"In light of spread-betting company 'Worldspreads' recently going into administration, how would you rate the risks associated with using spread-betting companies? Many thanks."

David Fuller's view Actually, I had never heard of them until seeing your email. I have only ever traded with two spread-bet firms, both of which were founded in the 1970s. And following management changes in one of these firms, the consequences of which I did not like, I now only trade with one.

Originally named IG Index, it has been rebranded as IG Group Holdings (IGG LN) and as a Plc you can monitor the price performance (weekly & daily). That way, you would be among the first to know if they were ever in trouble. I know and liked the Chairman Nat Le Roux, who was hired many years ago by IG's founder and my old friend, Stuart Wheeler. Not having viewed the chart for some time, it looks healthy enough to me and yields 5.05%, according to Bloomberg.