IG Review 2023

In 1974, IG was founded in the UK, and it is considered one of the largest CFD brokers around the world. IG has been regulated by several top-tier regulators globally, like the UK’s FCA (financial conduct authority) and Germans BaFin (federal financial supervisory authority). Moreover, the IG group has been listed on the London stock exchange, and it is considered one of the most popular platforms for trading with CFDs in Europe. Besides, this company expanded its operations recently in the United States, and it offers a wide choice of foreign exchange assets for users who are looking for FX trading. Given its popularity and ability to fulfill traders’ needs, we decided to conduct the IG review to find if it is the right fit for online trading. Let us understand the IG broker review in detail.

IG Overview

Official Website https://www.ig.com/
Headquarters UK
Found in 1974
Regulators ASIC, JFSA, MAS, FINMA, FCA, & CFTC
Products offered ETF, Forex, Options, CFD, Stocks in some countries, Robo-advisory in UK, IPOs
Minimum Initial Deposit $300
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) No
Trading fees Low
Inactivity fee $12 a month
Withdrawal fee £100
Supported currencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies
Customer Support Live Chat, Social Media, FAQ Section, and Email

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RISK WARNING: YOUR CAPITAL MIGHT BE AT RISK

IG Reviews - Overview

What is IG?

  • IG trading is a leader in European foreign exchange trading. After gaining a reputation as being one of the best UK forex brokers, this broker also offers users access to industry-standard platforms with margin and cost accounts. This will help the traders leverage their deposits to earn a much bigger profit when executing the trades.
  • This online broker offers its users a quick search feature, which allows them to look for a specific currency by a symbol or name. IG supports various order types that range from market orders to trailing stop orders. It also offers a wide choice of several charting tools and indicators for intermediate traders; the traders can place several annotations & indicators in a single chart.
  • IG broker has been awarded several awards, which include forex brokers annual review 2020, Investopedia online brokers award 2019, and it is ranked as one of the best overall forex brokers & ranked best in overall futures broker in several categories.
  • IG has around 313,000+ clients worldwide & 18,000+ markets.

Risk Warning – CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money because of leverage; 76% of the retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how this works, & you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

IG Review – Pros and Cons

Let us see a few pros and cons of this broker –

Pros

  • IG provides an easy-to-navigate website, and it is easy for the new traders for trading forex.
  • The platforms tablet and mobile versions offer the functionalities which are the same as its desktop version
  • IG’s margin rates can be easily understood, and all the traders can afford it
  • Traders can have access to more than 80 currency pairs

Cons

  • Currently, the traders of the US can trade only Forex.
  • Customer service needs to be improved.
  • One of the major drawbacks is, that there is no two-factor authentication on mobile versions.

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Features

Let us discuss a few Important features of IG –

  • IG comes with an array of several features, and the traders can use it at their convenience. It also offers several trading and research tools, which include risk management models that are directly integrated. The only requirement is you need to take around 20 minutes to set up the layout, and the user can save the custom layouts for easy access.
  • By accessing the IG website, the trader can find information on the IG Twitter feed, news, market signals, webinars, and IG economic calendar. Besides, IG also owns a free online forex news website called DailyFX, offered to the traders. They can access the sites and find webinars, educational resources, and articles to learn more about trading in Forex.
  • As per our IG reviews, we can say that it provides an award-winning mobile application for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, and Android app for devices with an operating system of 5.0 and above. Trade management can be possible from the mobile app, which offers several drawing tools, technical indicators, an economic calendar, and charting tools. Traders can also set up signals and price alerts using SMS and create personalized watchlists.
  • IG’s mobile apps are loaded with drawing tools, technical indicators, and timeframes, and they can also select from five different chart types, which include tick charts. The trader can access the menu and can set up the charts very easily. One of the major drawbacks is that the chart indicators that are added on the web do not sync with the mobile automatically, even though they can be saved.
  • As per our IG review, the educational section of this broker is known as IG academy. This course is broken down as per the broker’s experience, such as beginner, intermediate, and advanced level topics. Moreover, there are a total of eight courses, and the first course starts with an introduction to the financial markets. Some of the other topics include fundamental analysis, understanding risks, trading psychology, and several more.

