Securities are tradable financial instruments that give their holder a specific right, such as a stake in a company or a claim to the repayment of a loan plus interest. Companies and governments issue them to raise capital; after that, they are bought and sold on stock exchanges or over the counter, with prices set by supply and demand. Classic examples are shares, bonds and units in investment funds.
This section uses the term in a broad sense. Besides classic securities, it covers instruments and markets that are not securities in the strict legal sense but are central to trading: derivatives such as futures, options and CFDs, whose value is derived from an underlying asset, as well as foreign exchange and commodities such as oil, metals and agricultural products.
Each entry explains what an instrument is, how it works and why it matters to investors and traders. For forex and CFD traders, the entries on CFDs and foreign exchange are a good place to start, as they also cover leverage, margin and the risks involved. The list is not exhaustive.