THERE has been a bit of a fuss over contracts for difference (CFDs) - a market that has been growing rapidly in Australia.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is obviously concerned enough to be putting out a discussion paper about the dangers of dealing in CFDs. ASIC will predictably address issues like leverage, the risk of unlimited losses, a lack of transparency and complexity.

But complaining about CFDs because of their leverage or complexity is missing the point. There is nothing wrong with the CFD product. The problem is with the people who use them.

It was the same with put and call warrants. People are buying into the idea that it is easy to profit from ''rising and falling markets'' and it is all fun and exciting and that you don't really need to invest much time and effort in achieving great success. And the fact that you can open a CFD account with a few clicks, in a few minutes from your sofa, is compounding the problem.

For such a turbocharged product you should really have some qualification to trade these things. But instead, people are clicking past all those terms and conditions without reading a word.