About IG Review : IG is an established CFD broker since the last 45 years. It is the biggest player in the London Stock Market. In this IG review we have provided detailed information about the company and its regulations.
Table of Contents
What is IG ?
IG is a CFD broker operating in the UK from 1947. It is one of the biggest CFD and spread betting brokers in the world. It is regulated by the UK’s FCA and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority [BaFin]. Is currently serving 1,78,000 clients all over the world.
CFDs are highly complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money. Before investing in CFD one should try to understand it properly, and to cross check whether you can afford to take that high risk or not.
Fees :
IG charges no fees for withdrawal. While it charges low non trading fees. On the other hand, it charges high fees for CFDs and forex.
IG fees snapshot
| Assets | Fee Terms |
| S&P 500 CFD | The fees are built into the spread, 0.4 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Europe 50 CFD | The fees are built into the spread, 1.5 points is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| EURUSD | The fees are built into the spread, 0.6 pips is the average spread cost during peak trading hours. |
| Inactivity fee | $12 per month after 2 years of inactivity |
- CFD fees for a $2,000 long position held for one week
- Forex benchmark fees of a $20,000 30:1 long position held for one week
IG stock trading fees
IG charges no withdrawal fee but it charges $12 inactivity fee after 2 years of inactivity. These fees however will be different for different legal entities.
Products offered :
IG allows clients to trade in CFDs, forex and options. The residents of the UK are also permitted to trade in real stock. However, other assets like mutual funds and bonds are not available here to invest. US clients can only trade in forex with IG. IG offers a good quantity of currency pairs, stock indices, stocks, ETFs, commodities, bonds, futures or cryptos. It has over 17000 assets, in which clients can trade.
IG gives access to trade in stock in very few countries that are:
UK, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Australia, and Some other countries, like Gibraltar, the British Virgin Islands, etc.
IG smart portfolio:
This service is available only for UK customers. It is basically robo advisory service whose main function is to manage low cost portfolio’s.
You can also subscribe to the IPO with IG. IPO is an initial public offering, which means this is the first time when a company offers its stocks to the market.
Deposit and Withdrawal :
IG doesn’t charge any deposit and withdrawal fees. It allows you to top up your account by various methods such as bank transfer, credit card funding as well as eWallet like paypal.
You can also withdraw the money in the same way as deposition. IG provides 6 types of base currencies i.e; USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, SGD, HKD. You have to choose your base currency at the beginning of account opening.
How to withdraw money from IG?
- Log in to your ‘My IG’ account.
- Select the account you wish to withdraw the money from.
- Click on the three dots menu on the right side.
- Go to ‘Withdraw Funds’.
- Select the withdrawal method you prefer.
- Enter the withdrawal amount.
- Initiate the withdrawal
Account Opening :
Account opening is seamlessly easy in IG. It is a fully digital process, but it takes upto 3 days to verify account information.
Minimum Deposit : The required IG minimum deposit is $0 for bank transfers and $300/€300/£250 for credit/debit cards and PayPal.
IG account types
| Countries | Products |
| All countries, except below | Forex, CFD |
| Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sweden | Forex, CFD, Options |
| UK, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Australia + some smaller countries, like Gibraltar, the British Virgin Islands, etc. | Stocks, forex, CFD |
| USA | Forex |
How to open an IG Account ?
- Enter your name, email address, country of residence and select your account type.
- Provide some personal details, like your date of birth and address.
- Answer a few questions about your financial and employment status.
- Verify your ID and residency. You can upload a national ID, passport or driver’s license for verifying your ID.
- Utility bills and bank statements are accepted for residency verification.
Trading Platform :
It provides user friendly trading platforms. IG has two types of trading platforms: Web-trading or Mobile trading. It does not provide a desktop trading platform. If someone wants to do desktop trading they have to use MetaTrader4, a third party platform.
Another alternative is ProRealTime. It is free to use if you make at least 4 transactions a month. If not, a £30 monthly fee will apply.
IG’s mobile application is also easy to use and has great functionality and customizability.
Research and Education :
IG has good research tools. Its news feed and charting tools are amazing. They used to publish articles and blogs on a continuous basis. Brokers are available to help traders every time. They have good educational tools as well. The live webinars, video lectures and podcasts allow new learners to learn the fundamentals of the market. The video tutorials provide in depth and detailed knowledge of every topic related to the market.
Is IG regulated?
Yes! It is regulated by top tier institutes and here is the list of regulators:
- UK – Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
- Germany – Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
- Switzerland – Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)
- US – Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA)
- Australia – Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)
- New Zealand – Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
- Singapore – Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
- Japan – Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA)
- South Africa – Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
- UAE – Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
- International – Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA)
Is IG safe?
Here is the list of investor protection amounts and the regulators. Your protection depends on the entity you belong to.
IG legal entities
| Client | Protection amount | Regulator | Legal entity |
| UK | £85,000 | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | IG Markets Ltd IG Index Ltd |
| Europe, excluding UK and Switzerland | €20,000 | Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) | IG Europe GmbH |
| Australia | No protection | Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) | IG Markets Ltd, Australia |
| Singapore | No protection | Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) | IG Asia Pte Ltd |
| South Africa | No protection | Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) | IG Markets South Africa Limited |
| Switzerland | CHF 100,000 | Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) | IG Bank S.A. |
| Japan | No protection | Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA) | IG Securities Ltd |
| USA | No protection | Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) National Futures Association (NFA) | IG US LLC |
| New Zealand | No protection | Financial Markets Authority (FMA) | IG Markets Ltd, Australia |
Customer Support :
Customers have access to support 24/5 vai mail, phone call or live chat.
| Pros | Cons |
| First-class web trading platform | High forex and stock CFD fees |
| Superb educational tools | Limited product portfolio |
| No min deposit for bank transfer | Slow account opening |
| Two step login | No 24/7 support |
| Listed on stock exchange | Does not hold a banking license |
Bottom Line :
IG has a good name for forex trading. It is regulated by top financial institutions. It has a good transaction history. The benefits it has is that it provides quality educational and research tools.
The drawback lies in limited product availability and customer support.
But overall it is a good experience to work on IG, as inactivity fee hit after two years one can definitely go and try this.
IG Review
Pros
- First-class web trading platform
- Superb educational tools
Cons
- Limited product portfolio
- No 24/7 support
