A Detailed Review Of IG

IG group started its journey as the world’s first spread betting firm in 1974. And today, they are a leading global online trading platform. Currently, they operate across five continents. And their client number will soon reach 200,000. At present, IG is officially the world’s top CFD provider.

The excellence of this platform likely lies in forex trading. And there are many good reasons to support that. However, the fact that IG considered this sector while it was unpopular is indication enough that they had extensive and innovative plans.

 The Pros and Cons of Trading on IG

There are many benefits to trading on IG. At the same time, there are some disadvantages. Here’s a quick look at them:

The Pros

First of all, there are many financial assets on IG. For example, cryptocurrencies, bonds, shares, and forex. Plus, IG has established its trustworthiness and reliability as a trading platform worldwide.

Second, IG has high-quality educational tools. So, if you are a new trader, you can use this platform to build yourself up.

In addition, IG provides practical research that can help you gain insight into the market, which can help experienced traders make decisions.

One of the most significant risks in trading is that you might lose more money than you deposited in the first place. In other words, an unexpected occurrence in the financial market can leave you with a negative balance in your account.

But when you trade on IG, you don’t have to worry about this because IG provides negative balance protection.

The Cons

One of the saddest things about this platform is that its forex trading is limited to U.S citizens only. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all is well for the U.S clients.

Because U.S citizens are not provided negative balance protection, they can lose more money than they put into their accounts.

Another helpful feature that is missing from IG is Copy Trading. For instance, some platforms provide the ability to follow and copy the investing behavior of established, successful traders.

This is also known as Social Trading. And it’s very helpful for novice investors. However, IG lacks this feature, unfortunately.

IG Platform Costs

You can join IG for free because the platform earns money from trading commissions. And on IG, they refer to it as ‘Spread.’ This is the difference between the bid and ask price, which applies to CFD trades.

Although it is described as a ‘commission’ when the trades cross the bid/ask price, this is essentially the IG platform’s trading fee.

And for American clients, the spread starts from 0.8 pips. Meanwhile, in other European countries, it starts from 0.9 and can go up to 5.4 in their currency equivalent.

Plus, if you don’t do any trading from your account for a year, you have to pay an inactivity fee of $12. And for wire withdrawals, a cost of $15 is payable.

Trading Experience on IG

For a seamless and modern online trading experience, IG has one of the best platforms. And you can navigate it easily. Plus, users can also customize it according to their needs. The platform is accessible from all kinds of browsers, though IG recommends Google Chrome.

The platform also provides some essential tools for risk management, such as price alerts and stop losses. Autochartist, a program that monitors markets in real-time and alert you to suitable investing opportunities, is integrated into the platform.

Usually, there are three types of orders on this platform: the market, limit, and stop. For instance, the user signals a request to execute a trade at the current market price in the market order type. The trader can select when the order expires for limit and stop type orders.

Moreover, iOS and Android users can download IG’s application. And these applications are comparatively more advanced than most other trading platform apps on the market. Although you cannot customize the apps, they do provide superior security through Face and Touch ID.

IG Customer Service

The platform has dedicated customer service. And you can interact with their teams by email, telephone, or live chat. Plus, they also have a Twitter help center. And, needless to say, you can get answers to many queries from their FAQ pages.

Apart from these, any user can file a customer complaint and the team deals with it with utmost sincerity and in the shortest possible time. Moreover, this service is available in many different languages, so customers who do not speak English can also express their concerns.

Security of Trading on IG

IG has registered with multiple international and government agencies (CFTC, NFA, FTSE 250). This ensures they uphold the best practices for their clients. Plus, the user doesn’t have to worry about their money in the unfortunate event of IG going bankrupt because they keep client money separate from corporate funds.

And as for the app and web interface, they are optimally secured too. For instance, the app uses two-factor authentication and biometric identification when someone wants access to the account. Moreover, if the user is inactive for long periods, they are automatically logged off, so the risk of being hacked is limited.

Comparison of IG With Other Platforms

Final Verdict: 4.5 Stars

Considering all the pros and cons, it is safe to say that IG is one of the safest platforms for online trading. And its negative balance protection, easy and secure user interface, and learning options make it one of the more preferred platforms for new traders.

The best thing about this platform is its security in forex trading. In addition, the educational materials and research are beneficial for both new and advanced traders. Not to mention their excellent customer service.

However, IG might want to consider introducing social trading too because missing this popular feature might be driving many potential users to other platforms.