City Index	CMC Markets	First Prudential	IG Markets	Macquarie CFD	Man Financial	Sonray Capital
Parent company	IFX Group (UK)	CMC Markets (UK)	Australian Owned	IG Group (UK)	Macquarie Bank (AU)	Man Group (UK)	Sonray Capital Markets P/L
Years as CFD provider in  Australia	Started in 2006	Started in 2002	Started in 2006	Started in 2002	Started in 2006	Started in 2002	Started July 2003
Core tradeable products	Australian & international CFDs & indices; Australian sectors; FX, treasuries, gold, oil & metals	Australian & international CFDs & indices; Australian sectors; FX, treasuries, commodities – gold, oi	ASX Top 560 stocks	Australian & international share CFDs, Indices, FX, commodities, rates, bonds and options	Top 500 Australian share CFDs only	Futures; CFDs on ASX Top 500, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New  Zealand shares	Top 300 ASX shares for long trades and Top 250 ASX shares for short trades
Margin requirement	From 1%; can be less with Order Aware Margining	1% on Sectors & Indices; 3-10% on Top 50 share CFDs; 10% on other share CFDs outside the 100-500	From 3%	5% on Top 20; 10% 21-200;15% 201-300; 25-50% 301-1000	From 1% – 40%	From 5%	Flat 10% on CFDs
Commission rate	$10 or 0.1% on share CFDs; all non-share CFDs are commission free	$10 for trades up to $10K and 0.10% for trades above $10K. Competitive rate can be negotiated for high volume trades of more than $1mil.  All non-share CFDs are commission free	$10 minimum fee (if under $10,000) or 0.1%	Can vary on volume. Minimum $8 or 0.1%	$10 for trades up to $5K; 0.2% for trades above $5K	Greater of $12.50 or 0.125% on buy & sell up to $10,000 face value; 0.125% on value over $10,000	Varies on volume & advice, starts from 0.10%
Financing cost	Cash rate 2% on long position; Cash rate - 2% on short positions	Cash rate 2% on long positions; Cash rate -2% on short position	Cash rate 3% on long positions; Cash rate - 3% on short positions	Cash rate 2.5% on long positions; Cash rate -2.5% on short positions	Cash rate 2.5% on long positions; Cash rate -2.5% on short position	Base financing cost MBA (Man Base Rate) /- 3% (negotiable on size)	Variable on size of account, general retail is /- 2.50% LIBID/LIBOR
Client money held in segregated account	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Each CFD account is a separate bank account (in an Australian regulated bank) in client’s name	Yes	Yes
Minimum  required to open an account	$100	$1,000	$5,000	$0	$5,000	$5,000	$5,000
Do you earn interest on free equity?	By negotiation	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Interest depends on the size of free equity
Client service support	Orders by internet or phone: 24 hour client support	Phone, e-mail and chat facility; 24 hour client services support	High level of support from experienced CFD traders. Hours 8am – 6pm	Each client is allocated their own personal Account Manager	Full client service support – phone trading, IT assistance	Each client  is allocated a personal dealer/trader adviser not a salesperson	Tailored service from online only to full service broker & 24 hour dealing desk
Do you provide CFD specific education/ training?	Runs an 8-week course under Trading Academy	Yes. CFD trading education modules on CD/DVD. Regular seminars on the trading platform and free online tutorials	No. But offers a full advisory service	Yes. TradeSense is a for anyone wanting to learn  more about trading CFDs. Available with all new accounts.	Educational seminars	Regular seminars on products and trading platforms	Yes. Basics of CFDs and strategies and how to use the platform
Do you offer stop loss orders for free?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, free	Yes	Yes, place/move a stop loss. Execution at the normal rate.	Yes, we also offer a free trailing stop facility
Do you have guaranteed stop loss for free?	Guaranteed stop loss orders attract minimal fee	Guaranteed stop loss orders attract minimal fee	No GSLO	Guaranteed stop loss orders attract minimal fee	Guaranteed stop loss orders attract minimal fee	No GSLO	No GSLO
Do you offer discount on volume trades	By negotiation	By negotiation	Yes	If trade $2,000,000/ month then 0.08%	Yes	N/A	Offer discount levels for higher volume traders