Is IG Regulated?

  • Top financial authorities regulate IG across the globe, and some of them include –
  • BaFin and Deutsche Bundesbank in the EU
  • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US
  • The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) in Australia
  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK
  • Moreover, the UK traders will be protected up to 85,000 Euros through FSCS, a deposit compensation scheme, even though it did not provide additional insurance.
  • IG provides outside the US, CFDs (contract for difference) trading. These are more popular in Europe and international locations, allowing the traders to bet on the price of an asset even though they need not own it. CFDs allow trading with a high level of leverage in most cases.

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Advantages of Using IG

Let us see a few advantages of IG –

  • IG is the best broker for any user who wants to trade CFDs globally. In the United States, we can use this platform to trade Forex and Shares. It offers low spread costs, great customer service and educational tools, and a functional user interface that makes IG an established broker in the online trading market. Also, it is holding a good position in other countries as well.
  • This broker offers a wide range of assets for cryptocurrency markets, where the trader can trade by using CFDs. This removes the need for traders for setting up special wallets or accounts at a cryptocurrency exchange. It offers various unique features, and cryptocurrency instruments, which implies that it can be speculated just like any other financial asset.
  • This broker offers two-factor authentication for enhanced security. Besides, traders can enable alert notifications for price movements on their desktop. It also offers a wide range of platform tools, workspace tools, and cutting tools. This broker tops the charts for easy usability.

Risk Warning – CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money because of leverage; 76% of the retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how this works, and you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Costs and fees

  • IG does not ask for any specific trade fees or commission with Forex accounts; rather, fees are built into the buy and sell price, which is already listed on the exchange. The average spread for some of the major Forex pairs starts from 0.9 to 1.3. Further minor pairs start from 3.3 to 4.3 in several cases.
  • IG charges additional fees when a position is open overnight and when the account is inactive for over some time. If the trader does not trade for more than 2 years, their accounts are charged $12 a month.
  • IG also charges fees for deposits that are not made in US dollars and for international deposits. Moreover, if the trader withdraws through a wire transfer, they are charged $15 fees, and the regular traders can be qualified for volume-based rebates. This broker does not offer an Islamic account for US traders.

IG Review – Non-trading Fees

One of IG’s most advantageous features is that it does not charge a commission on deposit or withdrawal fees, but it charges an inactivity fee of $12 a month, but this is charged after two years of inactivity. Further, fees or commission will vary depending upon the location where the trader resides.

Fees & Spreads

IG market spreads are competitive, starting from 0.6 pips on some of the major Forex pairs like EUR/USD. It also charges other trading costs like overnight rollover charges. A trader should know that the details about rolling daily prices and its rules are subject to change and are available on the broker’s website. Besides, it also charges an inactivity fee for dormant accounts.

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Deposit fees

This broker does not charge deposit fees. The traders can deposit money through bank transfer, PayPal, credit card, or debit card.

If the trader uses a Bank card deposit, IG accepts,

  • Major prepaid cards
  • Credit cards – Discover, Visa, and MasterCard
  • Debit cards – Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, and Electron

Markets to Trade

IG provides its traders with a wide choice of more than 17,000 tradable financial assets. Some of them are explained below-

  • The traders can speculate on some of the world’s largest indices, which include Nasdaq, Dow Jones, and several more.
  • IG provides shares dealing with some of the world’s biggest organizations, like Netflix and Tesla.
  • IG offers more than 90 Forex pairs, which include minors, majors, and exotics to trade.
  • IG website offers to trade in CFDs, which are available in several markets.
  • In the commodity market, IG offers trading with shares, precious metals such as gold, silver, energies, etc.
  • This broker offers spread betting, which are tax-free derivatives, which permits the users to trade on commodities, Forex, share dealing, and several more.
  • IG offers cryptocurrency trading where the trader can trade with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies.
  • This broker offers digital options and a wide choice of binary equity options.
  • IG also provides share dealing, trading in bonds, futures, ETFs, and many more.

