The Naked Trader's Guide to Spread Betting (Paperback) | Released: 23 Aug 2010

Have you dabbled in shares or the stock market? And wondered what spread betting was all about and whether you should be doing it? Perhaps you thought it all looked a bit complex or was just for City boys? Now here is a new beginner's guide that explains - in plain English - how to do it, and how to make money from it! Spread betting shares can be dangerous: most people lose - some even lose their shirts. But it's not a world populated by pinstriped men waiting to rob you, steal your savings and do nasty things to small kittens. You can win. (And you never have to pay a penny in tax!) This book shows you how. Robbie Burns, bestselling author of The Naked Trader, has been spread betting for years. He explains why it's an indispensable tool to use alongside normal investing or trading. Especially as you can make money even if the market goes down. Robbie takes you through everything from how it works, to managing your risk, working out exposure, and how, often, doing nothing is the best move! He explains the ins and outs of successfully betting on shares in his trademark down-to-earth style, covering everything you need to know. From the simple stuff through to proven strategies, including those that can be used in different markets - it's all here. There are also behind-the-scenes visits to two top spread betting firms. But it's a big, bad old world out there, and there are a whole heap of mistakes you can make, an awful lot of money you can lose. Rounding up spine-chilling traders' tales of spread bets gone wrong, and using all he has learnt from making silly mistakes himself, Robbie also helps you learn what not to do. This is the ultimate guide to spread betting - how to do it, have fun and hopefully make a few quid.
About the Author:

Robbie Burns has been a journalist and writer since he graduated in Journalism from Harlow College in 1981. After starting life as a reporter and editor for various local newspapers, from 1988-1992 he was editor of ITV and Channel 4's teletext services. He also wrote ITV's daily teletext soap opera 'Park Avenue' for 5 years. He then went on to freelance for various newspapers, including The Independent and The Sun, and also helped set up a financial news service for CNN. In 1997 he became editor of BSkyB's teletext services and set up their shares and finance service. While there he also set up various entertainment phone lines in conjunction with BSkyB, including a Buffy the Vampire Slayer phone line which made him nearly 250,000.
He left full-time work in 2001 to trade and run his own businesses, which included a cafe in London that he later sold, doubling his money on the initial purchase. While at BSkyB, Robbie broadcast a diary of his share trades, which became hugely popular. He transferred the diary to his website, www.nakedtrader.co.uk, which became one of the most-read financial websites in the UK. Between 2002 and 2005 he wrote a column for The Sunday Times, 'My DIY Pension', featuring share buys and sells made for his pension fund, which he runs himself in a SIPP (self-invested personal pension). As chronicled in these articles, he managed to double the money in his pension fund from 40,000 to 80,000 in under three years. By 2009 he had doubled it again, reaching 165,000. Robbie now writes a weekly column for the leading financial website, ADVFN.com.
Robbie has made a tax-free profit of over 900,000 since 1999, and has made a profit every year, even during the market downturns of 2000-2002 and 2008-2009. Public trades made for his website have made nearly 800,000.
He lives in a riverside apartment on the Thames in London with his wife, Elizabeth, plus son Christopher and cat Domino. His hobbies include chess, running, swimming, horse racing, and trading shares from his bedroom, erm...naked. After all, he wouldn't be seen dead in a thong!