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the guarentee is simply a guarantee - you say what your stop loss is, no matter how fast it drops or how low it opens at, you have sold it at the stop loss you specified. the cost is extra spread (i have this type of account, everytime i place a trade and say the spread is +/-0.4, it'll then say 'guarenteed stop losses an extra +/-0.15; i'd need to check the proportion extra it charges).
http://www.igindex.co.uk/content/sit...anagement.html
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You can choose to open your position as a Controlled Risk bet. This means that you specify a level at which you want your bet to be closed, should the market move against you. We then guarantee your position will be closed at this level, even if the price gaps suddenly.
There is an extra charge for this protection, in the form of a Controlled Risk premium, which is added to your opening price. Your position is closed at our standard 'buy' or 'sell' price.
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i am sure they must be a way to exploit this. the reason why most serious investors won't use this type of account is that you have to have the money you can lose in your account, whereas with the non-guarenteed stop loss they don't have this requirement.
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so you bought a put...ok that at least makes sense.
Barron
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Spreadbetting is a fictional market created by the broker, hence the prices don't exactly mirror the underlying market prices as I mentioned earlier. SB brokers are basically bookies so when you win, the broker loses. They have a slightly seedy reputation because of this and have a vested interest in you busting out and not just churning your account like CFD/futures broker.
The slippage is therefore sometimes unbearable. This is why SB is not suitable for daytrading and the financing makes them unsuitable for longer term trading/investing. If you hold a position for a few weeks or a couple of months, then they are probably a decent vehicle for smaller accounts to trade.
There are commission and tax free (because it's classed as a bet - betting/gambling is tax free in The UK) - but they make most of their money from spreads and financing (assuming you don't immediately bust out)
I don't think spreadbetting is available in The US.