A CFD, or Contract for Difference, is a financial instrument that allows you to trade on stock price movements, whether they are rising or dropping. The primary benefit of a CFD is the ability to speculate on the price movements of an asset (up or down) without actually owning the underlying item.

What Are Stocks?

Stocks, also commonly referred to as equities or shares, are issued by a public corporation and put up for sale. Companies originally used stocks as a way of raising additional capital, and as a way to boost their business growth. When the company first puts these stocks up for sale, this is called the Initial Public Offering. Once this stage is complete, the shares themselves are then sold on the stock market, which is where any stock trading will occur.

People occasionally confuse buying shares with physically owning a portion of that company as if this somehow gives them the right to walk into the company offices and begin exerting their ownership rights over computers or furniture. The law treats this type of corporation in a unique way; as it is treated as a legal person, the corporation, therefore, owns its own assets. This is referred to as the separation of ownership and control.

The separation of these things is beneficial to both the shareholders and the corporation because it limits the liability for each party. For example, if a major shareholder were to go bankrupt, they cannot then sell assets belonging to the corporation to cover their debts and pay their creditors. This is the same in reverse; if a corporation you own shares in goes bankrupt and the judge orders them to sell all their assets, none of your own personal assets are at risk.