Коментар IG

Обща Класация

4.3

Fast Facts
  • Account Minimum: $0
  • Такси: Минимум 0.6 pips for EUR/USD
  • Best за: Forex Trading

Разкриване на

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Professional clients can lose more than they deposit. All trading involves risk.

IG Group was founded in 1974 and is currently ranked as the world's top CFD provider. Their extensive product catalog and competitive fees aren't surprising, given longstanding business operations and an excellent industry reputation. IG recently entered the U.S. market and will be competing with two other major players that are already solidly entrenched in the U.S.

IG currently ranks in the following category:

A well­ organized and easy-­to-­navigate website contains fully­ disclosed services and fees, unlike competitors who often hide the bad stuff in fine print. The broker is working hard to upgrade qualified retail clients to a professional designation that allows higher leverage and direct market access (ДМА) to the forex interbank system.

Плюсове

  • Industry standard MetaTrader 4 (Windows and Mac)

  • Guaranteed stop losses

  • Thousands of markets

  • High-end platforms

Минуси

  • May incur exchange and subscription fees

  • Dormant account fees

  • Retail clients can't trade forex on interbank

  • No copy/social trading platform

Trust

4.5

The broker is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (ЗДК) in the U.K. and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Поимейте) in Australia. U.K. traders have broker default protection up to GBP 50,000 through Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) but no additional insurance coverage is provided. Site encryption is average.

Client funds are segregated from company funds, reducing the potential for misuse, but the fine print says they can hold funds outside local jurisdictions, increasing risk in case of a bank default. They operate a counterparty dealing desk, raising conflict of interest issues, but higher-end clients can trade directly with the interbank system through a dedicated platform. They provide guaranteed stop-losses for an additional fee while negative balance protection is now mandated under ESMA rules.

Desktop Experience

5

IG offers an excellent variety of platform choices and API interfaces, starting with the industry standard MetaTrader 4. No MetaTrader 5 is available but clients can upgrade to the ProRealTime advanced charting platform for free as long as they meet modest monthly trading activity requirements. The web-­based IG Trading platform features basic risk management tools, including price alerts and stop-losses. It also streams Reuters news and ProRealTime charts, including the ability to split charts into multiple time frames.

Higher-end clients can attach their own software or a Bloomberg terminal through a well­-developed API interface. They can also trade CFD shares and forex through L2 Dealer, which provides direct market access (ДМА) that bypasses IG's dealing desk. Forex Direct service on that platform requires that clients have professional designation under ESMA rules. There's no additional charge for this service other than exchange fees.

Mobile Experience

4.2

IG provides home­grown mobile apps for iOS and Android that can also be loaded on tablets. Basic features include customized watchlists, price alerts, and technical charting. The indicator list is comprehensive but omitted from the menu structure, reducing accessibility. The Trade menu lacks sophisticated conditional orders but clients can place trailing and guaranteed stop-losses. A useful signals "menu" features third-party buy and sell signals. All apps lack customization but they offer Face ID and Touch ID security and are more advanced than the industry ­standard MT 4 мобилен.

Research Tools and Insights

5

IG operates the DailyFX.com website, providing comprehensive news, research, and an educational portal with in-house analysts and hundreds of market topics that include intermediate technical and fundamental analysis. Real-­time news is produced in-house and covers major currency pairs. Multiple live webinars build trading skills, highlight key events, and identify news catalysts. A Trading Strategies section presents short-­term buy and sell signals, analyst picks, pivot points, and a host of technical data.

Образование

5

The DailyFX Forex University is impressive, with course-based materials covering a comprehensive variety of forex and technical topics. The IG site has its own educational resources through IG Academy, covering CFDs and spread betting in addition to forex trading. The material is broader in nature but equally useful, with segmentation between beginner, средно, and advanced topics. Clients can also access courses and articles through the handy IG Academy mobile app. It's odd that broker site integration with DailyFX.com is poor—except for the live seminar section, and it's possible that prospective clients won't realize this excellent resource exists.

Special Features

5

The IG Community site has active forums and numerous trade picks through forum entries and blog posts. @IGSquawk on Twitter contains over 18­ thousand tweets from IG dealers sharing news and client sentiment. There's no dedicated or third-party social platform, unlike many competitors, and the broker site contains no client positioning data for CFDs, Forex, or spread bets. Въпреки това, IG Client Sentiment at DailyFX.Com provides useful forex positioning data, updated in real­-time. It would be beneficial to clients if this information was integrated into the broker site.

Guaranteed stop-losses are available for most markets, lowering catastrophic risk, but the order requires a modest fee in addition to spreads and/or commissions. The broker also offers a variety of professional and institutional services, well above the industry average. Professionals will appreciate direct market access (ДМА) that bypasses the dealing desk while accounts at all levels can invest for the long term through IG Smart Portfolios, an account basket that includes savings and retirement programs as well as low­-fee ETFs.

Investment Products

4.1

IG has built a comprehensive catalog of shares, валутни двойки, индекси, and commodities. Fees for CFDs and spread bets are identical in most cases, but there are exceptions. Futures and options are available on many instruments and clients will never have a problem finding something to trade. Coverage includes exotic and minor currency pairs while many commodities can be traded through spot markets or futures contracts. Differences between CFDs and spread betting, including tax implications, are clearly documented.

£250 is the minimum account deposit. They offer an aggressive rebate program for large forex volume as well as volume discounts for U.K. share traders. Margin and overnight lending rates are competitive. Accounts get charged steep monthly fees after two years of inactivity. The broker offers no fixed spreads or trading account tiers through the main site, other than retail vs. professional designation, but IG Smart Portfolios and a dedicated institutional site round out an impressive account listing.

They now offer six cryptocurrencies, traded as spread bets or CFDs, but Bitcoin's high 40­-point spread could deter potential clients.

Commissions and Fees

3.8

Комисии, spreads, and fees are very competitive, with the EUR/USD average spread at 0.75 точки. They charge higher spreads on shares and indices during off-market hours and placing trades in those dead periods can be expensive. Например, the fee for a U.S. ­500 spread bet rises from 0.4 points during U.S. market hours to 0.9 points after the CME and NYSE close. This is partially offset by a minor 0.4­ point guaranteed stop-loss premium that doesn't fluctuate during the market day.

Поддръжка На Клиенти

5

IG customer service is available through a toll-free (U.K.) phone number from 8 a.m. Saturday to 10 с. м. Friday. Both prospective and active clients can talk to a company representative through live chat that's available 24 hours per day. Three random contacts with this service were promptly answered. E­mail, social media, and a comprehensive FAQ round out above average contact options. If all else fails, a well-­documented customer complaint procedure should assist in grievance resolution.

What You Need to Know

IG offers an excellent fit for both small traders and market professionals, with competitive spreads, thousands of trading instruments, and a state-­of-­the-­art news, research, and educational portal. Clients can choose from an impressive variety of platform choices and easily upgrade as their accounts build equity. Despite major positives, client profitability rates need to be watched because recent data places the broker slightly below industry average.