IG Australia Review
Findings from our research into IG trading conditions
!! Regulator Warning !!
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.
They don't offer MT5 and their ig mobile app has some efficiency issues. For example you select an instrument and charts delay loading, you cannot modify SL & TP from the charts etc.
IG has the best trading platforms and you have variety to choose from, great broker. You need to have all your documentation right before opening an account with them because they are world class broker and dont compromise
You cant really short the stocks you want with IG, they need to be more liberal and let us short small cap stocks more
I agree with those other reviews about IG being great in beginer education. Cant argue with that! If you want to start your trading jorney i recommend IG. However, if you want a more personalized service IG may not be suitable because they have grown too big and have alot of customers to attend to.
very good beginner education and IG helped me garner interest in forex trading through their YouTube video educational series. Now, I trade with them and they are very transparent
IG needs to focus on smaller customers and give them proper service too. because my account balance is small and I have not been able to trade often they close my account why? if I were a big customer will they do this? Their platforms are great and their investing arm is great but they need to pay attention to customer support
Here is what I think about IG, I have used them for a year now but I keep having withdrawal issues because they keep asking for additional documents proof of this and proof of that. Its tiring. They should employ more staff to handle complaints faster
IG is the best when it comes to beginner education, they are one of the reasons i started trading in the first place because I used to watch their YouTube educational series. Now I trade with them and I like their range of tradable instruments and sophisticated platforms. For those complaining about leverage I don't have that experience because in Europe leverage is restricted to 1: 30
IG closed my account for no apparent reason and their customer support is so poor.
Leverage is too low for us here in South Africa. IG is good but I cant stand their 1:30 leverage.
I tested their demo account and its excellent however I didn't trade live because their leverage is too low
IG Australia is an ASIC regulated broker with a 10 AUD Minimum Deposit, offering CFDs & share dealing
| 👨 Broker | IG Australia PTY LTD. |
| 👨 Accepts Australian Traders? | Yes |
| 📅 Year Founded | 1974 |
| ⚖ Regulators | ASIC |
| ⚖ License No. | 515106 |
| ⚖ Dispute Resolution | AFCA |
| 💰 Minimum Deposit | 10 AUD via BitPay/local banks, 100 AUD via other methods |
| 💰 Minimum Withdrawal | 1 AUD |
| 📈 CFDs | Forex, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Thematic Basket, Bonds, Interest Rates, Futures, Options |
| 📈 Investment | Shares, ETFs |
| 🚀Leverage | 1:30 |
| 🔎Auditors | PricewaterhouseCoopers |
| 💻 Platforms | MT4, TradingView, IG Mobile, L2 Dealer, PRO Real Time, IG Web, IG Progressive Web App |
| 📋Account Types | CFD Account, Share Trading Account |
| 📞Live Support | 24/5 |
| 🏖️ Inactivity Fee | 18 AUD after 2 years of inactivity |
| 😭CFD Traders Who Lose Money | 69% |
| ✅Reason To Trade | |
| ❌Reason To Avoid |
Regulation - 10/10
Is IG Markets in Australia?
Yes, IG Markets is in Australia & accepts Aussie traders who are interested in trading CFDs/Spread Bets or investing in the stock market.
IG Markets is in Australia legally and has the approval of the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC).
IG Australia PTY LTD is also a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) so IG clients in the Australia can go to them for dispute resolution.
Funding & Withdrawals - 8/10
Minimum Deposit for AUD Currency
IG Australia minimum deposit is 10 AUD for BitPay/Australian Bank Deposits , & 100 AUD for Debit/Credit Card, Apple Pay & PayPal deposits.
Minimum Deposit for Other Currencies
If you are going to deposit in any currency outside the Australian Dollar (AUD), the minimum deposit becomes $50 for USD deposits, 300 EUR for Euro deposits, 450 NZD for New Zealand Dollar deposits & 2,500 HKD for Hong Kong Dollar deposits.
IG Australia Minimum Withdrawal
IG Australia minimum withdrawal is 1 AUD but under the condition that your trading account balance is at least 200 AUD.
If your trading account balance is in above 200 AUD, then the minimum withdrawal IG will allow will be 200 AUD.
Accepted Payment Methods
1. Australian Bank Account (via BitPay)
IG lets you transfer AUD deposits from your Australian Bank Account into your trading account but you must click on BitPay.
2. Credit/Debit Cards
IG accepts payment via debit/credit card & you can link up to three cards to your IG trading account. Card deposits are instant so you get the money immediately.
3. Apple Pay
IG Australia accepts payment via Apple Pay but it is for USD deposits.
4. PayPal
IG Australia accepts payment via PayPal & you can only link one PayPal account at a time. PayPal deposits will attract a 1% fee & are instantly deposited into your trading account.
5. Electronic Fund Transfer (Non-Australian residents)
IG accepts EFT payments from traders in New Zealand & although EFT deposits may take up to 3 days, it is free of charge.
IG Australia Deposit Time
IG deposit methods that charge fees (such as PayPal & Cards) are instant. However, those deposit methods that are free of charge could take up to 1 working day to reach your account.
If you need to make an urgent trade during the wait period, you can send a proof of payment to IG & they will let you trade. But you may not be able to withdraw profits till your deposit drops into your account.
IG Australia Withdrawal Time
For local Australian bank withdrawals above 2,000 AUD, the IG withdrawal time is instant.
PayPal withdrawals are also instant at IG. However instant withdrawal cannot be guaranteed for other withdrawal methods.Account Types - 5/10
1. CFD Trading Account
This account is a spread-only account, so you won't pay any commissions on trades.
2. Share Trading Account
This account is for buying/holding physical shares/ETFs.