IG Review 2023 - Markets offered by IG

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Leverage

This broker offers competitive leverage in share dealing, forex, cryptocurrencies, and indices. It offers leverage of 1:30 for retail clients, which is available for Forex trading, while leverage on commodities and industries is 1:20, and for cryptocurrency, it is 1:2. Moreover, IG’s operations are very transparent regarding leverage trading. Moreover, the website of IG also offers a margin calculator.

Risk Warning- CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money because of leverage; 76% of the retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how this works, and you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Trading instruments

IG website offers major Forex pairs in six categories. Some of them are minor pairs, major pairs, Scandinavian, Australasian, Exotic, and some of the emerging market currencies currently. Most of the currencies are traded against the Euro, US dollar, and Great British pound, depending upon the trader’s choice.

Deposit

As per our IG review, we can say that making deposits through this platform is very easy, and the users can deposit their funds through bank wire transfers, Paypal, credit cards, Visa, debit, and MasterCard. Credit card payments are immediately processed, but bank wire transfers will be processed within 3 days. The trader should note that the minimum deposit required for IG is £250 and the maximum deposit for a day is £20,000.

This platform requires a minimum deposit, which depends upon the currency and country, if the user pays by credit card, Paypal, or debit card. If the trader is from the UK and they would like to fund their account, it requires a minimum deposit of 250 euros, and the withdrawal and deposit fees are completely free. If the US traders are funding through the card, they might need a minimum deposit of $250. Withdrawal and deposit fees or commission vary depending on the trader’s country of residence, but it is free for the US and UK clients, aside from withdrawal by wire fees in the United States, which is $25.

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Withdrawal

This broker offers withdrawal options that can be made through Bank transfers, credit cards, and PayPal. For withdrawing an amount, it can take 2 to 5 working days. Besides, withdrawals using Paypal are usually immediate, but the bank transfers are processed on the same day; but it might take up to 3 working days depending upon the processing details of the bank. The minimum withdrawal is £100.

Account opening process

Opening an account with IG is very simple and easy. This broker asks the trader’s current income, trading experience, share dealing experience, and savings and asks questions regarding foreign exchange to ensure they are on the right track to trade with IG.

Given below are the few steps for the account opening process –

  • The first step is the trader needs to enter their name, country of residence, email address, and they should select the account type.
  • The next step is they should provide some of the personal details like address and date of birth.
  • The third step is they need to answer questions regarding the financial status of their employment.
  • The next step is the trader needs to provide information about their financial knowledge, and they need to take a short test.
  • The last step would be to verify their ID and residency. For this, the trader can upload their passport or driver’s license or national ID for verifying. Further, for residency verification, utility bills and bank statements are accepted.

IG reviews 2023 - Opening a new account

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Benefits

Let us discuss some of the benefits offered by IG –

  • IG offers a wide range of trading tools, and the traders can access exhaustive information like market news, data and analysis tools, a wide range of charts, and several more. The traders can have access to more than 100 technical indicators on this platform.
  • It offers more than 17,000 assets for the traders to choose from, which makes it a great brokerage for intraday, new, or seasoned traders.
  • IG offers a mobile app that is best as per industry standard, and it offers several features and functionalities, which are the same as desktop platforms. It comes with a wide range of features that can be used by both new and advanced traders.

Why should you choose IG trading Over Other platforms?

Given below are few pointers regarding why you should choose IG over other trading platforms –

  • IG trading is a very intuitive platform for both mobile and desktop users by offering a simple and easy to use interface. By providing several powerful tools and a wide choice of technical indicators for the traders to choose from.
  • IG offers a mobile app that is very simple to use, and it offers several features and functionalities for the traders that are streamlined in one powerful platform.
  • It offers a tablet interface for Android and IOS platforms, which are considered a unique feature offered by the platform compared to its rivals.

