IG
Not Bad 8.5/10
  • IG

  • Regulated:  FCA, ASIC
Broker Name: IG
Platform(s): FX, CFD, Crypto
Founded: 1970
Bonus: N/A
Spreads: Low
Leverage: Average
Regulated: FCA, ASIC
Demo Account: Yes
Minimum Deposit: 250
US Traders: Not Accepted
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IG Review

by Martin Kay

Why IG DOESN’T Suck in 50 Words

Hmm, 50 words… that’s tough because I need like 1000 to describe all the reasons why IG.com doesn’t suck. Basically, it’s one of the best brokerages around, it’s the sister brokerage of NADEX and both are part of IG Group Holdings, a company with a global presence, a member of the FTSE 250 with a market capitalization of over 2 billion pounds. I think it’s safe to say they will not hunt your money. They have enough.

 

Why IG Sucks in 50 Words

If you want to trade with a brokerage you can trust – and I mean really trust – then you will have to put in some work to learn to use IG’s platform, which is not newbie-friendly, to say the least. The amount of features and available trading instruments is mind-boggling but actually, this is not a bad thing in my book (in fact I consider it a positive); however, I know that it will be difficult for a new trader to get used to it because it’s not as easy as 1,2,3.

 

Is IG.com a Scam?

We like to be fair towards all the brokers we review (although some of them are not fair to traders) so we have this section on all our reviews. However, in this case, it is almost useless because I don’t know how a brokerage with roots back in 1974 and regulated by the FCA and ASIC can be a scam. But I could be wrong so I recommend you to personally review this broker before you invest. In case you’re based in the USA, choose NADEX.

 

Should I Open an Account with IG?

IG (IG.com) is a well-respected and old-time broker owned and operated by IG Markets Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under number 04008957, and by IG Index Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales under number 01190902). IG Markets Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under number 195355 and is also regulated by ASIC ABN 84 099 019 851ABN 84 099 019 851. IG Index Ltd is also authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, under Register number 114059.

CFD, options, and derivative services in Europe are provided by IG Europe GmbH, a company incorporated in the Federal Republic of Germany. The company is authorized and regulated by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht and Deutsche Bundesbank.

IG Index was first established in 1974, to enable clients to trade gold as an index rather than the commodity itself. The company became IG Group in 2000 and is now one of the UK’s top 200 firms, listed on the FTSE 250. IG.com in its current form offers CFD and Forex trading since 2003, which means they already a bunch of steps ahead of other brokers. In fact, comparing IG with most of the newer CFD, FX, and Crypto brokers is almost unfair because IG seems to be in a league of its own. If you like to see smiling girls and hip guys welcoming you on the home page, limousines, and 100% bonuses, risk-free trades, and “insured” trading, this is not the place for you. This is the real world, where trading involves risk, you don’t receive gifts from your broker and if you lose a trade – guess what – you lose money. Nobody will tell you that you will receive back the money that you’ve lost in the market.

So you won’t get any of the above, but what will you get? Well, for one thing, you are not trading against the house because IG actually passes on your order to the liquidity providers and they have no interest to steal your money. They make money from spreads and commissions. Oh, and speaking of spreads… have you ever wondered why some brokers (especially binary options brokers) don’t charge a spread? How do they make money? They bet against you. If you lose, they win and if you win, they will find a way to keep your money. But this mostly applies to the “old” binary brokers and anyway, enough about others, let’s keep talking about IG.

A new trading platform has been recently introduced, called L2 Dealer. This can be used for CFD trading, share trading, and ISA accounts and gives the trader access to the Level 2 order book that shows the full depth of the markets (lists all bids and offers that have been placed in the market). It is primarily a DMA (Direct Market Access) platform. The classic platform can still be accessed in the usual manner. Apart from these platforms, IG also offers Meta Trader 4 and ProRealTime, the latter being a charting package designed for advanced technical traders.

If you are serious about trading then you should choose a serious partner and IG is in my opinion that partner. They are a professional brokerage/exchange house and they’ve been doing their job since ’74. I wasn’t even born then so I can imagine they must know what they’re doing. It is not the best brokerage for a newbie but it is probably the best for a trader.

