IG

IG Markets is an online broker especially known for forex and CFD trading. This broker claims to be one of the best CFD and forex brokers. The broker is operated by IG International Limited, which is a part of IG Group. The company is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA).

IG broker UK is also regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and it is a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). IG also claims that its spreads are around 25% lower than the rest of its competitors.

Lower spreads mean traders can book higher profits in spread betting. One of the best online brokers with a quick account opening process and easy access to the financial markets. It works on MetaTrader 4 trading platform that is user friendly.

IG Markets was founded in 1974, it offers several currency pairs and live streaming of the exchange rates. There are two types of IG accounts: live and demo accounts.

Is IG Scam or Safe Online Broker?

The broker is a publicly traded broker that is listed on the London Stock Exchange. IG Markets Ltd is one of the good online brokers for new as well as professional traders. It offers trading CFDs and various forex pairs in the leading financial markets. The trading platform is protected and encrypted.

It ensures protection with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and firewalls to protect the data of users. Therefore, traders can consider this as a safe online broker as compared to other brokers.

Account Types

This CFD and forex broker is offering two types of trading accounts that are as follows:

Demo Account

To learn forex trading, spread betting, use of the trading platform and understand the high risk of losing money when trading CFDs or forex. Beginner traders can learn the fundamentals of trading. The broker offers $10,000 virtual funds with a demo account.

This helps traders to trade in the financial markets and get a live trading experience. However, they do not get to trade in real situations. The situations in which they trade are designed like the real one for market exposure.

Live Account

A live account is for advanced traders. With a live trading account, traders can trade in more than 17,000 financial markets. Traders can trade stocks, forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, indices, CFDs and more. It is an easy process to open your account and the minimum deposit is $250 for an account.

Account Opening

To begin with online trading in global financial markets traders need a trading account. The process to open retail investor accounts is as follows:

• Open the web portal or the mobile app of the broker to start the process of opening a trading account.
• Click on the “Open Account” button so that you can proceed with the procedure of account opening.
• Fill in all the personal information in the form displayed on your screen, like your name, email address, contact number, and others.
• Upload your documents for verification of residential address, identity, income, and other required documents.
• Add a payment method with your account and also some funds so that you can start trading in the global markets.

Trading Asset Classes

A wide range of trading assets and markets are available for traders to trade. The different types of assets are as follows:

Forex Trading

More than 80 forex pairs are available for trading in the open markets. Traders can select the pairs that are having the highest potential in the whole market.

Stock Trading

All the stocks of the leading stock exchanges are available with the broker. Traders can make a better portfolio and earn higher returns on their investments.

Commodity Trading

A wide range of commodities from all over the world is accessible to traders. You can make huge profits with the help of those commodities.

Cryptocurrency Trading

Some of the top cryptocurrencies are available for traders to make an investment in or to trade with the help of CFDs.

Indices Trading

All the leading indices across the world are tradable with this broker. Trading in those indices traders can make huge profits.

CFD Trading

IG offers various different types of CFD instruments that are also available for all traders. But there is a high risk of losing money rapidly in CFD trading.

IG Trading Platform

IG Markets is offering different types of trading platforms so that you can trade with your choices. Its platforms include web platform, desktop platform, and mobile trading. This is to improve your online trading experience. Traders can start forex trading or trade with other financial assets.

Web Trading Platform

Traders get MetaTrader 4, WebTrader for trading through a web browser. You do not need to download anything, rather you can trade with the help of your favourite web browser. There are many features in this web trading platform such as price alerts, live charts streaming, access to various financial markets, and more.

Desktop Platform

The desktop trading platform is slightly different as compared to the web trading platform. Traders can enjoy this platform in Windows and Mac operating software. This platform is good for easy access to the markets, live streaming, placing multiple order types, and much more can be done from it. A reliable platform for forex and CFDs trading.

Mobile Trading Platform

IG offers a mobile trading platform that allows you to trade on the go. This platform is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Traders can download it free of cost and enjoy trading in the leading markets. Some of the features are live streaming, multi-timeframe charts, and others. There are various types of technical trading tools to support your studies and trades.

Deposit and Withdrawal

One of the most important things is to deposit and withdraw money. Traders have all the popular options for making a deposit and withdrawing their money from the trading account. The leading options cover bank transfer, debit and credit cards, eWallets and others.

IG broker minimum deposit is $250. A trader can choose the option that is the most suitable according to his requirement. The deposits and withdrawals are instant instead of some technical faults. In some rare cases, it can consume time, otherwise, they are really quick.

