IG Review

Want to see if IG is a legit broker? Safe to trade? The spread is high or low? How long to deposit or withdraw?

We provide answers to all the questions in this IG Review.

We checked IG licenses and regulations to see if IG scam or safe. We compared IG fees, spread & commission from its live account to over 150 brokers, required time for deposit & withdrawal and many more findings all in this review.

What is IG

IG is one of the biggest global CFD and Forex brokers established in 1974.

The company operates as IG Group Holding, is a member of FTSE 250 and multiply regulated company with numerous licenses including top-tier FCA in the UK, FINMA in Switzerland, CFTC in the US, etc.

IG highlights

🗺️ Regulated in	UK, USA, Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, Singpaore, New Zealand, Dubai, Japan Dubai, Belize
🛡️ Is IG safe to trade	Yes
💵 EUR/USD spread	0.8 pips
🏦 Deposit	Bank Wire, Cards, PayPal
💰 Minimum deposit	US$250
🏦 Withdrawal	Bank Wire, Cards, PayPal
💻 Trading platform	MT4, IG Proprietary Web, Mobile, Desktop
💳 Trading markets	Forex, CFDs on Futures, Indices, Shares, Metals, Energies, Cryptocurrencies. Options.
📈 Number of product	17,000+
📉 Live chat response	Fast and relevant answers

Regulation

License and regulation are crucial to traders’ fund security. We check two facts, the broker’s background and license, and how trader is protected if something goes wrong.

Is IG legit

IG is one of the trading pioneers and is listed in Stock, plus it is heavily regulated by almost all reputable world authorities totally licensed by 11 regulators.

The headquarter based in the UK is authorized by top-tier Financial Conduct Authority FCA, and its subsidiaries are operating German, Australia, Switzerland, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand, Dubai, Japan, USA plus international Bermuda based branch, while all entities are licensedby local regulators and according to necessary laws.

IG licenses and status

Entity	Registered in	Regulator	License no.	Status
IG Index Ltd, IG Markets Ltd	UK	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	195355 | 114059	Currently Regulated
IG Markets Ltd, Australia	Australia	Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)	ABN 84 099 019 851, AFSL 220440	Currently Regulated
IG Markets Ltd, Australia	New Zealand	Financial Markets Authority (FMA)	FSP No. 18923	Currently Regulated
IG Bank S.A	Switzerland	Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA)		Currently Regulated
IG Limited	Dubai	Financial Markets Authority (FMA)	(F001780)	Currently Regulated
IG Asia Pte Ltd	Singapore	Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)	200510021K	Currently Regulated
IG Markets South Africa Ltd	South Africa	Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)	FSP No 41393	Currently Regulated
IG Europe GmbH	Germany	Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)	148759	Currently Regulated
IG Securities Ltd	Japan	Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) METI, MAFF	No. 255	Currently Regulated
IG US LLC, Nadex	USA	Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA)	Regulated Exchange	Currently Regulated
IG International Limited	Bermuda	Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA)		Registered

Is IG safe

Yes, IG is considered safe because it is operating for many years, audited by numerous world regulators including the top-tier and is listed on Stock FTSE250.

IG operates 12 entities and is fully authorized in each jurisdiction that proide transparent trading environment. The matter of entity apply different regulatory requirements, protective measures and compensations in case of insolvency.  

IG compensation scheme

Entity	Compensation Amount	Negative Balance Protection
IG Index Ltd, IG Markets Ltd	£85,000	Yes
IG Markets Ltd, Australia	No compensation	Yes
IG Markets Ltd, Australia	No compensation	Yes
IG Bank S.A	CHF 100,000	Yes
IG Limited	No compensation	Yes
IG Asia Pte Ltd	No compensation	Yes
IG Markets South Africa Ltd	No compensation	Yes
IG Europe GmbH	€ 20,000	Yes
IG Securities Ltd	No compensation	Yes
IG US LLC, Nadex	No compensation	No
IG International Limited	No compensation	No

We recommend to register account with the UK, Germany, Switzerland or Australia entities of IG, as we consider these regulations the best

IG provides negative balance protection for the traders, however some entities does not demand this rule.  

Markets and Products

IG offers very big range of trading products thousands of instruments and 6 asset classes, including Spread betting for UK traders and legal options trading through its entity Nadex.

Markets

IG Markets range includingForex, CFDs on Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Oil and Metals. Trading instruments range is different in each entity.

Markets	Instruments
Forex	200+
Indices	78
Commodities	45
Cryptocurrencies	8
Shares	10,000+
ETFs	2,000+

Account types

IG mainstays on one basic account type.

Account opening is easy and step-by-step fully digital process. Where Trading conditions are relevant to local regulatory restrictions or conditions.

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Fees and commissions

We ranked IG fee levels low and average for some instruments based on Live Account Spreads and compared to 150 brokers in our database.

