recreate using the default ‘10 minute’ setting. To get to your exact chart you must change the ‘period’ to your desired setting.
Printing your Chart
Once you have created your chart you may wish to print it off. Just click on the print icon, a print preview page will appear. If you need to set the size of the chart to be printed then this can be done from the Settings window under "Print Dimensions".
Description of Various Technical Analysis available with the charts
Simple moving average (MA)
The unweighted mean of the previous n data points in the time series. For example, a 10-day simple moving average closing price is the mean of the
previous 10 days' closing prices. The larger the value of n, the greater the smoothing effect and the more the MA line is displaced from the original
data.
Exponential moving average (EMA)
An exponentially weighted mean of previous data points. The parameter of an EWMA can be expressed as a proportional percentage. For example, a 10% EMA
has each time period assigned a weight that is 90% of the weight assigned to the next more recent time period.
Bollinger Bands
– The Bollinger Bands are envelopes based on a moving average and a standard deviation which makes the bands widen or narrow relative to the current
market volatility.
95% of price action will take place within the Bollinger bands and thus the Bands act as strong areas of support and resistance. It is possible at times like this to successfully trade the price rising or falling from one Bollinger line to the other.
When a trend begins and the volatility of the market increases thus the spacing of the Bollinger Bands will widen, as the trend slows down the Bollinger bands will narrow.
Parabolic SAR
The Parabolic SAR is another indicator devised by J. Welles Wilder, who also created the RSI and DMI indictors. The Parabolic SAR - or 'Stop
and Reversal' as it is otherwise known, is generally used for setting stops and following a trend in the market.
Wilder himself recommended establishing that a trend was in position first by use of other indicators such as the ADX indicator and then using the Parabolic SAR to trade in the direction of the trend. If the trend was up, then buy when the indicator moved below the price. If the trend was down, then sell when the indicator moved above the price.
The SAR direction is always the same during a trend and the trend stays in place while the SAR points stay above or below the price. When the price penetrates the SAR then a signal is given to exit the current trade and possibly look for a position to take up a new trade in the opposite direction.
MACD
MACD measures the difference between two moving averages. A positive MACD indicates that the 12-day EMA is trading above the 26-day EMA. A negative
MACD indicates that the 12-day EMA is trading below the 26-day EMA. If MACD is positive and rising, then the gap between the 12-day EMA and the 26-day
EMA is widening. This indicates that the rate-of-change of the faster moving average is higher than the rate-of-change for the slower moving average.
Positive momentum is increasing and this would be considered bullish. If MACD is negative and declining further, then the negative gap between the faster
moving average and the slower moving average is expanding. Downward momentum is accelerating and this would be considered bearish.
There are 3 common methods to interpret the MACD:
- Crossovers - When the MACD falls below the signal line it is a signal to sell. Vice versa when the MACD rises above the signal line.
- Divergence - When the security diverges from the MACD it may signal the end of the current trend. For instance, price may continue to make higher highs while MACD makes lower highs. This is an example of bearish, or negative divergence and a warning that the up trend may soon be finished.
- Overbought/Oversold - When the MACD rises dramatically (shorter moving average pulling away from longer term moving average) it is a signal the security is overbought and will soon return to normal levels.
RSI
RSI is an extremely useful, reliable indicator which is a favourite of many traders.
In general terms the RSI is an overbought/oversold indicator. In practice below 30 is considered being an oversold indication and when the RSI crosses 30 to go up, this is a buy signal. At the other end of the scale a value above 70 is considered overbought and when the RSI crosses to go below this, it gives a sell signal.
It should be noted that the RSI will form chart patterns similar to those found on the main chart, such as a double top, head and shoulders etc which may not show up in the stock/indices price, but which will give and an indication as to pending change ahead.
The RSI will also form support and resistance levels, just like the main chart and it may also diverge from the main chart direction indicating change. For example, the stock/index may make a new high, but the RSI doesn't - that's a bearish indicator. Conversely the stock/index may make a drop to a new low but the RSI moves sideways or upwards - that's a bullish indication. In these cases the price will usually follow the direction the RSI has just shown.
Williams %R
One use of the Williams %R can be on trending days, where the indicator can be used to establish entry points into the trend.
It should be remembered that the Williams %R is just and indicator and an overbought or oversold indication on it does not necessarily mean that the price is about to turn. It is better to wait for the price to actually show a marked reversal and then using the Williams %R as a confirmation of this.
Momentum
Refers to 'momentum' as the impetus, or increased activity of an item - such as a stock or index. This can be referred to as gaining momentum or losing momentum.
Volatility
For this indicator, we must chose the period (the last 10 days, for example). Then we calculate the variation of every day during this period. Then we calculate the napierian logarithm and the variation on this data. By extrapolation, we obtain the historic volatility in %.
Price Oscillator
The Price Oscillator is calculated by subtracting the short moving average by a long moving average. In its percentage form, the result is divided by the short moving average and multiplied by 100. The parameters are the numbers of days of both moving averages.
Standard Deviation
The units of the standard deviation are the same as the units of the original data making the standard deviation a linear value. The standard deviation is the square root of the variance. It is a measure of dispersion, and often used as a volatility indication.
All Technical Data Retrieved from http://www.trade2win.com/traderpedia