Your beginners' guide to trading
Trading for beginners can be exciting – and overwhelming. That’s why we’ve outlined everything you need to know for your trading journey, including how to trade stocks and forex trading for beginners, right here.
Call 010 500 8624 or email newaccounts.za@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We're here 24 hours a day from 9am Saturday to 11pm Friday.
Contact us: 010 500 8624
Call 010 500 8624 or email newaccounts.za@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We're here 24 hours a day from 9am Saturday to 11pm Friday.
Contact us: 010 500 8624
In plain English: what is trading?
Trading is speculating on an underlying asset’s market price movement without owning it. So, basically, trading means that you’re only predicting whether a financial asset’s price will rise or fall.
You can trade hundreds of financial markets, including stocks, forex, commodities, indices, bonds and more. We offer more than 13,000 CFD markets for you to speculate on – think Meta shares, the US dollar against the British pound, crude oil and the FTSE 100.
When you trade, you’ll use a platform like ours to access these markets and take a position on whether you think a market’s price will rise or fall. If your prediction is correct, you’ll make a profit. If incorrect, you’ll make a loss.
The financial instruments you’ll use to trade on an asset’s price movements are known as ‘derivatives’.
This simply means that the instrument’s price is ‘derived’ from the price of the underlying, like a company share or an ounce of gold. As the price of the underlying asset changes, so the value of the derivative changes, too.
To understand this, let’s look at an example of speculating on shares. If the price of a share goes up from R100 to R105, the value of the derivative tracking it’ll increase by the same amount. If you bought the derivative at R100, you could now sell it at R105. Although you never own the share itself, your profit or loss will mirror its price movements.
So, why use a derivative?
There are several benefits to using derivatives – and some risks too.
With derivatives trading, you can go long or short – meaning you can make a profit or a loss if that market’s price rises or falls, as long as you predict it correctly. This is because trading isn’t owning the actual financial asset. With owning something outright, such as actual gold for example, you’ll only make a profit if the gold price climbs.
Leverage can be another reason to trade with derivatives.
Trading with leverage means that, instead of paying the total value of your trade upfront, you’ll put down a fraction of its value as a deposit. This is called ‘margin’. This means leverage can stretch your capital much further as you can open large positions for a smaller initial amount.
With leverage, your total profits or losses are calculated based on the full position’s value, not how much you paid to open that position. So, you can make far more than the initial margin amount you paid to trade – and you can also lose far more. This means leverage has built-in risk.
Interested? Practise trading with a free demo account
All of this new terminology can be a lot to digest. So, we’ve created a table below with five key trading terms every beginner should know.
Five key trading terms
| Term | Definition |
| CFD trading | CFDs (contracts for difference) are a type of derivative that enables you to trade on the price movements of an underlying asset. You’d do this by agreeing to exchange the difference in that asset’s price from when you open your position to when you close it. The difference between the asset’s price between opening and closing your position is what you stand to gain in profit or lose in loss. How to trade CFDs |
| Going long, going short | Going long (also known as being ‘bullish’) is a prediction that a market’s price will rise, going short (also known as being ‘bearish’) is a prediction that it will fall. However, short selling is risky because losses can be unlimited if risk isn’t managed properly, since there’s no limit to how much a market’s price can rise. Learn more about short selling |
| Trading on margin | Open a position for less than the total value of your trade – this is also known as a ‘leveraged’ trade. For example, if you bought 10 CFDs on shares worth R100 each, the position’s total value is R1000. With a margin deposit of 20%, you could open a trade with R200. Learn more about leverage |
| Risk | However, margin is dangerous because you risk losing far more than this initial deposit and your losses can far exceed your margin amount. Risk represents the possibility of monetary loss. It’s absolutely essential to understand the risks inherent in trading, and trading on margin especially so. Fortunately, we offer mechanisms to help you manage your risk. How to manage risks when trading |
| Volatility | Volatility refers to times when markets are moving rapidly, typically as a result of announcements, events or market sentiment. While it inherently comes with higher risks, you can also find opportunities if you have a solid trading plan that includes comprehensive risk management measures. Learn about trading volatility |
Financial markets new traders need to know
We offer over 13,000 popular financial markets. You’ll trade these markets with CFDs.
What is share trading?
Share trading is speculating on whether the share price of a public company will rise or fall. This means you can go long or short: if you’re bullish, you’d go long; or you’d go short if you’re bearish. Either way, if your speculation is correct, you’d make a profit. On the other hand, you’d incur a loss if you predicted the market movement incorrectly.
Remember, with us you can only trade derivatives via CFDs.
What is forex trading?
Foreign exchange trading (called ‘forex’ for short) is the exchange of one currency for another. The forex market is the biggest and most liquid in the world, is decentralised and is one of the few true 24/7 markets.
Forex is traded in pairs, which consist of two currencies that are traded against each other. There are hundreds of different combinations to choose from, but some of the most popular include the Euro against the US dollar (known as the EUR/USD), the US dollar against the Japanese yen (USD/JPY) and the British pound against the US dollar (GBP/USD).
When trading forex, you’ll be speculating if one currency’s price will rise or fall against another currency – for example, if the US dollar (USD) will weaken against the Euro (EUR) or strengthen.
If your prediction is correct, you’ll make a profit. If incorrect, you’ll make a loss. As with other trading, you can go both long and short.
What is index trading?
While you can trade or purchase one company’s shares, you can also trade on an entire market, industry, or collection of stocks at the same time, via an index.
Indices are a collection of publicly traded stocks all grouped together into one entity that can be traded singularly, so that when you trade on the index, you’re trading on all its constituents at the same time.
An index’s stocks will always have something in common which groups them together. For example, the 500 biggest US-listed companies by market cap will be grouped into the S&P 500 index, while the 100 biggest UK stocks will be on the FTSE 100.
