Exchange Traded Contracts For Difference

Current CFD providers focus on either the direct market access or market maker models. CFDs are currently available in listed and/or over-the-counter markets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Singapore, South Africa, Australia, and most recently New Zealand. In a world first, The Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) will become the first exchange globally to offer exchange traded Contracts for Difference (CFDs. Only accredited brokers will offer exchange traded cfds and multiple market makers have been appointed to facilitate liquidity. CFDs traded through the newly developed exchange will essentially function the same as current otc contracts for difference except the transaction method will be through SYCOM (the Sydney Futures Exchange) trading platform instead of the traditional market maker or Direct Market Access models. The suite of ASX CFDs will include CFDs on ASX's Top 50 Stocks, major global equity indices, key FX crosses and commodities.

One of the benefits of the new exchange traded products include reduced Exposure to Broker Failure: The SFE Clearing Corporation (SFECC) will provide central counter-party clearing i.e. trades are carried out with SFECC and not with the original party to the trade. The positions are managed by SFECC via the established margining system currently used by the global futures market. The trades will be backed by the Exchange Clearing Guarantee Fund which negates creditworthy exposure that exists under non-exchange CFD brokers and traders. Additional market regulation will be provided through the Australian regulator ASIC who will oversee the activities of the entire market. ASX regulation teams will be responsible for monitoring any unusual activity and trading conditions deemed to be unfair thereby safeguarding participants.