IG pros & cons
thumb_up_off_alt Pros
- Founded in 1974, IG is publicly traded (LON: IGG) and regulated in six tier-1 jurisdictions, making it a safe broker (low-risk) for forex and CFDs trading.
- IG ranks as the most trusted broker for forex and CFDs in our 2022 Review.
- IG is the ultimate forex broker, finishing 1st Overall in our 2022 ranking.
- Alongside finishing second for Platforms and Tools and first for Research, IG finished Best in Class (top 7) for Offering of Investments (with over 19,000 tradeable instruments), Commissions and Fees, Education, Mobile Trading and Professional Trading.
- IG’s acquisition of tastytrade for $1 billion introduced options trading and listed-derivatives (i.e. futures) trading to U.S. clients.
- In addition to IG Smart Portfolios and share-dealing, IG offers listed derivatives including options and futures trading in the U.S. and Europe, alongside its forex and CFD trading (and Spread Betting for U.K. clients).
thumb_down_off_alt Cons
- Though IG’s industry-leading web platform is fantastic, its lack of predefined layouts means that some manual configuration is necessary.
- Between premium MT4 add-ons from FX Blue, and Autochartist integration, IG’s MetaTrader offering still only offers 76 tradeable instruments.
Overall Summary
| Feature |  |
| Overall Rating | starstarstarstarstar |
| Trust Score | 99 |
| Offering of Investments | starstarstarstarstar |
| Commissions & Fees | starstarstarstarstar |
| Platform & Tools | starstarstarstarstar |
| Research | starstarstarstarstar |
| Mobile Trading | starstarstarstarstar |
| Education | starstarstarstarstar |
Is IG safe?
Trust Score99
IG is considered low-risk, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. IG is publicly traded, does operate a regulated bank, and is authorised by seven tier-1 regulators (high trust), two tier-2 regulators (average trust), and one tier-3 regulator (low trust). IG is authorised by the following tier-1 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), Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - New Zealand, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Learn more about Trust Score.
| Feature | |
| Year Founded | 1974 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes |
| Bank | Yes |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 1 |
Offering of investments
The range of markets available to you may vary depending on which of IG’s regulatory entities holds your account. Residents of the U.K., New Zealand, Japan, and the U.S. must choose their respective local IG entity.
Alongside nearly 20,000 CFDs, IG offers exchange-traded securities (non-CFDs) for residents of the U.K. (see our IG U.K. share dealing review), Germany, and Australia to access international stock exchanges. In addition to forex options, IG offers exchange-traded Turbo warrants as part of Spectrum, its Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) in Europe, and listed derivatives in the U.S. via tastytrade. IG Bank in Switzerland is also an option for eligible clients.
Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency trading is available at IG through CFDs, but not available through trading the underlying asset (e.g., buying Bitcoin). IG does not offer crypto derivatives in the U.K. to retail traders.
The following table summarizes the different investment products available to IG clients.
| Feature | |
| Forex Trading | Yes |
| Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 100 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFD) | Yes |
Commissions and fees
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 79% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.IG’s size allows it to provide scalable execution across the board – regardless of the product being traded. While IG can’t be considered a discount broker, it shines for the active trader pricing available through its Forex Direct accounts, and its ability to execute large orders. Spreads on its main account offering are closer to the industry average in 2021, with spreads averaging 0.828 the majority of the time (23 hours a day) during September 2021.
CFD account average spreads: For both mini and standard-size contracts, typical spreads during the main trading session (22 hours each day from 0000 – 2200 GMT) averaged 0.768 pips for the month of September 2021 – which is slightly better than the industry average. It is worth noting that – just like with most forex brokers – IG’s spreads during low-liquid times can be higher than normal, averaging 0.994 pips when including the remaining hours in the trading day (2100 to 0000 GMT) during the same timeframe as the above September 2021 data.
CFD account active trader rebates: For volume traders who qualify as professionals under EU rules, IG offers pricing discounts via its three-tier active-trader rebate program. In tier one, you can earn a 10% spread rebate if you transact over £50 million worth of forex volume per month. Meanwhile, if you trade over £300 million per month, the rebate jumps to as much as 20%. To put this into a different context, 20% off of 0.76 pips is 0.17 pips, which would result in an all-in cost of just 0.60 pips – a very competitive spread.
DMA account (Forex Direct): For the savviest traders seeking more significant discounts than what is offered in the CFD account, the DMA account is an even better option than the active trader rebates on IG's spread-only pricing. This commission-based offering, Forex Direct, is available via the DMA account and provides traders access to the L2 Dealer platform. The DMA account requires just a £1,000 minimum and uses a tiered pricing scale based on the trader's previous month's trading volume.
DMA account average spreads: With average spreads of 0.165 on the EUR/USD for the 12 weeks ending March 19th, 2019, the all-in spread is 1.3 pips using the base tier of $60 per million for traders that do less than $100 million per month. Traders that do over 1.5 yards (one yard = $1 billion in volume) see their per-side commission drop to $10 per million ($20 round-turn), resulting in an effective spread of 0.365 pips – using the 2019 data.
Execution method: Forex Direct streams from interbank liquidity providers where IG acts as an agency broker. IG doesn't add on any additional spread, instead adding a commission to each trade you make (similar
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