Indices can be thematic, too. For instance, smaller ‘alternative’ stocks not big enough to appear on the FTSE 100 or FTSE 250 will be listed on the FTSE AIM (Alternative Investment Market) index.
We offer over 80 international indices, so you can trade any of the world’s the biggest and most popular indices with us. You’d do this via CFDs.
What is commodities trading?
Speculating on the price of tangible, usually natural, resources is called commodities trading. For example, taking a position on the gold price, the price of sugar cane or the price of Brent crude oil are all forms of commodities trading.
There are ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ commodities. Hard commodities are mined substances like precious metals, diamonds, oils, gases, and the like. Soft commodities are plant and animal resources like grains, sugar cane, coffee beans and cattle and other livestock.
Some commodities, for example gold, have a reputation for being a safe haven in troubled times and are used as hedges against things such as inflation and macroeconomic volatility.
With us, you can trade on the price of commodities using CFDs.
Trading for beginners: where to learn more
Getting started with trading can be an intimidating experience, with so much to learn. That’s why we created IG Academy, a self-learning hub on our platform full of interactive online courses, webinars, and live sessions with our resident experts.
IG Academy’s content ranges from the most beginner concepts right up to the very advanced, professional trader level. It’s completely free and easy to use.
Once you’ve got the basics down, our website’s analyse and learn section also contains a host of resources, including strategy and planning articles that help you perfect your technique and news and trade ideas to keep you up to date on current market events. There are even trading podcasts, seminars, and tips on risk management, too.
But, as we all know, practice makes perfect. That’s why we recommend putting all the theory you’ve learned into real-life use with our free demo account. Here, you’ll be able to trade with £10,000 and R1,000,000 in virtual funds in a risk-free environment to hone your techniques and build your confidence before doing it for real.
Your first trade: how to do it
After learning about trading beforehand, the only thing left to do is to make your first trade on our live platform. However, if you still want to know more about entering the world of trading, read our How to get into trading page.
Here’s how to make your first trade:
- Open and fund your live account
- After careful analysis of the market, select your opportunity
- ‘Buy’ if you think that market’s price will rise, or ‘sell’ if you think it’ll fall
- Select your deal size, ie the number of CFD ‘contracts’
- Take steps to manage your risk
- Open and monitor your position by selecting ‘place deal’
Why trade with us?
There are many trading platforms out there, so why should you choose us?
We have been a market leader since 1974. We’re also focused on the success of our clients, providing a host of educational resources and more.
And here are just a few more reasons to trade with us:
Get hours others don’t provide
We offer more out-of-hours and weekend trading on popular stocks and indices than any other platform
Deal with the best
Our award-winning platforms are built to empower the pursuit of financial freedom1
Access thousands of markets
Trade on over 13,000 CFD markets, including stocks, forex, indices and commodities
Enjoy 24/7 support
Talk to us by phone, email or Twitter – 24 hours a day from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday (UK time)*
Learn and build your skills
Draw from our decades of industry experience through educational resources such as IG Academy
Perfect your strategy with trade analytics
Finetune your trades and identify what’s working and what isn’t with our trade analytics tool
Risks and benefits beginner traders should know
You’ll need to evaluate the risks versus the rewards for any trade before you open a position. Here, we’ve included some of the main risks and benefits to be found when trading with us:
| Risks | Benefits |
| Leverage – all CFD trades are leveraged, meaning profits and losses can substantially outweigh your initial margin | Leverage – because leveraged trades only require you to put up a fraction of the total position’s value, you can stretch your capital and magnify profits, if you make them |
| Short selling – can give higher risk of losses if a market moves unpredictably. If its price increases, losses could be unlimited, as there’s no limit to how high a market’s price can climb | Short selling – going short also doubles your trading opportunities, because you can profit (or make a loss) from down trending markets as well as appreciating ones |
| Volatility – markets can be volatile, moving very quickly and unexpectedly in reaction to announcements, events, or trader behaviour | Volatility – because of this, a trader with a good strategy and risk management measures in place can find opportunities to trade on volatility |
| Margin call – you need a certain amount of money in your account to keep trades open. This is margin, and if your account balance doesn’t cover our margin requirements, we may close your positions for you | Margin call – you can use risk management tools such as stop orders and alerts to keep up with margin requirements and limit your potential losses |
FAQs
How do I get into trading?
The very best way to get into trading is to find a platform you trust, learn as much as you can about trading beforehand and then practise to get your technique right. Thereafter, all that remains to be done is to open a live account and get started.
Where can I learn more about trading?
Our IG Academy is a great resource for learning all about trading, from the most basic concepts to the very advanced. You can also take a look at our website’s analyse and learn section, with strategy and planning articles to help you perfect your techniques and news and trade ideas for current market events.
What are the risks of trading?
The main risks around trading involve the fact that, unlike investing, your potential for profit and loss is not capped at the capital you’ve spent. Trades are leveraged, meaning you will put down a small deposit (called margin) to open a larger position. However, profits and losses are calculated on that full position size and so can substantially outweigh your margin amount.
You can go either long or short when trading asset’s market prices. Short selling is especially risky, as market prices can keep rising, theoretically speaking. When short-selling, your risk increases as the asset’s price increases. Luckily, there are ways you can manage your risk in trading – including setting stops and limit orders.
Can I practise trading?
With us, you can practise trading with your very own free demo account. Here, you can trade with £10,000 and R1,000,000 in virtual funds in a risk-free environment before doing it for real.
Where can I learn more about the markets to trade?
We offer more than 13,000 international markets you can trade using CFDs. Learn all about our various markets to trade here.
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Discover our 13,000 CFD markets to trade
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