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IG Review

Minimum Deposit: $250 VISIT BROKER

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.

IG is a fantastic choice for traders and investors who are looking for an easy-to-use trading platform along with excellent investment products and tools from a regulated and established broker.

Investing Brokers

May 2, 2023

Since they were formed in 1974, IG have gone on to establish themselves as the leading online brokerage firm for trading in over 19,000+ markets. With IG, you get an easy-to-use platform where you can trade forex, stocks, shares, indices, commodities, options, bonds, cryptos, ETFs and CFDs. They have exceptional trading conditions including tight spreads, low fees and fast trade execution speeds. In addition to this, all clients get free access to comprehensive educational resources via the IG Academy, powerful trading tools, expert trading signals and around the clock support. If you are new to trading online, the IG demo account can be a great way to practice trading risk free. IG is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250 (LON: IGG) and regulated in multiple jurisdictions across the world, including top tier regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the USA and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

When it comes to trading and investing opportunities, there isn’t any broker with a greater range of financial instruments than IG who have an impressive selection of over 19,000 to choose from. Whatever your interests and trading goals, there is something for everyone. You can trade CFDs of currency pairs, stock indices, stocks, ETFs, commodities, bonds, futures, cryptos and more. IG also offer exclusive 24/7 pricing on global indices and extended hours on over 70 key US stocks. Keep in mind that the offering of investments can differ depending on your location. This is because not all countries allow the trading of certain financial instruments.

IG Instruments Summary

Commission and Spread Fees

IG have very low spreads and commission fees. This is partly due to the size of the brokerage firm enabling them to offer lower prices than its competitors. Forex spreads start from 0.6 whereas share CFDs and indices start from just 0.1. The spread is the difference between the bid and ask price, a typical charge from any broker. When you trade CFDs with IG, the commission is included within the spread. Otherwise, there is a small commission fee which varies depending on the instrument being traded. If you trade shares using CFDs, you’ll be dealing at the real market price. Instead of being charged a spread, you’ll pay a small commission to open and close your position.

IG offers pricing discounts through its active trader rebate program. This means that the more you trade, the more you can save in costs. The country in which you are a resident will determine which IG account type you can open. In the majority of countries, you will be able to trade forex, stocks, indices, commodities, CFDs and options. Overall, I found IG to have very low costs and some of the best I have seen from any broker that I have tested over the years.

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

We are pleased to say that IG do not charge any fees for making a deposit or withdrawal. The amount that you transfer is the amount that you should expect to receive, minus any third-party processing fees.

Inactivity Fees

There is a small $12 inactivity fee if your account is left untouched for more than 2 years. Chances are you would be using your account or you can simply withdraw your funds and close the account to avoid being charged. If you would like to avoid inactivity fees, then you could consider another broker who do not charge any such as Swissquote.

IG provide clients with some of the most powerful and advanced, yet user-friendly trading platforms that you are likely to find anywhere. You certainly won’t be short of choice, with the MetaTrader 4 platform, IG’s proprietary platform, ProRealTime (PRT) and L2 Dealer all available. Each specialist platform can help you achieve different trading goals – you can even use more than one if you wish whilst they are flexible across web, desktop and mobile devices. Professional traders can make use of direct market access (DMA) and deal directly into the order books of major equity exchanges.

IG Web Trading Platform

The IG web trading platform is available online for all clients who are interested in CFD trading. You can access the platform directly in your web browser to manage your account, register cards, make payments, withdraw your funds and more. This platform also offers browser-based research tools such as streaming news, economic calendar and trading signals.

IG Mobile Trading App

For those of you who would like to access your account on the go, there is the award-winning IG mobile trading app which is available on iOS and Android devices. You can trade wherever and whenever you please, using the user-friendly mobile trading app. It delivers full dealing functionality and gives you access to the same research and monitoring tools as the IG web-based platform. The clean layout makes it quick and easy to view mobile charts and open or close positions from within the palm of your hands.

IG Progressive Web App (PWA)

The IG progressive web app (PWA) offers you a seamless trading platform on any device – without having to visit a third-party app store. This web-based platform has been optimised to help you receive the most crucial trading updates quickly and effortlessly, thus helping to avoid any delays that can be inherent throughout the more traditional app store review processes.

ProRealTime (PRT)

If you are someone who enjoys using more technical charts and would prefer a complex setup for trading derivatives, then look no further than the ProRealTime (PRT) platform. PRT is the leading advanced charting package on the web, offering a suite of powerful monitoring tools, flexible access to all of the available markets and advanced analysis resources. PRT is integrated with the IG trading platform and provided free to clients who trade CFDs at least four times a month, otherwise it is just $40 per month. New clients can try out ProRealTime charts free for the first month, professional account holders get free access for three months. If you are a full-time trader, it is certainly worth giving it a try.

L2 Dealer

L2 Dealer is IG’s direct market access (DMA) platform that provides powerful, flexible DMA access for advanced traders. With the downloadable L2 Dealer platform, you can trade CFDs with no dealer intervention, full market depth and access to dark liquidity pools. You can also trade forex at the market price, with liquidity from major providers. It has helpful monitoring tools including watchlists, price alerts and algorithmic orders.

