The key differences are:
- Ownership – stocks give you beneficial ownership via a custodian. CFDs and knock-outs are derivatives that carry no ownership.
- Leverage – stocks are unleveraged. Any holding represents the full value of the shares.
- Direction – stocks can only be bought and sold. CFDs and knock-outs can be traded long or short.
- Settlement – stocks follow exchange settlement cycles (typically T+1 or T+2). CFDs and knock-outs do not.
- Account – stocks, CFDs, and knock-outs are all held in a single account from one cash balance.
*Stocks are available in selected countries and are currently limited to existing clients.