Glossary
In our Glossary section you’ll find definitions for terms related to our services. Either browse the questions below or use the search to find answers on a specific topic
ACCOUNT BALANCE
The total value of the account including the profit and loss and equity used to maintain any open position.
ADR
An ADR (American Depositary Receipt) is a negotiable certificate that represents a certain number of securities of a non-U.S. company that trades on a U.S. exchange.
ASK
The price at which it is possible to buy the base currency of the selected currency pair.
BASE CURRENCY
The currency written first in the currency pair, for example EURUSD where the EUR is the base currency.
BID
The price at which it is possible to sell the base currency of the selected currency pair.
BITCOIN
The first worldwide digital currency to work without a central bank using peer-to-peer technology.
BLOCKCHAIN
The continuous list of transaction records which are linked and secured using cryptography.
CFD
Contract For Difference, a derivative financial instrument based on the price movements of an underlying contract.
CLOSE-OUT
Automatic closure of a position should the account equity fall below the margin close-out level.
CLOSED OUT
Closure of an open position.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS ONLINE
Using the secure Personal Area, clients may fund their account using a credit or debit card.
DAY SPREADS
Spreads applied between 07:00 & 21:00 CET
DEMO ACCOUNT
Access to the MetaTrader platform to test the system and experience dummy trading.
DIRECT MARKET ACCESS
A trading system giving you access directly to the exchange on which an instrument is traded.
ECN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION NETWORK
A computer system facilitating the trading of financial instruments.
ETHEREUM
A digital currency that provides a decentralised platform for applications that run exactly as programmed.
EXPERT ADVISOR EA
An algorithmic trading system trading automatically on your MetaTrader.
EXPIRY DATE
The date at which a CFD will no longer be tradable, and the new contract becomes available.
FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY FCA
The United Kingdom regulatory body for financial services.
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMEN
The final arbitrator for any disputes with regulated companies in the financial markets.
FOREX
Abbreviation for Foreign Exchange, the markets and deals made within it.
FREE EQUITY
The amount of equity not used in holding open positions and therefore available to withdraw.
HEDGING
The trading practice of holding open long and short positions concurrently in the same instrument.
INSTANT ORDER
An order executed at a requested price, unless in volatile markets being returned with a requote. Or at a price within a designated acceptable maximum deviation.
INSTRUMENT
Any tradable financial product, a currency pair, CFD or commodity.
LEVERAGE
The multiplication factor of equity relative to the possible maximum position size.
LIMIT ORDER
A pending order used to close a trade when the market is moving profitably to the open position.
LIQUIDITY PROVIDERS
Banks or other market counterparts that support the underlying market with pricing.
LITECOIN
A digital currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. It can be efficiently mined with consumer-grade hardware.
LIVE ACCOUNT
An account giving live access and deal execution to the market.
LOT SIZE
The standardised contract value of an instrument.
MARGIN CLOSE-OUT LEVEL
The percentage level of equity required as an absolute minimum to maintain an open position.
MARGIN REQUIREMENT
The amount of equity required to hold an open position.
MARKET ORDER
An order which you instruct to be executed at the prevailing market rate, this could be possibly be different to your requested rate.
MARKET WATCH WINDOW
The window on your MetaTrader platform where you can view all the instruments available for trading.
MAXIMUM DEVIATION
A user definable parameter used with instant orders allowing execution within a given tolerance of the actual requested price.
METATRADER
Market leading Forex and CFD trading platform with powerful technical toolbox and algorithmic trading capabilities using Expert Advisors (Eas).
METATRADER 4 ACCOUNT
Our FX trading account giving access directly to our liquidity providers’ quotes.
MICRO LOT
Common name for 1/100th (0.01) of a lot.
MINI LOT
Common name for 1/10th (0.1) of a lot.
MOBILE DEALING
Trading on Smartphones, PDAs and other portable devices.
NO DEALING DESK
Trading execution without intervention by human dealers.
OPEN POSITION
A trade in the market which has not yet been closed.
ORDER
Any instruction to trade as either a market order or pending order.
PARTIAL CLOSURE
When part of a position is closed which is not the full amount of the originally opened position.
PENDING ORDER
An order sent to MetaTrader for execution at a later time or market level.
PERSONAL AREA
Secure communications portal for ActivTrades clients.
PIPS
The smallest increment movement of a financial markets instrument.
PROFIT/LOSS
The proceeds of a winning or losing trade.
REGULATION
The law issued by the regulator governing the fairness of our business.
RIPPLE
A technology that acts as both a digital currency and payment network for financial transactions.
ROLLOVER
Also known as swaps, the daily interest adjustment applied to open FOREX positions when held after midnight Central European Time.
SCALPING
The practice of short term or high frequency trading often on small market movements.
SLIPPAGE
The difference in pips when an order is executed outside of the requested rate.
SPREAD
The difference in pips between the bid and offer prices.
STOP & LIMIT LEVEL
The distance in pips from the current market price as to the nearest level it is possible to place a pending order.
STOP ORDER
A pending order used to close a trade when the market is moving adversely to the open position.
SWAP
Also known as rollover, the daily interest adjustment applied to open FOREX positions when held after midnight Central European Time.
TAKE PROFIT
An order which closes a position at a profit.
TRADE
A deal made in the market.
TREATING CUSTOMERS FAIRLY TCF
A directive from the regulator ensuring fair treatment of clients.
UNDERLYING CONTRACT
The contract on which any CFD price is based.
VARIABLE SPREADS
Prices set with a target minimum spread but with the possibility to vary according to market conditions.