Risk Warning- CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money because of leverage; 76% of the retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how this works, and you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

IG review 2023 - Awards

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Types of Trading platform

The traders of the IG platform can choose from various types of platforms. When trading with IG, it offers faster and smarter ways to trade irrespective of the traders’ level of expertise. Below given are the few trading platforms that are offered by this broker –

IG’s Web trading platform

This trading platform is available for all the traders online who are looking for CFD trading. They can manage their account, make payments, register the cards, deposit or withdraw their funds, and several more. It also offers browser-based research tools like economic calendar, best forex signals, and streaming news.

Progressive Web App

As per our IG review, this platform has launched a progressive web app (PWA), which provides the global traders a seamless trading platform that can be used on any device, and the trader need not visit a third-party app store to download this. The progressive web app is optimized to help traders receive some of the most important trading updates quickly and without much effort by avoiding delays.

iOS and Android apps

IG mobile and tablet trading platform has been enhanced for android and iPhone users. Further, it is suitable for CFD trading, and the traders can have access to do research and monitor tools on the web-based platform. By using the platform, the trader can view the mobile charts anytime.

MetaTrader 4

The website offers MetaTrader 4, one of the most popular third-party platforms, which can be used for CFD trading, automated trading tools, and advanced analysis. Moreover, the trader can choose between several app add-ons and download them for free to trade in Forex, shares, precious metals, indices, and several more.

ProRealTime

ProRealTime offers flexible access, advanced analysis resources, and powerful monitoring tools, one of the leading advanced charting packages used on the web. This ProRealTime package is very useful for technical chart users, and it is offered for free if the trader trades CFDs at least four times a month.

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L2 Dealer

offered byIG is a downloadable free platform, and it provides direct market access to trade forex, shares, and CFDs. They are supported by monitoring tools like price alerts, orders, and watch lists. The traders can start trading with the technical charts’ help and monitor the price movements at their fingertips.

Mobile App

IG continues to be one of the popular and leading online brokers by offering a simple and effective trading platform, and it also offers a mobile app. This app is very easy to use, and it can be learned easily; it mirrors the desktop platform and its compatibilities. IG mobile app does not have any two-factor authentication or does not provide touch ID to enhance security, which is a major drawback. The mobile app is very useful for both new and experienced traders.

Types of orders

IG platform offers several order types which include –

  • Market order
  • Limit order
  • Guaranteed Stop-loss order
  • Guaranteed stop order
  • Trailing stop order

Aside from this, the traders can avail of GTC (Goods Till Cancelled) and GTD (Goods till date) options.

This platform offers Alerts and notifications to help the traders to be on top of the trading market. The traders can alert the notification by going to the setting options and then clicking on the communication preference, which is very easy. Such alert features are included in other best forex brokers in the market as well.

Risk management Tools

IG platform offers risk management tools that vary with the different entities. The United Kingdom and European traders are offered negative balance protection, which is the default. Besides, all the traders have a choice of guaranteed stop loss.

Training

IG markets provide training for its users, which includes a free in-person seminar, which is held through live webinars. It also offers an IG Academy app that is completely free for the users to access information on the I G index, Forex, shares, commodities, and how they can capitalize on an increase and decrease in the financial markets. The mobile trading app also helps the traders develop a trading strategy and offers ways to manage risk, and it also explains leverage.