MetaTrader 4

If you have ever traded online, chances are that you are already familiar with the MetaTrader 4 platform. It is by far one of the most popular trading platforms for trading forex and CFDs. The MT4 platform is widely respected for being simple to use, thus making it a popular choice amongst beginners. It has a very intuitive layout and is packed with all of the tools that you need for conducting market analysis. Despite the positives, the IG product range is slightly limited on MT4. Whilst it is fine for trading forex, stocks are lacking compared to the other platforms. Some of the key MT4 features include the following:

IG Trading Signals

IG provide clients with trading signals that come directly from two third-party providers, Autochartist and PIA-First. The advanced pattern-recognition technology of Autochartist and PIA-First’s experienced analysts monitor the markets on your behalf, giving you the best of both worlds in terms of technical analysis software and professional expertise. These signals can be used to help you identify the right time to trade forex, stocks, indices and commodities. It is worth mentioning that these signals should not be taken as investment advice and you act at your own risk. They are just ideas and it is therefore up to you what you do with them.

Autochartist

Founded in 2004, Autochartist is a market leader when it comes to automated technical analysis and providing trading signals. You can save valuable time when reading charts using Autochartist. This excellent analytical software scans a multitude of trading instruments in real time and automatically identifies chart patterns and Fibonacci patterns so that you never have to miss an opportunity again.

PIA-First / Signal Centre

Signal Centre (formerly PIA-First) is a trading strategy service where a team of experienced technical analysts and professional traders scrutinise the global financial markets daily to provide comprehensive analysis on the latest market trends and to deliver clear trade ideas that enhance trading opportunities. Signal Centre combine experienced, human-led analysts with powerful, AI technology to conduct a deep analysis of the markets whilst drawing on their professional trading expertise to deliver robust risk/reward trade ideas that can help to support novice and advanced traders alike.

API Trading

An API links a trader’s account with a broker’s automated trading system to execute trades quickly and efficiently, and to perform algorithmic (algo) or programmable trades in certain scenarios. It is a program that connects two applications – for example, your IG trading account and your custom-built platform. Trading with APIs enables you to gain direct access to the IG environment, providing you with faster order execution and more control, which can enhance the overall trading experience. The API also provides an easy way to get live market data, historical prices whilst you can execute trades directly from any of your IG trading accounts – without having to manually trawl various exchanges and dark pools for data and prices. The information is instead delivered directly to you, which helps to ensure speed and efficiency. You can trade via API’s directly through IG’s API or the ProRealTime platform.

IG Platforms Summary

IG are top of the pile when it comes to educational content. They have a plethora of educational materials available in the IG Academy, ranging from articles, trading guides, tutorial videos and quizzes. There is even a mobile app packed with educational courses for traders of all experience levels. Furthermore, IG offer weekly webinars, financial reports, podcasts and a trading glossary.

IG Academy

The IG Academy is a great place to master your trading skills. It is a free resource with a wide variety of courses and webinars that are specifically designed to help you become a more successful trader. You will discover the basic of trading through infographics, video tutorials, interactive exercises and quizzes. You can learn at your own pace with eight courses organized by experience level.

News and Analysis

IG make sure you stay up to date with the latest news impacting the financial markets, where you can read the opinions of their expert analysts on the current price movements.

Trading Strategies

IG offer specialist insight into the trading techniques, tips and strategies that can help you capitalise on global markets and inspire trade ideas. It is not often we see a broker that gives away so much valuable information for free. In fact, there are companies who charge thousands for such trading strategies!

Financial Events

Most brokers will provide an economic calendar so that you can see the latest news releases along with anticipated impact that they may have on the market. IG takes things a step further with an additional earnings season report, non-farm payrolls report and much more. You can be sure not to miss a single beat when it comes to what is happening in the financial world.

Podcasts

Discover how psychological factors can influence your trading strategies by listening to the IG Trading the Markets podcast series. The podcast gives an insight into human behaviour and how this can affect your trading. It discusses common trading mistakes, how they can be avoided and gives practical feedback to try and prevent letting emotions affect performance.

IG Research and Education Summary

IG has various options for funding your account, including traditional methods such as bank wire transfer and credit card funding, as well as online payment processors. You get free and fast deposits and withdrawals. Card payments are instantaneous whereas bank transfers can take a few working days to clear. I think IG could improve by offering more e-wallet payment options and even cryptocurrency funding in the future.

IG Funding Summary

In terms of regulation, it really doesn’t get better than IG. Amongst the top tier regulators, the broker is authorised and regulated by the following regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). They are also regulated in Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and Dubai.

IG Regulation Summary

IG Safety

IG is about as safe as any broker could be. They have been in business since 1974 and are listed on the London stock exchange. IG have significant financial backing and are one of the most trusted names in the industry.

IG customer service is available 24 hours a day, from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday. Wherever you are located around the globe, the multilingual team will be happy to speak with you via live chat, email or telephone. From my experience, email responses did take longer than we would expect compared to some other brokers who got right back to me. On the other hand, live chat was able to instantly answer my questions and thus, would be my preferred method of contacting IG.

IG is a top choice for those of you who want to trade forex and CFDs with a trusted broker that has low fees, powerful platforms, excellent tools, plenty of research and access to a huge number of more than 19,000 tradeable assets.

IG Review

Minimum Deposit: $250

VISIT BROKER