Permanent CFD restrictions confirmed and cover ‘turbo certificates’

By Neasa MacErlean

Permanent rules restricting the retail sale, marketing and distribution of CFDs (contracts for difference), spread bets and rolling spot forex products come into effect on 1 August — and will be followed up on 1 September in an extension to ‘turbo certificates’, ‘knock out options’, ‘delta one options’ and others defined by the FCA as ‘CFD-like’. Various temporary measures restricting sales of CFDs to retail investors had previously been applied by the European regulator and FCA, while a permanent ban on the sale of binary options to retail punters was confirmed in March.