Founded back in 1974, IG Group (IG) is part of a publicly listed enterprise, the conglomerate IG Group Holdings PLC. It has almost 200,000 clients worldwide, relatively low fees, an extensive product catalog, and long-running business operations. At present, it holds the title of the best CFD provider in the world.
Is IG Right for You?
Everyone who wants to trade CFDs around the world will find them a good fit. The broker’s motto is “go big or go home,” a promise they can definitely deliver on. Functional user interface, low spread costs, actionable research, and emphases on education and customer service make the broker well-adjusted to compete on the international finance market.
Fees
IG has low fees, commissions, and spreads. If you’re trading CFDs, a commission fee is charged. It’s distributed to both sides of the spread. IG’s UK branch charges a premium fee if you want to activate the stop loss feature. It is applied upon triggering the respective order.
0.8 pips is the minimum spread for all the main currency pairs on IG’s US platform. The average spread varies. It can reach as much as 5.4 for pairs like the British pound and the Canadian dollar, but can be as little as 0.9 for others, like EUR/USD and USD/JPY.
If you’re trading in a currency that’s different from the base one of your account with the broker, you will have to pay swap fees on all positions held overnight. In addition, there might be a currency exchange fee. This is actually standard for the FX industry. If you haven’t traded for 24 months, you’ll be charged an inactivity fee of $12 per month. You can expect to pay $15 in bank wire fees if you withdraw funds via bank transfer.
Trading with IG
IG offers a number of different API interfaces and platform choices globally, beginning with an intuitive, customizable, proprietary offering. The web-based trading platform is easy to access and stable. The broker recommends using Chrome for the best results. It is simple and straightforward albeit lacking the extras of some competitor interfaces. They put a focus on quality over quantity.
Types of Orders
There are three basic order types: market, stop, and limit. You can add stop loss and take profit. The web-based platform does not offer guaranteed stop loss or trailing stop loss.
You execute a market order if you want your request to be executed at the current market rate. Stop orders are where your entry is fixed at a preset level below or above the current rate depending on whether it’s sell or buy. You can also choose when the order expires. Limit is similar to stop.
IG’s Web Platform
IG’s proprietary mobile apps run on tablet, iOS, and Android. Technical charts, price alerts, and customized watchlists are among the basic features. There is a more than adequate indicator list. However, it’s not easily accessible, because it’s missing from the menu. No conditional orders are available in the menu either. However, the apps have Face & Touch ID security, which makes up for the lack of customization. They are more advanced than MetaTrader 4, which is still an industry standard.
Offerings
IG gives traders access to more than 17,000 markets. You’ll never have issues finding something to trade. Options and futures on many instruments are possible and available. IG (U.K.) offers the following:
- Indices
- Forex
- Shares
- Cryptocurrencies
- Commodities
- Bonds
- Options
- Interest rates
- ETFs
- Industry sectors
The product line of the U.S. platform is more limited. It offers spot trading of under 100 forex pairs, distributed among the following categories:
- Emerging Markets
- Scandinavian
- Australasian
- Exotic
- Majors
- Minors
Portfolio
Before you execute a trade, you’ll see notional trade size, pip value, stop loss, margin requirements, and take profit amounts. You select the trade size, denominated in standard lots. Generally, these are about 100,000 of the base currency. On the UK platform, you can choose between EUR, GBP, JPY, and USD. On the US one, the USD is the default currency.
You can see transaction activity, balances, and profit/loss details as well as other basic information about client activity in real time on the broker’s “My IG” page.
Security and Safety
IG takes measures to make sure individual and corporate funds aren’t mixed. While it’s highly unlikely that IG will ever become insolvent, this makes sure assets are protected by holding them with regulated banks in segregated accounts. IG’s US branch is an NFA member and a registered retail foreign exchange dealer with the CFTC.
The FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) offers customers of the broker further asset protection. More specifically, it is up to the amount of GBP 85,000. The US branch does not offer SIPC insurance, FDIC insurance, or negative balance protection.
On the plus side, their software security is on par with the highest standards in the industry. Inactive users are logged out of the mobile and web-based apps automatically. There is also biometric and two-factor authentication. Clients will find the counterparty dealing desk very helpful, especially if they have big accounts and want to use a dedicated platform to trade with the interbank system directly.
More on Dealing Desks
Without dealing desks, revenue and profit would diminish. They make sure the broker’s platform functions optimally. You need the option to manage your trades manually if there is a technical issue with the online interface. In the brokerage industry, an unfair stigma is attached to dealing desks. This comes from the fact that novice traders become convinced their mediocre results are due to the broker’s desk not trading in their favor. While this has indeed happened on occasion, it does so very rarely.
Final Thoughts
IG offers clients around the world access to numerous asset classes and a vast range of offerings. These classes include shares, bonds, options, forex, indices, interest rates, commodities, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and industry sectors. They also offer high quality educational tools, superior to those of many of their competitors. They provide users with useful and timely research. We definitely recommend trading with them.