IG Australia Fees - 7/10
1. Spread
IG Australia spreads start from 0.6 pips for major currency pairs & from 0.8 pips for indices. We checked average spreads for some major pairs and EUR/USD averaged at 0.86 pips, while AUD/USD averaged at 1.07 pips.
2. Commission
Trading Australian listed shares is commission-free but international shares attract some kind of commission.
When trading International shares you will not pay any commission, but IG will charge you a 0.7% currency conversion fee because the shares are denominated in a foreign currency.
If you choose to do the currency conversion yourself, IG will then charge you a $10 per trade commission on international shares.
3. Swaps
When trading cash CFDs you will pay an overnight swap fee to leave your position open till the next day. IG does not offer swap-free instruments.
4. Deposit Fees
Deposit fees apply when making credit card deposits in another currency outside the AUD. Australian traders pay a 0.5% deposit fee on Master Credit Card & 1% deposit fee on Visa Credit Card.
New Zealand traders pay a flat 1.5% deposit fee on Master/Visa Card deposits.
When executing an Apple Pay transaction using a credit card, you pay a deposit fee of 0.5% for MasterCard & 1% for Visa Card deposits.
5. Withdrawal Fees
Withdrawals in AUD currency (using BitPay) are free but withdrawals in other currencies attract a 0.7% fee for currency conversion.
6. Guaranteed Stop Loss Fee
IG Australia offers Guaranteed Stop Loss which is a risk management tool to help you guide against slippage.
Slippage is a term used to describe a scenario where price crosses your stop loss without triggering it.
When you are using DMA to access raw spreads, you lose access to Guaranteed Stops.
The premium/fee you pay when a Guaranteed Stop is triggered depends on which instrument you are trading.
- EUR/USD: $1.2
- EUR/GBP: $2
- GBP/USD: $2
7. PRO Real Time Usage Fee
In order for you to access the advanced charts provided by the PRO Realtime Platform, you pay a $40 monthly access fee but if you place at least 4 trades a month, you wont be charged for using the platform.
8. Currency Conversion Fee
There is a 0.7% fee charged to convert your trades into your account currency.
Range of Markets - 10/10
IG Australia allows you to trade with up to 1:30 leverage.
IG also gives you exposure to over 17,000+ CFDs.
1. Forex CFDs
IG Australia has a forex CFD listing of over 80 pairs & out of this number, 18 pairs are Australasian (meaning they involve the AUD or NZD).
Australasian currency pairs at IG include: AUD/CAD, AUD/CHF, AUD/EUR, AUD/GBP. AUD/JPY, AUD/NZD, AUD/SGD, EUR/AUD, GBP/AUD, GBP/NZD, NZD/AUD, NZD/CHF, NZD/EUR, NZD/GBP, NZD/JPY, NZD/USD, NZD/CAD etc.
2. Index CFDs
IG Australia offers 36 index CFDs which it categorizes into new indices, popular indices & weekend indices.
- Popular Indices: NASDAQ 100, AUS 200, US 500 etc.
- New Indices: Cannabis Index, Crypto 10 Index, US Inflation Index etc.
- Weekend Indices: Weekend Wall Street, Weekend Germany 40 etc.
3. Share CFDs
IG lets you trade US, UK & European stock using CFDs & spread bets.
You can also transfer your shares from your old broker to your IG shares account without being charged for the service.
4. Commodity CFDs
IG exposes you to commodity markets covering Energy, Metals & Soft Commodities (such as agriculture & livestock ).
5. Thematic Baskets CFDs
IG lets you trade instruments that look alike or fall under the same category/theme. For example if you are into Electric vehicles (EVs), IG will group all the stock of EV companies into an index so you can trade them.
6. Bond Futures CFDs & Interest Rate CFDs
IG also lets you trade bond futures contracts covering US Bonds, Japanese Bonds, German Bonds etc.
Derivatives on interest rates such as 3-day Australian interbank rate, 3-moth SONIA, etc. are also on the menu for more experienced traders.
IG Markets Trading Platforms - 9/10
| ✅MT4 | Yes |
| ❌MT5 | No |
| ✅TradingView | Yes |
| ✅Proprietary Platforms | Yes |
MT4
IG Markets offers MT4 which is very popular amongst forex brokers and those interested in back testing.
TradingView
IG Markets is also a TradingView broker which means you can get free access to trade from advanced charts using the TradingView platform.
IG Mobile App
IG has a mobile CFD trading app for apple & android phones which you can download from your online store. You can monitor you trades on the go from this app.
IG Progressive Web App (PWA)
This is like the IG mobile app but the difference is you can access it from a web browser. Its a good innovation because it updates itself so that you avoid a scenario where the mobile app has to update before it opens.
IG Web Trader
This IG platform can be accessed from any web browser without any installation needed. Unlike the PWA discussed above, the web trader has the full functionality of a desktop platform, complete with all the advanced tools.
PRO Real Time
This is a desktop platform and must be downloaded. It is a specialized platform for trading from charts.
If you are into price action trading or advanced technical indicator use, this is a good platform to consider.
However, this platform is for frequent traders at least 4 trades per month) if not you may be charged a fee for its usage.
Customer Support - 5/10
1. Live Chat
You can reach IG 24/5 on weekdays via live chat but when we tested it, the hold time was long, and the agents were slow in responding to queries.
2. Telephone & Email
IG has a local Australian helpline which you can call but it is not toll-free. Emails can aslso be sent to a dedicated support email displayed on the IG website.
3. Beginner Education
IG provides comprehensive learning material on their website & they follow up with tutorial videos on their YouTube channel.
Final Verdict - 7/10
IG is not a beginner-friendly broker, I would only use them if i were an experienced trader.