The spread we collected for popular instruments from 6 markets and over 150 brokers

Markets	Instruments	Low	Average	High
Forex	EUR/USD	0.1-0.9	1-1.5	1.6 or higher
Indices	US 500	0.1-0.4	0.5-1.4	1.5 or higher
Commodities	Gold	0.1-0.4	0.5-3	2.1 or higher
Stocks	Tesla	0.1-0.5	0.6-1	1.1 or higher
ETFs	US Russell 2000	0.1-0.4	0.5-1.4	1.5 or higher
Cryptocurrencies	Bitcoin	0.1-0.5%	0.6-0.9%	1% or higher

Spreads

IG fees are typically built into a variable spread for CFDs trading.  

On our test trades via UK account we found the average spreads for Forex and other assets compared to industry benchmarks.

Markets	Instruments	IG UK Spread	Other brokers’ avg spread
Forex	EUR/USD	0.8	1-1.5
Indices	US 500	0.4	0.5-1.4
Commodities	Gold	0.3	0.5-3
Stocks	Tesla	2 cents per share	0.6-1
ETFs	US Russell 2000	1	0.5-1.4
Cryptocurrencies	Bitcoin	45	0.6-0.9%

Other Fees

IG has low non-trading fees. There is no fee for deposit, or withdrawals, inactivity is charged only after 2 years of non use.

Trading Conditions

The trading conditions at IG are good. All trading strategies are supported including scalping and hedging, but vary according to entity.

Trading Conditions	Yes/No
Hedging Allowed	Yes
Scalping Allowed	Yes
Change Leverage Allowed	Yes

For hedging, there is no time limitation for positions, US clients are restricted to use hedging.

Scalping strategy is allowed, IG offers free VPS for accounts over 5k$ and supporting Expert Advisors (EAs) with no restrictions.

Trading

You can perform Trading with leverage and the change of leverage with its maximum levels depending on the entity regulations, and goes up to 1:500.  

Investing

IG investing options are various and including Stockbroking, Share dealing, IG Smart Portfolios, ISAs and SIPPs.

Deposit

IG charges no deposit fees, but in some regions some fees may apply.You can use bank transfer, credit cards, or PayPal, where methods are also depending on jurisdiction rules.

A bank transfer can take several business days, and payments with credit/debit cards and e-wallets are instant.

Deposit Method	Funding Time	Fee
Bank Wire Transfer	Within 1 Working Day	0$
Credit / Debit Card	Usually within 10 min	0$
PayPal	Usually within 10 min	0$

Minimum Deposit

The minimum deposit requirement for IG is also set according to entity rules and starting from 250$, see the snapshot below.

Withdrawal

Similar to deposits IG covers fees for withdrawals.

Withdrawals are requested and handled via My IG Account Area and processed within 24h, plus additional days for money to appear on your account.

Withdrawal Method	Withdrawal Time	Fee
Bank Wire Transfer	24h	Free
Credit / Debit Card	24h	Free
PayPal	24h	Free

Bonus

IG does not offer no-deposit or deposit bonuses due to regulations.

Trading Platform

IG uses its own proprietary Web-based platform, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, plus popular MetaTrader4 is among available selection too.

Platforms available across all devices for Windows, Mac, and Mobile Apps for Android and IOs.

Research and Tools

IG has very good research tools and technical capabilities, Alerts, ProScreener, TopMovers and Trends, also automated trading.

There is great quality Market Overview, Streaming news from Reuters, Economic Calendars, IGTV and numerous trading signals, plus to large IG Community.

IG research tools are available in different places:

• Trading platforms
• Analyze and Learn section on the website
• IGTV

Education

IG education content is another big advantage of its offering.

Education content is wide and good for beginners, also further development for advanced traders. You can learn through trading videos, Webinars in different languages, Seminars, detailed articles, professional market outlooks and access trading ideas.

Demo Account

Demo account is offered on free basis and available for offered IG platforms.  

IG education is high quality and you can learn:

• Demo account
• Trading videos
• Webinars, Seminars
• IG Academy
• Learning section on Website and IGTV

Customer Service

IG customer service is helpful and good, FAQ is wide and detailed with many common answers. Live agents supporting great number of languages, we got fast answer via the Live Chat.

Customer Support availably 24/5 and 24/7 in the US, and supporitng:

• Live chat
• Telephone
• Email

IG live chat is quick speed, agents are eager to help and connect to relevant conditions

Question Asked	We asked about trading instruments.
Time of Reply	We connected to Live Chat within short waiting time
Quality of Reply	The answer was very informative, refereeing to particular entity proposal

Conclusion

IG is a safe and trustable broker to trade.

IG group is well-rounded, operating for several decades and regulated by great number of world respected authorities including top-tier FCA, also listed on Stock.

IG proposal is advanced, covering almost all world traders and suitable for various size portfolios, investors or institutions. From its strong points we would admit very big range of available instruments, flexibility between platforms and good education.

We recommend IG for beginning traders or day traders, scalpers and those looking for a quality investment.