Today I am going to cover one of the oldest, if not the oldest, Forex companies, IG. The firm is founded in 1974 and its headquarters are located in London, United Kingdom.
With 313000+ clients from all over the world and 18.000+ markets provided for trading including forex and CFDs. In this IG Forex Review 2023, we’ll see how IG has gained a good reference with their international traders, having their headquarters in the UK with multiple regulations.
There are two divisions of IG. One of them is IG Index Ltd. The company focused on spread betting. The other company IG Markets Ltd. Deals with CFD, share dealing and stocks.
Is IG a scam or legit? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the broker? Can you open an IG demo account? Which regulations does IG subject to? How quick and helpful was IG customer service? Are IG payment methods adequate?
You can get all the answers if you continue reading this IG Forex Review 2023.
Traders from the United Kingdom dominate the percentage of visitors to the site with 28%. However, visitors from the other countries in the top 5 (France, Spain, Italy, Australia) make up another 28% of the visitors to the website.
Regulation
IG License & Regulation
It’s very well known in the forex market how crucial it is to make sure the broker that you choose is regulated and trusted before deciding on giving your money and starting a real investment with that broker.
It’s also very important to make sure that the broker is going to maintain and keep your funds in safe accounts segregated from their operational funds and in safe, highly recognized accounts, and trusted world banks. And in that case, IG, and through this updated IG Forex Review 2023, has more than one license and regulatory organization watching over their activities and making sure they’re keeping the international and local requirements of safety and trustability to be able to carry out their activities.
These regulations are:
- IG Markets Limited (IGM) and IG Index Limited (IGI) are separately licensed as investment firms by the FCA
- IG Limited, incorporated in Dubai, is licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
- IG Markets South Africa Limited, incorporated within England and Wales, has a branch regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and is registered as an authorized financial services provider in South Africa.
- IGM is regulated in Australia by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under an Australian Financial Services License-.
- In New Zealand, IGM is regulated by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) under a derivative issuers license, covering a variety of derivative contracts.
- Incorporated in Germany, IG Europe GmbH (IGE) has a regulatory license from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) and Deutsche Bundesbank. This license enables IGE to offer a direct service to our EU clients.
- Incorporated in Switzerland, IG Bank SA (IGB) is authorized as a bank and securities dealer by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
- IG Asia Pte Ltd (IGA) is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
- IG Securities Ltd is regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA) for Securities and Currencies, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for Hard Commodities, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) for Soft Commodities.
- 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 National Futures Association (NFA ID 0509630).
- Incorporated in Bermuda, IG International Limited (IG INT) is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to conduct investment and digital asset business.
IG is licensed and regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). IG Markets ltd. has a license with a 195355 registration number.
FCA is a watchdog based in the United Kingdom. The foundation is respected worldwide. Because it has really strict rules. For example, the FCA-regulated forex broker has to prove a minimum capital of €730,000 in an account which is independent of than funds of the customers.
Also, customers of the brokers who are regulated by FCA can benefit from Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The compensation scheme protects the money of customers until their trading money reaches £50,000.
Account Types and Spreads
Account Types and Spreads
IG markets account types are summed up in 1 account type where you can trade. It’s the default shape of the account that everyone trading with IG uses as it has $0 as the IG minimum deposit rate. This allows the clients to choose the rate they want to trade with complete freedom on how much to start with and how many orders to open.
In addition, there is also an IG demo account offered with the broker where new and expert trades can try out their skills and knowledge on a virtual base before heading into the real markets with real money.
The whole idea of the demo accounts is to try. New traders to test their knowledge, Professional trades to test new strategies and techniques, all is done safely in the IG demo account.
If you don’t trust yourself or the broker for any reason, the IG Forex demo account can provide you with the needed experience before going into the real markets of trading. If you’d like to read more about the demo account and its functions, you can follow the link.
In the real account that you can open with IG, you can trade with 17000 markets and have a forex spread of 0.6 pips. You can also benefit from the algorithmic trading option available on the live accounts where you can gain fast execution on a huge range of markets along with seamless deals in the market wherever you go.
There is another type of trading offered with IG which is direct market access or DMA trading for short. this type of trading can allow you to get deeper liquidity, full market visibility, and advanced execution. With the DMA trading option, you can trade in both forex and shares. DMA trading is available on specific platforms like the IG mobile app, API (which is the application programming interface that allows you to connect to 2 applications and let you access your eco system directly so you’d have faster order execution and more control over your trades), and L2 Dealer.
In the DMA trading, you can have the forex spread reaches 0.1 on EUR/USD pairs. The IG forex broker leverage is also 1:50.
Trading Platforms
IG Trading Platforms
The recent trading platforms that are offered by the broker in this IG Forex Review 2023 are quite impressive. They vary to include a great variety of options that include the world’s favourite and most popular platform, MT4, all the way to an in-house developed app and platform.
The features of the online trading platform offered by IG are: simple, clean design, guaranteed stop limit, you can choose your preferred currency, automatic order open level, alerts for market movements, and finding dealing specs in the information tab.