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IG Broker Review – Educational Resources

IG offers its account holders various educational resources and helps them learn about Forex and shares trading. Below given are the educational resources that are offered by the IG platform –

  • IG offers IG academy, which is an online Forex trading course. This IG academy offers several unique courses, starting with introducing the financial markets for new traders and moving to advanced risk management strategies for experienced traders.
  • IG trade provides live webinars with complete educational courses, data, tools, and live webinars available for the traders at all skill levels. It is free to all the account holders. Some of the webinar topics include MACD trade strategies, trading masterclass, and how to use the IG trading platform most effectively, and several more.
  • IG offers a native news feed, which includes several articles on current happenings related to trade charts and technical indicators.
  • As per our IG review, we can say that all educational materials are offered for free for its traders. The only requirement is that traders log into their account to access these resources to enhance their knowledge.
  • By offering several playlists and archived content on YouTube channels, IG provides several webinars a week. The staff of IG covers several live educational topics like technical analysis masterclass and several more. It also offers webinars which are organized for traders who are experienced at all levels, by offering them several advanced ideas about trades.
  • This broker provides IG community, which offers content curated by IG and includes educational articles. Some of them include users sharing their trading views about their personal experience of their failures and success.

IG Forex Review – Charting and Tools

  • IG’s own proprietary web-based trading platform is very easy to use. It also offers Meta trader 4, an international platform for Forex and shares trading. IG also offers a mobile trading app that helps the trader to use advanced charting techniques. Besides, it is available for smartphones, web, and tablets. Metatrader 4 requires a desktop application to download.
  • IG offers several web pages that can be dragged and dropped windows having an option to customize as per the convenience of the trader. Some of the options include charts, tables, news, and they can save various workspaces.
  • Some of the tools offered by the IG are very user-friendly; it caters to professional level traders as well as new traders by offering basic web trading platforms irrespective of the trader’s background. Some of the tools like PIA first and autochartist are of great value to the trading experience.
  • Autochartist can be explained as an advanced charting tool that automatically identifies specific patterns, trading opportunities, and is also a technical analysis research tool.
  • The traders can quickly access the economic calendar and the market news which are given in the trading sidebar. Further, the supported currencies on the platform can be accessed with just one click.
  • The trader can customize the charts by using several indicators and drawing tools by accessing the chart. The trader can buy or sell with the click of a button in the trading window even though they need not close the chart.
  • The trader can choose a dark mode or a white background that can be used on several applications and websites. This is very useful for traders who trade for several hours, which helps them to alleviate eye strain. Both modes allow traders to access the website without much effort easily.

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IG Review – Customer Service

IG broker’s customer service is available via a toll-free phone number starting from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Saturday to Friday. The traders can contact the customer support through live chat, social media, email, and it also offers a FAQ section where the trader can get answers for their questions. It also offers online customer support, which is available in various languages for its clients all around the world. Moreover, this broker runs satellite offices to support some of the licensed operations in various regions and will spread out more.

Wrap up of IG Forex Review

To conclude, we can say that IG is a highly competitive Forex trading platform for traders who want to trade Forex and shares globally. It is a regulated and transparent broker where the new, intermediate, and advanced traders can understand the trading platform before proceeding with the live trading. Some of the features like offering a demo account, dedicated customer service, and various educational tools offered by the broker are worth mentioning. This broker offers various types of platforms for all types of traders who have an account with IG. Besides, the trader should exercise caution, research, and analyze the market before proceeding with Forex trading.

FAQs

Is IG a good broker?

IG is one of the leading and regulated brokers registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and it is a member of the National Futures Association. It has won several awards in various categories for the services rendered to its clients.

How much does IG charge per trade?

As per our IG reviews, opening an account with IG is completely free, and their charges are competitive. Spreads start from 0.4 pips on major forex pairs, like EUR/USD, 0.8 pips on major ig index, and 0.1 pips on spot gold.

What type of broker is IG?

IG markets is one of the most popular and leading online broker; it offers extensive trading instruments with an array of trading tools, low trading fees, intuitive platforms, a wide range of shares, and dedicated customer service.

What is the minimum deposit for IG?

The traders can deposit a minimum amount of $300 or equivalent in various currencies if they are funded by a card. Moreover, the amount will be displayed on the payment screen after the payment is processed.

Is IG Forex a market maker?

Yes, the market maker model is the primary execution model. Direct market access (DMA) is available for select assets.

Risk Warning –

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money because of leverage; 76% of the retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how this works, and you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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