IG Markets Review 2023
The IG Group is a spread betting & CFD trading company that launched in the UK in 1974. Since then, the company has grown to now have 320,000+ clients worldwide, offices in 17 countries across 5 continents, and over 1,600 staff. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: IGG) and is part of the FTSE 250.
IG are probably the most well-known CFD broker in the world. From humble beginning’s in the 1970’s, IG is now the longest-established CFD broker around the world. Furthermore, IG is not only recognised as one of the largest CFD providers, but it is also a leading FX broker. It is therefore important that we review IG’s business offering as we are quite certain you will come across them in your search to find a CFD broker.
IG Markets long-established CFD broker
Why Trade With IG Markets?
- Choose from 15,000+ markets: IG offer one of the most comprehensive product ranges that you will find. You can trade 7,500 share CFDs, 90 FX pairs, 30 indices, commodities, options, plus more.
- No. 1 CFD provider: IG Markets is the world’s leading CFD provider – it is publicly listed as a FTSE 250 member, with a market cap in excess of GBP 3 billion.
- Buy & sell stocks from $8: If you are looking to buy and sell physical shares, then you can do so with IG. Trading global stocks will only cost you $8 or 0.1% (whichever is higher) and for international stocks, you will incur a minimum cost of US$10.
- Fast, reliable execution: through their superb technology and vast array of counter-parties, are able to offer better pricing to customers due to faster speed of execution.
Why IG Might Not Be For You
Spreads not competitive
If you compare IG’s spreads, particularly some of Index spreads, to some of their competitors (like TD365) then you’ll see that there are some much cheaper options out there if you are a price-conscious trader.
Good but there are better brokers (in our opinion)
The CFD industry is extremely saturated and competitive. IG is the largest, most used CFD broker in the world. But that doesn’t mean they are the best – it just means they’re the biggest! Shop around because they are some better options: City Index, TD365 and Pepperstone are 3 brokers that offer better value for money and slicker trading platforms. You can compare these brokers below.
Variable spreads
Variable spreads are ok until market volatility appears and the spreads widen significantly (costing you more to trade). IG offer variable spreads and while they quote “low spreads” and “FX spreads from 0.6 pips” the reality is, you will hardly ever gets spreads that low. Fixed spreads are much more preferable. You can see the key differences between fixed and variable spreads here.
Customer support
IG’s customer support could be better – they appear to ignore clients when it suits them and have a “the client is always wrong” approach at times.
Other Important Trading Features
- Regulated: IG is authorised & regulated in many different jurisdictions around the world, including the UK, EU, Switzerland, Dubai, South Africa, Singapore, Japan, Australia, NZ, the US and Bermuda!
- IG Academy: IG Academy is a free educational app that has step-by-step guides to teach you about the financial markets. You can download the app for free.
- Security of Client Funds: Client money is held in segregated client bank accounts, with tier-1 banking institutions, all around the world. These funds are not used for hedging or other business purposes.
- Education: the amount of quality educational material available with IG is endless. Webinars, IG TV, Learn-to-Trade courses, videos, guides etc. – the list goes on.
- Industry Awards: IG Markets have won many awards over the years, including; number 1 for Overall Satisfaction for CFDs & FX, Best Forex Provider, Best CFD Provider and Largest FX provider.
IG Review – Summary 2023
IG Markets is probably most suited to traders looking for a wide-range of instruments to trade (they offer over 15,000!). Most other brokers will offer the most popular trading instruments, but IG offer additional markets like bonds, interest rates, binary options, ETFs and ETPs.
Trading with IG will also give you the comfort in knowing you are doing business with the world’s largest CFD broker. They have been in business for 40+ years, making them the longest-established CFD broker going round. IG also offer a traditional share trading account, in addition to CFD and FX trading accounts.
On the downside, IG are not the cheapest broker going around. So, if you’re looking for a low-cost broker, we’d recommend going to TD365 who are one of the cheapest CFD brokers in the world.
