The claimants note CFDs have also been banned in some other countries, including the US, and are likened to gambling on financial markets. The Federal Court of Australia has described these products as “financial heroin hits” in the hands of unsophisticated retail investors.
"There is evidence that highly leveraged CFDs should never have been marketed to everyday Australian investors who had little or no experience in trading such complex products," says Piper Alderman partner Kate Sambrook.
"The class action seeks to provide a remedy and recover these losses for retail investors who should never have been exposed to trading in such complex, high-risk products."
