BRYME Money · Markets & conditions
Stocks, forex, futures and CFDs: what you actually hold
A market name is not a product. Compare ownership, leverage, hours and who owes whom before comparing charts.
Two charts can display the same underlying price while the products behind them behave very differently. A share, a currency balance and a contract for difference (CFD) are not interchangeable. Product terms, the broker entity and your country determine what you can access and what protections apply.
Asset, account or contract?
| Product | What the position represents | Costs to examine | Risk often missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash shares / ETFs | Shares or fund units held through a broker or custodian. | Spread, dealing fees, fund expenses (ETF), FX conversion. | Individual prices can fall sharply; margin borrowing changes the downside. |
| Spot currencies | Actual currency balances exchanged; delivery and custody terms matter. | Bid-ask spread, conversion markup, transfer costs. | The displayed rate may not be your delivered rate. |
| Retail margin FX | Often a leveraged contract on an FX pair, not currency you withdraw. | Spread, commission, overnight financing or rollovers. | Leverage and counterparty terms dominate the deposit. |
| Futures | Standardised contract with an expiry and margin rules. | Exchange/broker fees, spread, roll and margin financing where applicable. | Daily settlement and margin calls; position exposure is much larger than margin. |
| Options | Rights and obligations defined by contract terms and expiry. | Premium, spread, commissions, exercise/assignment fees. | A long option can expire worthless; a short option can create very large obligations. |
| CFDs | Over-the-counter contract with a provider settling the price difference; you do not own the underlying. | Spread, commission, financing and provider terms. | Leverage, counterparty risk and access to protections depend on client status and jurisdiction. |
| Spot crypto | Units or a claim to them held with an exchange or wallet. | Trading spread/fees, network fees, withdrawal charges. | Custody, loss of access and venue failure are separate from price risk. |
Australia's MoneySmart forex explainer notes that retail margin FX is generally a form of CFD there. That description should not be silently applied to cash currency conversion or to every jurisdiction. A US, UK, Canadian or Australian reader should verify whether a particular product can be offered to them and which legal entity would provide it. A brand name spanning countries is not a single regulator or a single client agreement.
Same price move, different exposure
In a simplified example, a $100 cash share loses $20 if its price drops 20% to $80. If an unrelated leveraged contract provides $100 notional exposure against a $20 initial margin deposit, the same $20 adverse move consumes an amount equal to the deposit before fees. Real maintenance requirements, protection rules, margin calls, gaps and contract multipliers make live outcomes more complex. The deposit is not the maximum loss in every product; see leverage and margin and read the actual agreement.
A more useful comparison than 'which market pays more?'
- Ownership: do you own something, hold a claim on an intermediary or take an obligation under a contract?
- Exposure: how many units and what notional value does one order control?
- Time: does the product expire, roll, accrue financing or trade during restricted hours?
- Exit: can the firm close a position without notice, and what happens when there is no quote?
- Protection: which regulator, client category, legal entity and complaint route actually apply?
The ASIC MoneySmart CFD guide explains that CFD gains and losses are based on full position value, not on the initial margin. The SEC ETF bulletin explains that even an unleveraged ETF purchase has an often overlooked bid-ask spread. Product choice cannot be reduced to a generic performance ranking.
Sources and further reading
Links were reviewed 2026-09-24. Regulatory permissions, firm status and product terms can change; use the current official register before acting.
General information, not financial advice. Everything on BRYME Money is educational. Trading forex, crypto and derivatives involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance — including any published research — does not guarantee future results. Never trade money you cannot afford to lose.