Looking for a New Side Hustle? Here are 5 Reasons Why CFD Trading Could Be the Perfect One for You

I can’t help but compare prices with things back home in Singapore whenever I travel. From groceries to coffee in a trendy cafe, and eating out at restaurants, some things are just way more expensive in Singapore, and I always have to watch my expenses. 

With rising costs and increased GST, Singapore has become more expensive for us. If you’re stressed about money, you’re not alone. Apparently, 1 in 3 people lose sleep over money, anxious that they do not have enough of it. 

If you’re worried about the state of your finances, you might also be thinking about ways to earn additional income to help battle inflation and the rising cost of living. 

But juggling a full-time job and a side hustle can cause clashes, for instance, if you need to tend to your side hustle during office hours or your employment contract does not allow you to take another form of income-generating work. 

One great way to earn income on the side is to learn how to trade CFDs because of the flexibility it offers. 

We’ll explore what CFD trading is all about and why it could be the perfect side-hustle to complement any lifestyle.

 

But first, what is CFD trading?

CFD stands for Contract for Difference, a form of trading where individuals speculate on the price movements of financial instruments such as stocks, indices, commodities, and currencies without actually owning the underlying assets. Traders aim to profit from small price changes throughout the day by buying or selling CFDs, allowing them to benefit from both rising and falling markets.

A key feature of CFD trading is leverage, which allows traders to open positions much larger than their initial deposits. With leverage, you could multiply your position size by 5, 10, or even 20 times your initial outlay. This means that you can take significant positions on key markets without tying up excessive amounts of capital. 

For example, if you open a trade on Tesla stock worth $1,000 with a deposit of $200, your broker covers the remaining $800, enabling you to control a position 5 times greater than your initial investment.

While leverage can significantly amplify potential profits, it also increases the risk of losses if the market moves against your prediction. This contrasts with traditional investing, where the goal is typically to build wealth gradually by holding onto assets over a longer period. 

CFD trading’s flexibility also allows traders to adapt strategies to fit their personal schedules, making it an appealing option for those integrating trading into their daily routines.

 

5 reasons why trading is the perfect side hustle

1. Trade when you want, where you want

One of the benefits of trading is the flexibility it offers. Unlike side hustles that may demand your time during regular office hours, trading allows you to choose your hours.

You can trade after you’ve reached home and had dinner or even monitor the markets while commuting—all you need is an internet connection! 

With the use of stop and limit orders, you can set trades to buy or sell automatically once the price reaches a specified level. You can learn about stop and limit orders here. 

Some brokers like IG even offer extended trading hours, allowing you to trade US shares like Netflix, Apple, and Amazon, as well as other shares throughout the night if you’re a night owl.

US trading hours in Singapore time	After hours trading on IG in Singapore time
10.30pm – 5am	5pm – 9am (Mon – Thu) 5pm – 6am (Fri – Sat)

2. Learn to trade for free

Many side-hustles require an upfront investment in courses or training to acquire the necessary skills. But trading is different. There are countless free educational resources available online and on platforms like YouTube. Just make sure the resources are from legit sites and not random people online. 

You can also check out the IG Academy, which offers a comprehensive range of free educational content designed to help you learn the basics of the financial market, how trading works, and become familiar with the tools and features available on the IG platform. Beginner videos are less than 2 hours long and filled with practical exercises and videos to aid learning. 

3. You can start small (or with nothing)

Trading doesn’t require a large capital investment. You can start with just S$100 if you want. 

Moreover, you can learn to trade using a demo account, which allows you to practise and get familiar with the platform before you use any real money. 

It’s also really simple to create a demo account on IG. Simply visit the IG website, sign up for a demo account, and you’ll be able to start trading with virtual funds of up to $200,000 immediately, gaining valuable experience before you commit any of your own money.

Once you have filled in all the details and are in, you can access a workspace that shows a list of popular markets. Here, you can play around with the different functions and try to make some orders to familiarise yourself with the platform. When you’re ready, you can upgrade to the live platform and start trading for real.  

You can even check out the guided step-by-step tutorial on the bottom right corner that shows you where to click if you’re not sure.

4. You can limit your risk

Once you start trading for real, risking real money, you can easily manage your risk using stop losses—where you close your position automatically if the market moves against you. 

But remember, with ordinary stop loss orders, there’s no guarantee of protection against slippage, so your position could be closed out at a worse level if there are market gaps.

Sometimes, markets can move so quickly, that your stop loss does not close your trade for you in time, leading to bigger losses than expected. 

That’s why some brokers, like IG, offer guaranteed stop losses for a small fee. Guaranteed stop losses ensure that your trade is closed at the specified level regardless of market volatility.

 

5. Get rewarded with KrisFlyer miles as you trade

Miles chasers can take advantage of trading on IG as you get to earn KrisFlyer miles every month when you trade. If you sign up for IG’s Billion Dollar Club, you can receive an additional 45,000 KrisFlyer miles.

Although these monthly aggregated contract value figures that you’ll need to hit look huge, they are actually more achievable than you might think due to the notional value of trades. 

In the image below, you can see that each FX trade (standard contract) has a notional value around 100k. By holding just 5 standard contracts of EUR/USD, you can already be eligible for 60 KrisFlyer miles.

 

Trade with one of Singapore’s popular brokers

IG is one of the most loved brokers in Singapore—and for good reason. They offer advanced trading tools for savvy investors, coupled with low spreads, 24/5 support, and access to over 13,000 markets, so traders will never miss an opportunity to grow their pot of gold anytime, anywhere.

If you think this is the side hustle for you and want to sign up, there’s a welcome bonus of up to S$888 when you open a new account, fund a minimum of S$2,000, and trade CFDs with IG.

We’re also offering a MoneySmart exclusive deal where you get S$100 via PayNow! All you need to do is fund your account with S$1,000 in a single deposit and execute 1 CFD trade.

Sign up today to enjoy your welcome rewards.

---

IG provides an execution-only service. The information in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute (and should not be construed as containing) any form of financial or investment advice or an investment recommendation or an offer of or solicitation to invest or transact in any financial instrument. Nor does the information take into account the investment objective, financial situation, or particular need of any person. Where in doubt, you should seek advice from an independent financial adviser regarding the suitability of your investment, under a separate arrangement, as you deem fit. No responsibility is accepted by IG for any loss or damage arising in any way (including due to negligence) from anyone acting or refraining from acting as a result of the information. All forms of investment carry risks. Trading in leveraged products, such as CFDs, carries risks and may not be suitable for everyone. Losses can exceed deposits. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

---

This post was written in collaboration with IG. While we are financially compensated by them, we nonetheless strive to maintain our editorial integrity and review products with the same objective lens. We are committed to providing the best information in order for you to make personal financial decisions with confidence.