About Justin Grossbard
I’m Justin Grossbard. I co-founded Spread-Bet.co.uk with Noam Korbl in 2024. I started investing in 1998 and moved into active trading in 2014. Every broker covered on this site is one I’ve traded on myself.
Before Spread-Bet I co-founded CompareForexBrokers in 2014. It’s grown into a network of broker review sites in six languages. We launched Spread-Bet.co.uk because UK spread betting is a different product to CFDs or forex. The tax treatment is different, the FCA handles it differently, and it made sense to give it its own home rather than tack it onto a forex site.
How I test UK spread betting platforms
Every broker reviewed here is one I’ve opened, funded and traded on. I place bets on FTSE 100 shares, indices, gold, and a few currency pairs. What I’m looking at: how the platform handles the London open, what spreads do when New York comes on, whether the platform stays up on Fed days, and how much friction there is when you try to withdraw. None of that shows up in a broker’s marketing material.
Brokers I’ve personally tested: IG, CMC Markets, Pepperstone, City Index, Spreadex, AvaTrade, FXCM, FxPro and Oanda. If it’s reviewed on this site, I’ve used it.
Credentials and background
I have a Masters of Commerce from Monash University and an RG146 accreditation through Kaplan Professional. I’m a member of AFMA and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
I’ve written on trading, currency risk and alternative investments for Forbes, Kiplinger, Entrepreneur, Finance Magnates, MoneyShow and Scoop, and I sit on the Forbes Finance Council. In 2022 I published 5 Alternative Investments to Earn a Return Outside of Stocks and Bonds, available on Amazon and Google Play.
Our parent company, Compare Forex Brokers Pty Ltd, became a certified B Corp in February 2026 with a score of 98.4. The B Corp assessment covers governance, workers, customers, community and environment. It’s a hard certification to get in financial media, and one I’m proud of.
The personal bit
I’m Australian, which you’ll have worked out. I support the Essendon Bombers and have done long enough to know better. I watch a lot of military strategy films. I’ve got two cats at home, Whisky and Chloe. Since 2019 I’ve spent a fair amount of time travelling to meet brokers, regulators and traders, mostly in the UK, UAE and South Africa. Most of what I know about regional differences between platforms came out of those trips.
Get in touch
You can reach me on LinkedIn, X, or via the contact page.
Media samples
Finance Magnates: An introduction to automated trading, How to Automatically Put Away Money For Investing
Kiplinger: How To Invest At Any Age, How To Pay Your International Freelancers
MoneyShow: EUR/USD Pairing: September Could Be Bullish or Bearish
Scoop: Why Currency Risk Is Very Real In 2023
Books
5 Alternative Investments to Earn a Return Outside of Stocks and Bonds: Google Play, Amazon