IG Review 2024 (2024)

Our Take

IG has established itself as one of the leading online brokers in the world thanks to its intuitive online trading dashboard, extensive range of tradable markets, diverse suite of financial instruments, third-party software integrations, and industry-leading research and educational materials.

As a publicly traded company that has offered financial services for over 50 years, IG stands out for having an excellent reputation for customer service and a strong track record for regulatory compliance, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced traders looking to trade forex, stocks, ETFs, and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros Explained

• Offers a wide range of tradable assets: In addition to forex, IG users can trade a wide range of asset classes including but not limited to stocks, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and indices.
• Provides an array of financial products: IG offers a range of financial products, including but not limited to ETFs, CFDs, futures, and options.
• Excellent platform offerings: IG’s web-based platform and its mobile app are widely regarded for their strong functionality and ease of use and are rightly considered among the best on the market.
• No minimum deposit requirements: There’s no minimum deposit to open a trading account at IG (unless you are based in the U.S., where you need to make a $250 minimum deposit).
• Publicly traded company subject to strict regulatory requirements: IG is a publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange with a market cap of around GBP 3.5 billion. IG Markets Ltd and IG Index Ltd are authorized and regulated by the FCA in the U.K. Its U.S. subsidiary, branded tastyfx since July 2024, is registered with the CFTC and is a member of the NFA. Moreover, IG holds licenses in over a dozen countries.

Cons Explained

• No copy trading feature: IG doesn’t offer automated copy trading, which has become popular among novice traders and first-time investors.
• MetaTrader 5 is not yet available: While IG offers integrations for ProRealTime and MetaTrader 4, its customers cannot make use of MetaTrader 5 (yet).

Introduction

IG Group Holdings plc, commonly referred to as IG Group, is a publicly traded online brokerage firm that is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker (LSE:IGG).

The United Kingdom-based financial services company was founded in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler "as the world’s first spread betting firm.” Originally going by the name IG Index, the company allowed investors to speculate on the price of gold using an index instead of having to buy the underlying asset.

Today, IG Group has around 360,000 active users across 19 countries, offering an extensive universe of tradable assets—from forex and commodities to stocks and ETFs—to a global audience of traders and investors.

With licenses in over a dozen countries, including the U.K., the U.S., Australia, Singapore, and Japan, IG stands out as a highly regulated online broker with a strong reputation that it has maintained over the years. The company is the largest CFD provider in the world by revenue.

In the United States, IG enables its customers to trade forex through its recently rebranded U.S. subsidiary tastyfx. tastyfx charges zero commissions and a 0.8 pip spread on more than 80 currency pairs, with a margin requirement as low as 2%. What’s more, tastyfx offers an intuitive trading platform combined with educational material and responsive customer support.

Usability

IG provides a user-friendly trading dashboard that stands out for its simplicity despite the richness of its features.

The customizable trading platform can also be accessed using a mobile and tablet application available for Android and iOS, as well as the downloadable third-party desktop trading application MetaTrader 4.

Trade Experience

IG offers a variety of desktop and mobile-based trading platforms catering to both beginners and more experienced traders.

Beginners will appreciate the simplicity of IG’s trading dashboards and the basic risk management features such as stop-loss limits and price alerts.

Experienced traders will appreciate the wide range of tradable assets and investment products combined with features targeted at advanced users, such as API integrations with third-party charting software like ProRealTime or a Bloomberg Terminal.

Desktop Trade Experience

Traders and investors who prefer a desktop trading experience will like what IG offers as its primary trading platform is web-based. You can also download MetaTrader 4 as a desktop application to access IG’s expanded offering.

Mobile Trade Experience

IG offers a mobile trading application available for Android and iOS to enable anyone to trade forex and other asset classes on the go. Additionally, IG also offers a progressive web app that enables you to trade on IG on your mobile-based browser.

Regulation and Security

IG stands out among its peers as a publicly traded online broker with licenses in over a dozen countries, highlighting the company’s commitment to regulatory compliance.

IG Group is licensed to provide specific financial trading services in Bermuda, the U.K., the U.S., the E.U., Switzerland, Dubai, South Africa, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

In its home market, the U.K., IG has two incorporated entities, IG Markets Limited (IGM) and IG Index Limited (IGI), which are both authorized by the FCA. Both entities may deal as principal or agent and execute orders for derivatives and securities. Thanks to the FCA’s client money rules, user funds are not commingled with company funds, adding a layer of security for IG users. IG Markets can also offer discretionary management services to both retail and professional customers in the U.K.

