Shorts And Longs

History

Shorts and Longs is another name for Spreadex which was established in 1999. As such, they’re one of the oldest players in the market, though “Shorts and Longs” has been in existence only from September 2008. Spreadex initially specialized in the leverage and credit markets, and now allows its clients to spread bet on a variety of underlying markets.

Trading Platform

The “Trading floor” is the only online platform which allow users to check the markets even when they’re not logged in. The “Hot Shorts” and “Hot Longs” features allows users to see which markets have proved most profitable for those who have gone short and long respectively.  Also, it shows investors which markets have had the most volume traded.

Shorts and Longs is unique amongst the spread betting firms we’ve reviewed till now in that its trading platform is completely online. This means that just about any computer with an Internet connection is sufficient for a trader to place bets, close positions and even view all the important charts necessary for a detailed technical analysis.

There may be some traders who feel uncomfortable with such a platform, but in reality it’s no different from a downloadable software which also requires an Internet connection to the spread betting site. In this case, all the heavy lifting is done by the Shorts and Longs server and the only requirements apart from an Internet connection are a supported browser with the latest version of Flash installed.

Products Covered

Shorts and Longs uses many types of underlying instruments against which clients can spread bet. These include future and daily indices, US and UK shares, Spot and future currencies, Commodities and Bonds.

Each of these can be easily accessed from the “Trading floor” section of the website.

Pros

Shorts and Longs is the only spread betting firm to provide free guaranteed stops. This means that even if the market suddenly “jumps over” your stop (what is sometimes called “gapping through”), your order will be executed at the specified price instead of the “next best” price. This is invaluable since it prevents any loss no matter how bad the situation becomes.

While it’s true that they occassionally lose money due to this policy, they still keep this feature since it helps to distinguish themselves from the competition.

The spreads are also amongst the tightest in the industry. Another great aspect is that you only require ₤50 to open an account and can have a minimum balance as low as ₤25!

Cons

With an online platform, many advanced trades find it quite basic. And this is true if you need many more features such the ones provided by GFT for example. In addition, there has been some comment about expensive rollover charges.

Also, they don’t allow customers from outside the UK as of now which naturally takes them out of the running for many clients around the world.

Awards/Accolades

None

Overall Summary

Shorts and Longs is an ideal place for anyone to start their spread betting activities. The low minimum deposits, tight spreads and intuitive platform make it an ideal place for newbies and for those who want to tightly control their risk.

Support Hours

Currently there isn’t any support for placing trades over the phone. Their customer support is available from 7:30 am to 9 pm. Trading takes place from 7:00 am to 9:15 pm.

Countries and Languages

Unfortunately Shorts and Longs only conducts business with UK clients in English.