How rollover works on a CFD
Rollover is the process of carrying a CFD position past the point where its underlying contract would expire, by rolling into the next period so your exposure continues uninterrupted. For instruments built on futures, such as some commodity and index CFDs, the broker rolls the position to the next contract month automatically, adjusting for any price difference so your economic exposure is unchanged.
Worked example
You hold a long commodity CFD as the front-month future approaches expiry. Instead of closing you, the broker rolls you into the next month. If the new contract trades $2 higher than the old (a condition called contango), your position is adjusted down by $2 and you receive a cash adjustment, so you are neither better nor worse off from the roll itself. The roll preserves exposure, not a windfall.
Rollover versus overnight financing
Rollover handles the expiry of the underlying contract; overnight financing is the daily cost of holding a leveraged position regardless of expiry. Both are carrying costs that accumulate over time. On Volity, rollover is handled automatically so a long-held CFD does not suddenly expire on you, but the accumulating costs still argue against using CFDs as long-term holdings.
Why it matters
Rollover means a CFD position will not vanish at expiry, but the adjustments and financing quietly add up, which is why CFDs reward active trading over passive holding. Track your carrying costs on any multi-week position. Related: expiry and overnight financing.
Learn more in our CFD trading guide.
