what is one difference between a contract for differences cf and a futures contract 
futures contracts have an expiration date at which time there s an obligation to buy or sell the asset at a preset price cfds are different in that there is no expiration date and you never own the underlying asset can u s citizens buy cfds cfds are not allowed by the u s securities and exchange commission 1 these over the counter otc products are unregulated and pose a large risk of losses in what countries are cfds legal cfds are allowed in several countries with listed otc markets they include belgium canada denmark france germany italy the netherlands new zealand norway singapore south africa spain sweden switzerland thailand and the united kingdom 3the bottom lineinvesting in cfds allows you to trade the price movements of stock indices etfs and commodity futures you get all the benefits and risks of owning a security without actually owning it using leverage allows investors to put up only a small percentage of the trade amount with a broker the drawback is that such leverage can lead to significant losses due to extreme price volatility and the limited regulation of the cfd market means u s residents cannot trade them disclosure this article is not intended to provide investment advice investing in securities entails varying degrees of risk and can result in partial or total loss of principal the trading strategies discussed in this article are complex and should not be undertaken by novice investors readers seeking to engage in such trading strategies should seek out extensive education on the topic 