IG’s registered address is at Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2YA. IG Europe GmbH lists a registered office at Westhafenplatz 1, 60327 Frankfurt, Germany.

 

IG Complaints

People will always find something to complain about even when it comes to the best brokers and IG is no exception. They have quite a few complaints on the internet but most of these are about slippage and delayed entries, a fact which makes me believe that their Forex offerings are not as stellar. Also, some spread betting clients have complained about the way IG handled things on January 15, 2016 (the day when the Swiss National Bank removed the floor on EUR/CHF). We cannot vouch for the authenticity of these complaints.

 

IG Regulatory Announcements and Warnings

It comes as no surprise the fact that IG fully complies with all regulatory authorities in the territories where they operate. We couldn’t find any Warnings issued by such authorities and furthermore, we must note that IG Markets Limited is registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) under ABN 84 099 019 851 and registered in New Zealand with the Financial Service Providers Register under number FSP18923.

 

IG Bonus

IG doesn’t offer first deposit bonuses, risk-free trading and they won’t give you tickets to concerts if you deposit more money. As I said, this is the real world.

 

IG Withdrawals

Credit card withdrawals take between 2 and 5 days. Wire transfers are usually processed during the same day and IG also offers the possibility to make withdrawals via PayPal (assuming the deposit was made using the same method) and these are usually instant. The minimum withdrawal is 100 Pounds unless you have a smaller amount on your balance, in which case you can withdraw the available sum.

 

IG Extras

Charts, professionalism, same-day withdrawals, hundreds of markets to trade on, extensive market insights from professional analysts, video market insights, and even offer a tool that allows you to keep a Trading Diary online. Compared to the classic brokers, I think everything is an extra with IG.com. They also offer Saturday and Sunday Trading.

 

Trading Bitcoin With IG.com

Aligning with the latest trends, IG offers cryptocurrency trading in the form of spread betting and CFDs. The main advantage is that you can profit even when the market is going down because you are not actually owning the crypto-coin, you simply speculate on its price at a future date (i.e.: when you close your trade). Some of the available crypto assets are Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Ripple, Litecoin, Ether (Ethereum), EOS, Stellar (XLM), and NEO.

 

IG.com Ratings

User Friendly 15/20

The website is not very user-friendly for the simple reason that it is very complex and has a ton of features so you will spend a lot of time going through all of them. The platforms can be a bit difficult to get used to, but again this is because they offer a lot of features and this shouldn’t be regarded as a bad thing. More than 20 languages available, as well as demo accounts.

They have introduced a new platform, which in my view is easier to use, faster but still complex, and with tons of features. The new platforms have a live news feed and a Twitter feed (focused on the financial news of course). Mobile versions of some of their platforms are also available.

 

Range of Markets and Spreads 16/20

They offer thousands of markets on which to trade, ranging from stocks to indices, commodities, fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash/Gold, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, EOS, Stellar, and Neo), and a few Specials. Spreads vary according to market conditions but are almost always very competitive (as low as 0.6 pips for EUR/USD). Spreads for cryptocurrencies are lower than with most other brokers.

 

Deposits and Withdrawals 17/20

Deposits can be made via debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, and more recently, PayPal. IG does not accept payment cards where the holder is a US resident. Withdrawals are made via debit/credit cards, PayPal, and wire transfers. Credit card limits are 20,000 GBP daily. Both deposits and withdrawals are fast and secure.

 

Fees and Support 18/20

There are no commissions for opening an account (which is normal for any broker) but you will pay an inactivity fee of 12 pounds on the first of each month for accounts that have been inactive for 2 years or more. Support is pretty straightforward and you will not get any cheap sales tactics like: “we have a special offer, just for you, just today” (note that some versions of the website do not offer live chat in that respective language – depending on region).

Website Extras 16/20

Considering the “Extras” section that you’ve read in the main part of this review, I believe IG markets definitely deserve 20 points out of 20. However, some of the extra features might be hard to understand and use by the regular trader.

 

IG.com Overall Ratings 82 + Regulated (+3) = 85/100