IG Markets UK Review
For UK Traders
!! 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 Markets UK is an FCA regulated firm that offers CFDs & Spread Bets on several instruments
| 👨 Broker | IG Markets LTD. |
| 👨 Accepts UK Traders? | Yes |
| 📅 Year Founded | 1974 |
| ⚖ Regulators | FCA UK |
| ⚖ License No. | 195355 |
| ⚖ Investor Protection | FSCS |
| ⚖ Dispute Resolution | Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) |
| 💰 Minimum Deposit | 0 GBP (Bank Transfer), 400 GBP (Debit/Credit Card) |
| 💰 Minimum Withdrawal | 0 GBP (Bank Transfer), 100 GBP (Debit/Credit Card) |
| 📈 CFD & Spread Bets | Forex, Indices, Shares, Commodities, Thematic Basket, Bonds, Interest Rates, Futures, Options |
| 📈 Investment | Shares, ETFs |
| 🚀Leverage | 1:30 |
| 🔎Auditors | |
| 💻 Platforms | MT4, TradingView, IG Mobile, L2 Dealer, PRO Real Time, IG Web, IG Progressive Web App |
| 📋Account Types | CFD Account, Spread Bet Account, Options/Futures Trading Account |
| 📞Live Support | 24/7 |
| 🏖️ Inactivity Fee | $0 |
| 😭CFD Traders Who Lose Money | 69% |
| ✅Reason To Trade | |
| ❌Reason To Avoid | |
Regulation - 5/5
Is IG Markets in UK?
Yes, IG Markets is in the United Kingdom & accepts traders from UK who are interested in trading CFDs & Spread Bets.
IG Markets is in the UK legally, and has the approval of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) UK.
IG Markets UK is also a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) so IG clients in the UK have investor protection.
Funding & Withdrawal - 4.3/5
What is IG Markets Minimum Deposit in UK?
IG Markets minimum deposit is 0 GBP for Local Bank Transfers & 400 GBP for Debit/Credit Card deposits. Note that IG Markets UK does not accept PayPal.
What is IG Markets Minimum Withdrawal in UK?
When withdrawing via local UK banks, the IG minimum withdrawal is 0 GBP but when withdrawing through Credit/Debit cards the IG minimum withdrawal is 200 GBP.
How Long Does IG Markets Withdrawal Take?
All IG Market deposits are instant.
Withdrawals through UK Banks are also instant while Card withdrawals can take between 2 to 5 days to impact.
What Deposit & Withdrawal Methods Are Accepted at IG?
IG Markets UK accepts funding & withdrawals via UK Banks, Cards & Apple Pay.
Range of Markets - 5/5
IG Markets UK allows you to trade with up to 1:30 leverage.
IG Markets UK also gives you exposure to over 17,000+ CFDs & Spread Bets.
1. Forex CFDs & Spread Bets
IG UK lets you trade forex pairs including pairs like the EUR/USD, EUR/GBP & GBP/USD.
2. Index CFDs & Spread Bets
IG UK offers popular indices like FTSE 100, South Africa 40 & NASDAQ 100.
3. Share CFDs & Spread Bets
IG UK lets you trade US, UK & European stock using CFDs & spread bets.
4. Commodity CFDs & Spread Bets
IG UK exposes you to commodity markets covering Energy, Metals & Soft Commodities (such as agriculture & livestock ).
5. Thematic Baskets CFDs & Spread Bets
IG Markets UK 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 UK Fees -5/5
1. Spread
IG Markets UK spreads start from 0.6 pips.
The EUR/USD average spread is 0.86 pips during the day & 1.13 pips at night but when you are using Direct Market Access (DMA), you get Raw Spreads on EUR/USD around 0.165 pips.
IG Markets NASDAQ 100 spread is 16 pips, so generally IG spreads are quite lower than industry averages.
2. Commission
At IG UK, the CFD trading accounts have zero commission except you are trading share CFDs or trading using Direct Market Access.
When trading forex with DMA, you pay a $10 per 1 million commission on every trade in exchange for the near zero spreads you will be getting.
For US, UK & European shares you also pay commissions ranging from $10 to $15.
When trading Options & Futures you pay a commission of $1 per contract.
3. Swaps
When trading cash CFDs you will pay an overnight swap fee to leave your position open till the next day. IG Markets UK does not offer swap-free instruments.
4. Guaranteed Stop Loss Fee
IG markets UK 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
IG Market Account Types - 3/5
1. IG Spread Betting Account
The IG Spread Bet Account is a tax-free GBP base currency account exclusively for spread betting. The account is commission-free so you only deal with the spread/
2. IG CFD Trading Account
The IG CFD Account is a stamp duty free account and you pay only spreads as commissions are zero (except when your trading shares or trading using Direct Market Access)
3. IG Options/Futures Trading Account
Options & Futures are really complex instruments so we like that IG has created a special account for trading them.
IG Markets Trading Platforms - 4.5/5
| ✅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.
L2 Dealer (for Direct Market Access)
The L2 Dealer platform links your directly to the liquidity providers to get your pricing, so you bypass any dealing with IG Markets.
With the L2 Dealer platform you get the best pricing and market depth.
Customer Support - 4/5
IG Markets UK has good 24/5 customer support with short hold time on live chat/Whatsapp, 24 hour response to emails & dedicated help lines.
Personal Account Managers are also assigned to each trading account.
However, the help lines are not toll-free & you cannot request a call-back.
To support beginner traders, there is the IG Academy that offers video tutorials & the IG Academy even has its own mobile app.
Beginner traders can also use the IG Demo Account to practice what they learnt on the IG Academy using virtual funds.
Our Final Verdict - 9/10
IG Markets UK is the best forex broker for high volume traders because of its low spread, especially when you use the Direct Market Access (DMA) feature.
IG Markets UK also has advanced trading platforms like the L2 Dealer used for DMA trading and there's also TradingView & MT4 which support back testing.
We recommend IG Markets UK for expert traders doing high volumes.