The broker also offers its trading app which can be downloaded for free on both android and IOS so it allows you to trade whenever you want, wherever you want.
MT4 is the best in the market and it’s the most used platform out there known in forex as it contains automated trading with customizable charts. Micro lost can be traded on MT4 as well. You can also access and interact with the platform in a very natural way.
Pro Real Time is an online charting software for technical analysis and trading, designed for experienced traders who employ advanced technical analysis and want to automate their dealing, the software gives users a fully customizable interface and trading experience. Some of the features of the Pro Real Time platform are automated trading along with importing strategies even from third parties and more.
You can integrate your API (Application Programming Interface) into the trading platform.
Payment Methods
Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
When it comes to funding methods, I can say they’re a major concern for any investor since they are the way to start their transaction and the means to gain their profits.
The methods of deposit with IG are quite average, as they make sure to provide the most used means regarding funding. Deposits and withdrawals can be done by:
- Bank transfer
- Credit and debit cards
- PayPal
All are available to be used on your account with IG.
There are even ways to fund from your desktop, or your phone whether it was an android or iPhone. There are standard FX conversion fee is 0.5% which is added to the best available exchange rate provided by several banks.
There are also tutorials and explanations on how to use each method whether in depositing or withdrawal. Which I find to be a great help, especially to trades who are using these methods for the first time.
IG bank details are also available on their website in case they’re needed to make a bank transfer at any point whether that would be a deposit or even a withdrawal.
Trading Instruments
IG Trading Instruments
Different trading products are usually used for investors to diversify their trading accounts and make sure they’re having a variety in their trading portfolios.
With IG, the option to do that is quite possible with the wide range of instruments and trading CFDs present so all you need to do is to choose the best suitable one for you.
Indices: include the most popular stocks along with global indices so you can choose the best for you including Wallstreet, FTSE 100, US500, Switzerland Blue Chip, and more.
Forex: the world’s most traded financial market with the most liquidity in the world. It has no actual basis since it’s all traded online. IG includes all major, minor and exotic currency pairs available for trade.
Shares: you can trade shares and stocks from different companies from all over the world and the biggest and best of all too including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and more.
Commodities: where you can trade metals, energies, and agricultural markets. Including gold, silver, palladium, copper, oil, coffee, soybean, wheat, sugar, and more.
Cryptocurrencies: Including Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ether, and Litecoin all offered for trade whenever you want.
Other markets: Including ETFs, sectors, bonds, and more.
Customer Service
Customer Service
Customer service is one of the best ways to connect the broker and the client and make sure their connection is always in place so trust would sustain between the two parties.
And that exact concept is what IG is achieving through its multilingual customer support provided to its clients from all over the world.
You can get in touch by filling out the form and the support team would get in touch with you after processing your query.
The address is stated Cleary on the website which is very reassuring proof of the ability to trust IG. You can get in touch by even calling customer service on the phone numbers stated on their website or if you were a new client, there is a special line for supporting you too. Which I find a great feature to make sure to give special support for new forex beginners.
Client feedback on the broker and the service seem to be quite positive with a very pleasant client experience from traders.
Educational Materials
IG Educational Materials
The development of the trader before and during trading is known to be one of the main pillars of a good trading experience. A newbie trader or even an expert might have a question while trading on how to apply a specific strategy or what trading method to follow, or even overlooking the meaning of one of the forex terms.
And here comes the broker’s role to always provide support in different methods, and educational methods and means are one of those.
IG has made sure to offer free educational and development materials to increase your library of techniques and skills needed for trading.
And so, an interactive education was established in the IG Academy where you can have access to online trading courses and practice all the new or even the old knowledge in a demo account.
Financial events also take place through the academy where you can explore future economic and political events that you should be tracking on your economic calendar.
Trading courses and live sessions are available from beginner to advanced levels so you can choose the best fit for you. Free webinars and an archive for the previous ones so, certainly, you won’t miss a thing. A glossary and an FAQ section are provided too to answer any of your questions anytime.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Throughout this IG Forex Review 2023, it was shown that the broker is one of the trusted and most reliable brokers for forex and CFDs trading. With over 40 years of experience in the Foreign exchange industry, IG is a very trustworthy broker. Being regulated by the best in the market including the FCA, ASIC, DEFSA and more.
You can trade with $0 as a minimum deposit and IG market account types include 1 common type. The IG forex broker leverage of 1:50. Several options to trade in different trading products and the option for using an IG forex demo account is possible.
I’ve shown in this IG Forex Review 2023 that the variable educational materials in different formats match all different types of traders along with a great variety of trading platforms with brilliant features, which IG has gained multiple awards regarding them.
Easy access to customer service and you can have fast answers to any of the queries you’re having from the FAQ section on the official website.
Funding options are facilitated with even tutorials on how to be done on desktop or mobile phones with bank information available in case of any bank transfers.
My only take is that the broker’s website isn’t the easiest to surf, but other than that it’s safe to trade with IG.