Through its German subsidiary, IG Europe GmbH (IGE), which holds a regulatory license from BaFin and Deutsche Bundesbank, IG is authorized to offer its services to customers in the European Union.

In the U.S., IG US LLC (IG US) is registered as a retail foreign exchange dealer (RFED) and introducing broker (IB) with the CFTC and is a member of the NFA. Through its U.S. subsidiary tastyfx, IG U.S. offers forex trading services to U.S. residents, with the exception of residents of Arizona and Ohio.

IG also offers negative balance protection, ensuring that its customers can’t lose more than they invested on their leverage trading accounts. Unfortunately, this feature is not available to tastyfx customers in the U.S.

Range of Offerings

IG provides a broad spectrum of over 17,000 tradable instruments globally. While the online broker’s specific offerings vary from region to region, IG’s list of tradable asset classes includes:

• Stocks
• Indices
• Forex
• Cryptocurrencies
• Commodities
• Bonds
• Interest rates

IG’s suite of financial products includes:

• Spread betting
• CFDs
• ETFs
• Investment trusts
• Futures
• Options
• Managed portfolios

Order Types

IG offers a range of order types to provide its users with flexibility when it comes to trade execution.

• Limits: A limit order allows you to buy or sell at a specific price or better.
• Stops: A stop-loss limit order will sell automatically if the price drops below a certain level or buy if it rises above a certain level.
• Guaranteed stops: A guaranteed stop order executes at the stop price or better. Guaranteed stop orders are not available for U.S. clients.
• Trailing stops: A trailing stop-loss order adjusts the stop price as the asset’s price moves in your favor, typically based on a percentage below or above the prevailing market price.
• Market orders: A market order buys or sells at the best available market price.

Using IG’s L2 Dealer advanced trading platform, traders can also execute more sophisticated order types, such as iceberg, fill or kill, and good for auction.

Trading Technology

IG provides a range of trading platforms tailored to different types of experience levels and trading needs.

Online Trading Platform

The online trading platform is ideal for beginners and anyone looking for a simple web-based trading dashboard. It’s accessible through the IG website and provides all of the broker’s most important features and functionalities, including charting tools, curated newsfeed, and easy trade execution and position management.

Mobile App

IG also offers a mobile version of its trading dashboard for Android and iOS, which comes with all the bells and whistles of the online trading platform minus the advanced charting tools available on the browser version.

Progressive Web App

Traders who want to use IG on the go but prefer not to use the smartphone app can also use IG’s progressive web app accessible through mobile browsers. Similarly to the mobile app, it offers the same features and functionalities as the web-based version minus the advanced chart analysis options.

In addition to its three native applications, IG also offers integrations with third-party trading clients, including ProRealTime, MetaTrader 4, and L2 Dealer.

ProRealTime

ProRealTime is an online charting software and trading platform that allows you to analyze financial markets and trade directly from charts. It's designed for both professional and non-professional traders and offers a variety of markets through its direct integration with your IG trading account.

Unlike IG’s native trading platforms, ProRealTime allows you to backtest and execute automated trading strategies based on your own algorithms, which makes it a popular third-party tool for experienced traders.

MetaTrader 4

MetaTrader 4 is a popular online trading platform that enables you to develop and execute automated trading strategies by connecting it to your IG account. The platform is highly customizable and is the go-to option for experienced traders looking to create and deploy algorithmic trading strategies in forex, but also in other asset classes, such as indices and commodities.

L2 Dealer

L2 Dealer is a direct market access (DMA) trading platform that allows you to access the order books of exchanges from around the world directly from the comfort of your home. In addition to providing access to 17,000-plus tradable markets, L2 Dealer also provides more advanced orders, such as fill or kill and iceberg orders, targeting professional traders who require deep liquidity and institutional-level execution.

Costs

IG offers competitive fees globally, with spreads as low as 0.6 pips for major FX pairs, 0.8 on leading indices, and 0.1 on commodities.

While IG does charge an account inactivity fee, there are no account opening, deposit, or withdrawal fees.

Commissions on shares vary from region to region, while the overnight funding rate varies depending on asset class. There is also a fee for guaranteed stops (available to clients outside of the U.S.) that also depends on the underlying asset.

IG also offers negative balance protection to ensure that your account can’t go below zero when you are trading with margin. You won’t be charged for this service. Unfortunately, tastyfx users in the U.S. can’t benefit from negative balance protection.

Costs Overview