The restraint of investors in the German market for Contracts for Difference (CFDs) continues in the third quarter of 2022. This is the result of the data collection for the months from July to September 2022 conducted by CFIN - Research Center for Financial Services for the Contracts for Difference Verband e.V. (CFD Association). The significant decline of the second quarter (-43% compared to Q1) in trading volumes with CFDs has been slowed down recently. Nevertheless, the minus in the third quarter increased by another 9.5% (compared to Q2). This makes the latest quarter of the year, in which a total volume of 326.6 billion euros was traded with contracts for differences, the weakest quarter of the past three years. In the same quarter of the previous year, the volume was 569 billion euros, and in the first quarter of this year a new record of 637 billion euros was set.

In contrast to the trading volumes, the number of accounts increased slightly in the most recent quarter of the year (+0.9%). At the same time, the number of trades increased significantly (from 9.0 million by 18% to 10.7 million). However, since the volume per transaction declined by 23% at the same time, the bottom line is a significant slump.

"Against the backdrop of the current tense macroeconomic environment, clients tend to act more cautiously. However, this is only part of the explanation for this negative trend: there are many indications that the damaging effects of the tax loss offsetting restriction are increasingly making themselves felt here," explains Stefan Armbruster, board member of the CFD Association. This is also obvious insofar as the association "has received numerous submissions via the contact form of the association's website from affected investors since September", Stefan Armbruster continues.

Against this background, the CFD Association is currently preparing a model lawsuit ....Read more