Commissions and Trading Fees

Commissions and trading fees are not payable with a demo account. However, if you are having a live IG account for trading then you need to pay the trading fees. This broker is not like other brokers who charge commission on trades. Traders can enjoy zero commission trading with IG Markets.

IG broker fees include various types of charges and trading fees that are:

• Spreads – The spreads are payable for trading with currency pairs. The difference between the bid and the ask price is paid as spread charges.
• Inactivity Fee – Traders are charged with an inactivity fee of $12 or an equivalent amount in their currency. However, the charges start if you remain inactive for two years or more.
• Transaction Fee – This fee is associated with withdrawals made by a client. Every withdrawal via wire transfer is subject to a fee of $15 or an equivalent amount in your currency.

Trading Leverage

Traders get 1:50 trading leverage from IG Markets and this is the maximum IG broker leverage. However, the use of leverage requires proper market studies and understanding. This is because retail investor accounts lose money when trading forex with leverage. 

While traders trade forex with the use of leverage they start losing money rapidly. This happens due to a lack of trading knowledge. You have to learn the use of leverage in a proper way. IG offers IG Academy is offering proper education for trading.

It is true that the use of leverage can increase your profits but this type of trading involves risk. It is not an ordinary risk, there is a high risk of losing and some traders also lose their trading capital due to this. Use IG broker max leverage in affordable limits.

Customer Service

No IG fees to access the customer support team. The broker is offering reliable support during the whole trading week 24 hours. Traders can access the support team with the help of a web platform or any other trading platform.

The contact details of IG Markets Ltd are as follows:

• Phone – 1312981498
• Email – [email protected]
• Live Chat – Can be accessed from any trading platform

This type of support is very helpful when any trader is facing trouble with any of the platforms. The support team can resolve their issues as soon as possible. Trades can rely on them for on-time solutions to their queries. However, weekend support is not available for traders.

Market Analysis & Research Tools

IG offers several types of research tools for traders. These tools help them to make a better trading decision and earn higher profits from the market. The research tools include:

• Market news
• IG Twitter feed
• Market trading signals
• IG economic calendar
• Daily forex news

Traders can use these available tools to enhance their ability to make profits. The tools are on the higher number as compared to other brokers. Traders can enjoy this benefit without any extra cost.

Education Resources

IG offers a wide range of educational material for its clients or traders. These resources can help you with learning fundamental or technical analysis. The collection of resources include:

• Webinars
• Articles
• Videos
• eBooks

Apart from this, there is a huge collection of educational material for each trader. They can access them free of cost to earn profits as well as enhancing their skills. IG Academy is full of these types of resources that are offering free education to each trader.

Pros and Cons: IG 

Each thing has some advantages and disadvantages and so does the broker also. The pros of the broker are listed below:

• Zero Commission trading in different markets across the globe
• User-friendly platform for trading through the web, desktop, and mobile
• A wide collection of tools for market analysis and educational material
• 24/5 dedicated customer support is offered to every trader
• Quick account opening process for traders
• Traders get access to a free demo account to learn to trade
• A huge collection of trading instruments to every trader

On the other hand, the cons of the broker are as follows:

• Low leverage for trading because other brokers is offering very high leverage
• Only one type of live trading account is not enough for each class of traders
• The broker also charges an inactivity fee that is sometimes not acceptable
• CFDs trading, which is harmful to many of the traders

These are the benefits and negative points of the broker. A trader can choose wisely whether this broker fulfils their requirements or not.

The Bottom Line

IG offers trading in different trading assets and markets all over the world. Betting trading, forex trading, CFDs trading, and many others are available with the broker. Traders also get different platforms such as mobile, desktop or web platforms. It offers many types of trading tools and direct market access to each investor using a live trading account. Traders who are searching for a broker can consider this broker.

FAQs

How do retail investor accounts lose money?

IG offers CFD trading and retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs. There is a high risk of losing money when trading spread bets or CFDs. It is a piece of investment advice to all the traders to use these trading assets after proper education and experience.

You can get proper education as this broker is not like other forex brokers. It provides proper educational resources and trading signals to increase your profitability. Get timely price alerts so that you do not lose your trading capital.

Is IG trading legit or a scam?

IG markets are regulated by various types of regulatory bodies, authorities, and commissions. This is to ensure the protection of your data and funds. The regulations include:

• The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
• The Financial Markets Authority (FMA)
• UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Japanese Financial Services Authority
• Dubai Financial Services Authority
• Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)
• Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)

These all are the regulations on IG Markets, which also makes this broker a reliable choice for most of the traders. 

Do traders get direct market access?

Traders get live access to the global markets for trading spread bets and trading with other financial assets. All the trading platforms give direct access to the markets so that traders can fetch the best trades. This is necessary to earn higher profits from the market.