Greater London, England -- (SBWire) -- 04/15/2011 -- Financial spread betting can appear overwhelming for a beginner. City Index (http://www.cityindex.co.uk/) is making things easier with its free spread betting and CFD trading demo account. What is more, you do not need to be an existing customer to get access. Here are 5 reasons why you should sign up:

1. No risk with a demo account
Instead of risking your own money, start spread betting and CFD trading with £2500 of virtual money. The City Index demo account gives you the license to experience every element of spread betting and CFD trading completely risk-free.

2. Settle in
Because the demo account gives you free and unlimited access to the real City Index spread betting and CFD trading platform for two weeks, it gives you the opportunity to gain a full understanding of stop losses, limit order, charts and all the other features of live trading. Should you then go on to apply for a real account, knowing the tools of the trade could well prove the difference between success and failure.

3. Try before you buy
Spread betting and CFD trading carry a high level of risk and are definitely not for everyone. If you are one of those people, City Index would much prefer you to find out the easy, risk-free way than the difficult, costly way. It makes sense to sample spread betting and CFD trading in a controlled environment before you commit a penny of your own money towards them.

4. DIY
you should welcome input from more experienced spread bettors and spread betting seminars, but even more important is having the opportunity to apply their expertise in a practical setting. Ultimately, your own approach to spread betting and CFD trading will become a hybrid of what you pick up from external sources and what you figure out for yourself.

5. No pressure
You do not need to be an existing City Index customer to sign up for and start using the CFD trading and spread betting demo account. The account simply provides you with £2500 of virtual capital and two weeks of unlimited access to the real trading platform to see if your expectations of spread betting and CFD trading measure up to reality.

To start spread betting and CFD trading risk-free with your free City Index demo account, just visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/learn_to_trade/demo_account.aspx.

Spread betting and CFD trading are leveraged products which can result in losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the risks.

About City Index
Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range of instruments including margined foreign exchange, CFDs and, in the UK, spread betting.

We constantly look to improve the performance of our platforms and expand the range of services we provide. The result is that our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer service and support. For more information, visit http://www.cityindex.co.uk/.