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Strategies to Trade Synthetic Indices

Trading that is not affected by the time of the day or global events? That's what synthetic indices have
to offer! Find out more about trading synthetic indices and claim your free e-book to learn more.

Deriv Team

DERIV TEAM

16 DEC 2020 • 6 MIN READ

Strategies to Trade Synthetic Indices

On January 15, 2015, the Swiss National Bank decided to abandon the 1.20 peg against the euro. This
quickly transformed the currency from a safe haven to one of the riskiest assets and sent the FX markets
into chaos. Traders accounts went into negative balance and a number of brokers were forced to close.
Black swan events like this come at a tremendous cost to investors. What’s even worse is that they seem
to be becoming more frequent. In the past decade alone, we have witnessed a global financial crisis, the
rouble rout, plunging oil prices, Brexit, and a persisting pandemic.

But what if you could trade without being at the mercy of global events? This is what synthetic indices
enable. Synthetic indices, also known as volatility indices, are simulated markets, which means they are
not affected by world events.

They act like real monetary markets but have been created with the help of numbers that are randomly
generated through a computer programme. The number generator is secured cryptographically and is
audited by an independent third party to ensure fairness. With this, the broker is unable to predict or
influence the generated numbers.
Join over 1 million traders worldwide Sign up for an account now.

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Why Trade Synthetic Indices

Before you decide on strategies to trade synthetic indices, you first need to understand why you would
trade synthetic indices at all. There are multiple benefits of trading of synthetic indices, as compared to
traditional indices and currency pairs.

Synthetic indices offer tight spreads and high leverage. Also, there is no risk of slipping into negative
balance. So, in case things don’t go according to plan, your losses will be limited. Plus, you get great
flexibility when trading synthetic indices. You can choose different synthetic markets, with high or low
risk characteristics, based on your risk appetite.

Some of the other prominent benefits are:

You are aware of the potential risks right from the beginning. This means no unexpected margin calls or
bad surprises.

You don’t need large capital to start trading synthetic indices.

They are also free of liquidity risks and the real-world markets.

Robust cryptography and auditing measures ensure that they cannot be fixed or manipulated.

Fast order execution and deep liquidity at all times makes trading synthetic indices viable for both small
as well as large traders.

You can also be assured of gaining exposure to new and exciting synthetic indices, given that we, at
Deriv, heavily invest in research and development.

The Best Trading Platforms for Synthetic Indices

There are 2 main platforms that can be used for synthetic indices trading. These are DTrader and Deriv
MetaTrader 5 (DMT5).
DTrader

With DTrader, you can trade directly from the live charts. It continuously provides you a price feed for
Rise (Up), Fall (Down), and other ways of trading synthetic indices. DTrader can be accessed through
Deriv.com on a mobile device or on a desktop, via a browser.

With DTrader, you get:

Wide Range of Choices

DTrader offers you a wide range of synthetic indices to choose from, including higher volatility indices
(Vol 100) and lower volatility indices (Vol 10). In Volatility 10 Index, the volatility is kept at 10%. This is a
great choice for traders who prefer low price swings or fluctuations. On the other hand, Volatility 100
index, the volatility is maintained at 100%. This means that there are much stronger prices swings.
Additionally, there are also no large price gaps, as they are continuous indices with deep liquidity.

Better Control

Traders gain great control with Deriv’s synthetic indices. Not only can you choose the volatility rate, but
also the contract length. You can choose the length from a few ticks to several days. In case of digital
options, your trades are automatically settled. There is automatic addition of profits to your account,
without waiting for settlement.

Additionally, you have the option of simultaneously opening multiple trades. For instance, you can open
a Fall (sell) trade on the Volatility Index in 2 hours, while having a simultaneous Rise (buy) trade settled
on the same index in 2 minutes.

DMT5

DMT5 provides you with a greater choice of synthetic indices, as well as traditional trading instruments.
You gain access to all these asset classes, such as commodities, stocks and forex, via a single account.
Additionally, DMT5 provides access to a wide range of professional trading tools. This online trading
platform allows traders to access 44 analytical objects, 38 technical indicators and unlimited charts in 21
timeframes.

These charts and indicators can be customised according to your trading strategy. The platform also has
various plugins you can choose from, which allows you to automate your trading. DMT5 can be accessed
on desktops as well as Android and iOS mobile devices. So, if you want access to a wider range of asset
classes and technical tools, DMT5 can be a better option for you.

How to Trade with DTrader

Some of the ways you can trade with DTrader are:

Higher/Lower

Here, if you select higher and the exit spot is above the barrier, you win the payout. Similarly, on
selecting lower, you would win a payout if the exit spot is below the barrier.

Ends Between/Ends Outside

In case of Ends Between, you will win the payout if the index remains in between the 2 barriers. In this
type of trade, the pattern of a ranging market is followed. In case of Ends Outside, if the index breaks
out of a price range, you will win the payout.

Over/Under

With this type of trade, the last digit of the closing price should be less than a predicted digit, in case of
under, to win the payout. With over, the last digit should be more than the predicted digit. This trade
should be completed in less than 10 ticks.

How to Trade with DMT5

This platform allows margin trading. With margin trading, you can make investments with the help of
leverage. With leverage, you can open positions that are much larger than what you could have afforded
with only the capital in your trading account. This can increase your gains but also your losses.
Therefore, it is vital to be careful with leveraged trading.

You can also trade with CFDs with DMT5. When it comes to contracts, you can trade CFDs with DMT5.
CFDs are available for multiple financial instruments on the platform. However, the MetaTrader 5
platform is better suited for experienced traders, who can make best use of all the technical analysis
tools and features.

Synthetics trading offers many advantages over traditional currency pairs and financial indices. But it
also shares some similarities with them. One common thing is the risk involved in trading. Therefore,
when trading synthetic indices, it is useful to use robust technical indicators and chart patterns to make
informed decisions and minimise risk.

Want to learn more about trading Synthetic indices? Download our free eBook to get real-life strategies
and examples, and discover the three main tools to trade them.

Join over 1 million traders worldwide Sign up for an account now.

Try free demo

18+

The contents of this article do not constitute trading advice and should be used for general information
purposes only.

Please trade responsibly. For more information about responsible trading please visit:
https://www.begambleaware.org

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of
retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Deriv.com
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15 DEC 2020 • 3 MIN READ

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suitable for retail clients. They may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. If you invest in
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