IG Markets Review 2022

With a history that spans back to the 1970s, IG Markets is undoubtedly one of the biggest, most well-established, and appreciated online brokers in the world.

Every day they provide hundreds of thousands of retail and professional traders with access to over 16,000 markets via award-winning desktop and mobile platforms.

Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.

Who is IG Markets?

Established in 1974, IG Group – the London-based company that owns and operates IG Markets – was the first spread betting broker in the UK. Today, the company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a part of the FTSE 250.

IG Markets is a leading financial institution with a great international reputation. In addition to spread betting, the broker offers forex and CFD trading, and 99% of all transactions the broker handles are done online via one of the available trading platforms.

Due to the broker’s early start and dominance in the online trading world, IG Markets has paved the way for most other online forex brokers. They can also be credited with having driven the development of online trading on the global market.

Can You Trust IG Markets?

Yes, you can trust IG Markets.

As mentioned above, it’s one of the biggest companies in the UK (all categories), and they are known for always putting their clients first.

Similar to all other serious online brokers, IG Markets also has several trading licenses with the main one being a license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). IG Markets was also the first CFD provider to ever be licensed by the ASICs for the Australian market.

Factor in the broker’s almost 50 years of experience in the field and you really have no reason not to trust IG Markets. That being said, spread betting, as well as forex and CFD trading with leverage, is associated with high risk.

Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.

IG Markets Review: Pros and Cons

To give you a quick insight into how this broker operates and what you can expect when opening an IG Markets account, we’ve listed three pros and three cons in this IG Markets review.

Pros:

• Several award-winning platforms to choose from
• Long history with an impeccable reputation
• More than 16,000 markets

Cons:

• High minimum contract sizes
• $250 minimum deposit
• Additional brokerage fees on certain assets

Assets and Markets Offered By IG Markets

Now, let us get into the nitty-gritty and take a closer look at the assets and markets offered by IG Markets before we move on to their fees and trading platforms.

As mentioned, IG Markets provides access to over 16,000 different markets divided into the following categories.

Forex

Trade currency pairs from all over the world using some of the most advanced analytic tools available to retail traders. Every currency pair you can imagine is available on the platform. There is something here for everyone, and it doesn’t matter whether you prefer trading majors, minors or exotic pairs.

CFDs

The lion’s share of IG Markets selection consists of CFDs on a range of assets such as stocks, commodities, and indices. This is done using several different platforms including Direct Market Access (DMA) with the most accurate real-time quotes on the market.

Spread Betting

Spread betting is offered to all of IG Markets’ British customers but not to traders from the rest of Europe. The main benefit of spread betting in the UK is that all profits are 100% tax-free since it’s considered betting and not trading. Spread betting is also IG Markets’ original product.

Other Markets

In addition, IG Markets allows most traders to trade the above-mentioned markets as Barrier and Vanilla options which among other things gives you more control over your positions, leverage, and margins.

Note that all trading with IG Markets is speculative, meaning you don’t own the underlying asset but rather speculate on a derivative based on an underlying asset.

Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.

IG Markets: Fees, Charges, Spread, & Commission

Due to the fact that IG Markets offers more than 16,000 markets and that each asset has its own fee system, it’s rather difficult to list all fees and spread at once. Therefore, we advise you to study their fee systems in detail and make sure you know how much every position you open will cost you before you open it.

That being said, here is a review of IG Markets’ most common fees and charges.

• Spread is the difference between the ask and the bid price and is how most online brokers make a profit. The spread differs from asset to asset and can also be affected by the size of a position or your location.
• Commission is charged on selected assets, especially stocks and derivatives traded on the DMA or as CFDs.
• Other fees include inactivity fees for accounts that aren’t used as well as overnight fees for positions that are kept open overnight. Transactions to and from the platform are generally done free of charge.

Luckily, IG Markets has made a strong effort to be very transparent and every fee and spread is clearly listed and detailed on their website.

IG Markets Trading Platforms

Unlike many brokers that rely on one or perhaps two different trading platforms, IG Markets has several on offer. Some of the platforms are available to all traders while others are strictly for professionals.

Desktop Trading with IG Markets

The main trading platform is the IG Markets Web Trader which is a complete trading system available through your browser. It can be used to trade pretty much every asset provided by IG. It’s one of the best platforms we’ve used and besides offering smooth execution, the platform comes with analytic tools, real-time quotes, price alarms, trading robots, daily news updates, and more.

IG Markets also provides access to the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) developed by MetaQuotes. It’s mainly used for forex trading but also supports indices, and commodities. MT4 is one of the most used forex trading platforms in the industry, and it’s offered by several top tier brokers for good reason.

The L2 Dealer platform is the most advanced platform provided by IG, and it gives traders complete control of every trade. It’s a downloadable so-called DMA (direct market access) platform that can be used to trade stocks and forex. It was developed to accommodate professional traders and is more complex than, for example, the MT4.

ProRealTime is the name of IG Markets’ analytic platform and is where you’ll get most of your quotes and price data. The graphs and interface are both interactive and innovative and guarantee that you always have the most accurate price data available. Using a proficient analytics tool is crucial to succeeding as a trader, which is exactly what IG offers.

Mobile Trading with IG Markets

In terms of mobile trading, IG Markets has a platform for both Android and iOS. It features advanced trading tools and complete functionality, meaning you can handle all of your CFD trading directly from your smartphone or tablet.

The platform has won multiple awards over the years and is widely considered to be the greatest trading app in the world.

The app is constantly being updated with the latest technology and can be downloaded from respective app store.

Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.

Open an Account with IG Markets

If this IG Markets review has you considering opening a trading account, we have good news. Opening an account with IG Markets is very easy following these steps.

1. Register an account by providing personal information such as name, address, email, etc.
2. Verify your account by providing a copy of your national ID (passport or driver’s license) as well as proof of address (utility bill or bank statement).
3. Make a minimum deposit of $250 (or equivalent in your currency) to activate the account.
4. Start trading at your own will.

IG Markets also has a demo account that serves two purposes. If you’ve never traded before, the demo account can be used to familiarize yourself with the broker and the concept of CFD trading.

For more experienced traders, a demo account is a perfect tool for practice and strategy development. The IG Markets demo account is completely free and unlimited, and we recommend that everyone opens one.

All of IG’s customers also gain access to a tremendous amount of interactive educational material aimed at improving and optimizing your knowledge regardless of your previous experience. And if you ever have a question or a concern, IG Markets support team stands ready to help you out.

Final Words About IG Markets

IG Group, the brand that owns and operates IG Markets, is one of the top financial institutions of our time. Based in London, this British broker mainly focuses on the European market, although they also dominate the market in Australia and can be used across most of Asia and parts of Africa.

With 16,000 markets and the highest monthly turnover of any CFD broker in the world, IG Markets has few real competitors. The broker also happens to have a great reputation, is known to be transparent, and since IG Group is an FTSE 250 company, you can trust them to regard safety as their main priority.

As mentioned several times in this review of IG Markets, an account with this broker allows you to trade stocks, forex, indices, commodities (spots and futures) as well as several other markets. Better yet, these assets can be traded in different formats such as CFDs, options, and spread betting (in the UK only).

Based on our extensive experience in the industry as well as the countless hours we’ve spent testing and reviewing IG Markets, we are confident that this broker is 100% trustworthy and we’re almost certain that you will enjoy using it. And if you don’t want to take our word for it, you can open an IG Markets demo account and test the broker on your own.

Find the best trading platform. You capital is at risk when trading. Be careful.