#SAVINGS & FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
On CFDs and forex, losing money isn't the exception — it's the statistical norm, measured by the regulator itself.
Published on August 15, 2026 · to be rechecked on January 1, 2028
That's the share of clients who ended up in a loss, as measured by France's financial markets regulator (AMF) across 14,799 active clients of several France-licensed brokers, over four cumulative years between 2009 and 2013, in a study published on October 13, 2014.
What was their average loss?
About €10,887 per client, for a cumulative negative result of more than €161 million across 16 million transactions.
In other words: on CFDs and forex, losing money isn't the exception, it's the statistical norm. Even the most persistent clients, active every year throughout the study's four years, lose almost as much (87.6%) as the whole group of traders observed: experience barely changes anything.
Three caveats, because they matter
- The study covers clients of France-licensed brokers, not every platform in existence, some of which operate illegally.
- It combines forex and CFDs without always distinguishing underlying assets, though the rates observed separately stay close: 78% for CFDs, 84% for forex.
- It covers a period when equity and bond markets were broadly rising, which rules out the explanation of simply unfavorable market conditions.
Why it still matters: the promise of a quick gain through leveraged trading isn't a balanced bet. It's a game structurally stacked against the client, documented by the regulator itself rather than by its critics.
For you
- If 9 clients out of 10 lose, who pockets the other side of every position?
- What data would you base that bet on before putting money into it?
Source: Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), study of retail investor results in CFD and forex trading in France, October 13, 2014.
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