IG Broker Review

Yes, Vantage FX is a safe broker for Indian traders to trade with.  It maintains regulation from some top-tier authorities, including ASIC of Australia and the FCA of the UK.  It is also registered in the Cayman Islands and Vanuatu.

In India, clients of IG Markets will be trading with IG International Ltd, which has been licenced by the BMA since February 2020. IG International Ltd was created in 2020 to focus on IG Markets’ clients in Africa, South America and Asia.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has become a popular location for Forex brokers in recent years to avoid the restrictions placed on them by the regulators in Europe and Australia. While this means that Indian traders will have access to increased leverage and cash rebates for high-volume trading, the BMA is not considered a strong regulator and Indian traders will not have negative balance protection or access to any kind of compensation or official conflict resolution in the event of any dispute with IG Markets.

It is worth pointing out that IG Markets has a long history as a trusted Forex broker and all client money is held in segregated accounts and ring-fenced from creditors, in case of broker bankruptcy.

Because of the active internal client protection policies and processes, strong regulation, and acclaim from the industry, we consider IG Markets a safe and trustworthy broker.

The account opening process at IG Markets is slower than at other brokers and requires detailed information regarding the state of your finances and your trading knowledge. 

All Indian traders are eligible to open an account at IG Markets, and with no minimum deposit required new traders don’t have to worry about funding the account right away.

The account-opening process at IG is relatively easy but identity verification can take up to two days. Until your identity has been verified, you will not be able to use your trading account.  IG Markets offers joint and individual accounts, but we will focus on opening an individual account:

1. New traders will have to click on the “Create Live Account” button at the top of the page, where they will be directed to register an account with a country of residence, full name, and email address. You will also have to create a username and password.
2. Once this step is completed you will be asked to complete a short form that will help IG Markets understand the state of your finances and your trading knowledge.
   1. While most brokers don’t include this step in the account-opening process, it is a responsible move in an industry that is often accused of an irresponsible approach to consumer protection.
3. Once this form is completed, traders will have to submit the Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation:
   1. IG Markets requires proof of identification (such as current passport, ID card, or driver’s licence)
   2. Proof of address such as a utility bill or bank statement that is less than six months old.
4. The account will be ready for trading once documentation has been verified, which can take two, or sometimes three days.

We advise you to read IG Markets’ risk disclosure, customer agreement, and terms of business before you start trading. 

Overall, IG Markets’ account opening process is relatively hassle-free and all documents can be uploaded digitally. But identity verification does take longer than other brokers – most other brokers will be able to verify your identity within a matter of hours rather than days.

With over 13,000 share CFDs and instruments that are hard to find at similar brokers, such as ETFs, Options, and Digital100s.

IG’s fee structure is transparent, and it publishes all trading fees. IG Markets’ accounts were assessed to compare the costs to those of other Forex brokers. 

Average trading costs for one lot of EUR/USD amongst IG Markets’ competitors are about 9 USD. So, whichever account you decide to trade with, IG Markets’ ongoing trading costs are lower than the industry average. High-volume traders will find trading costs much lower than average with the reduced commission. 

Swap Fees

While IG Markets does not publish its overnight financing rates (swap rates), these can be viewed via the trading platform. For Forex trading, IG Markets charge the swap fee based on the current tom-next rate. Tom-next shows, in points, the difference between the interest paid to borrow the currency that is being notionally sold, and the interest received from holding the currency. Once the tom-next rate has been calculated for a trading position, IG Markets will add an admin fee of 0.8%. 

Compared to other market makers, IG Markets’ trading costs are low. In addition, neither of IG Markets’ accounts have a required minimum deposit, making it a good choice for both beginner traders.

IG Markets Non-trading costs

IG Markets has higher than average non-trading costs than other brokers

While there is normally no fee for IG accounts, inactive CFD accounts are charged an 18 USD fee on the first of every month if no dealing activity has occurred for two years or more. This fee is only charged if you still have funds in your account. This fee is lower than average than most other brokers, and most brokers will charge you after a 6 month inactivity period.

Traders may be dissatisfied with IG Markets when it comes to the higher than average deposit costs, but withdrawals are generally free of charge. 

Another cost to be aware of is a currency conversion fee of 0.5% when trading CFDs denominated in a currency other than your account’s base currency. This can be problematic considering the difficulty of switching base currencies at IG Markets.

It’s worth pointing out that IG Markets is completely transparent about its deposit costs, even if these are higher than other similar brokers.

Trading costs:

CFD Trading Account

No minimum deposit is required to open a CFD trading account. Traders can choose to trade on either the MT4 platform, in which case spreads will average at 0.75 pips on the EUR/USD, or they can trade on the IG platform, where spreads average at 0.86 pips on the EUR/USD. However, there are marked differences between using the MT4 and IG proprietary platforms. 

DMA (Direct Market Access) Account

Spreads average at 0.165 pips on the EUR/USD, and commissions are based on the trading volume (see below for more details).  Traders can only use the L2 Dealer platform when choosing the DMA account option.

Additional Accounts

IG has Share dealing and IG Investments Smart Portfolios accounts. These are non-leverage account types that let you trade stocks and shares.

In line with Anti-Money Laundering policies, IG Markets returns all non-profit funds to the original deposit source. No matter your deposit method, the withdrawal of all profits must be made by bank transfer to a bank account in your name. However, IG Markets can consider special cases where this is not an option.

Deposits

Traders can deposit funds via debit/credit card (Visa and Mastercard), bank wire transfers, and PayPal.

Withdrawals

IG Markets does not charge a fee for withdrawals but the minimum withdrawal amount is 200 USD.  Withdrawals are processed on the same day but may take two to five days to reflect. 

While IG Markets does allow traders to select different base currencies other than USD, new accounts are always denominated in USD by default. This can only be changed by emailing IG Markets support team with your name, date of birth and address, and the account number you would like to change.

This obviously takes some time and is a serious hassle for traders who trade exclusively in specific CFDs and want to avoid the 0.5% conversion fee. In addition, IG Markets does not publish the list of base currencies it supports – so traders will have to email customer support to find out whether their chosen base currency is available.

Overall, this is strange behaviour from one of the most respected CFD brokers in the world. Most CFD brokers have no problem with letting new customers open their trading account in a range of currencies, and switching base currencies is usually an easy process. Why this is quite so difficult for IG Markets is an open question – but it does make fee-free trading in other currency denominated CFDs a hassle.

iPhone and iPad users will be disappointed that IG Markets’ platform is not available as an app but instead runs in the device’s browser with reduced functionality compared to the Android app. L2 Dealer is only available on desktop, but considering the complexity of L2 Dealer, this is not a downside.

IG Markets’ Mobile App

IG Markets own platform is available as a mobile app on Android devices. For iOS users, IG Markets has developed a Progressive Web App (PWA) which runs in mobile browsers. 

iPhone and iPad users will be disappointed that IG Markets does not have an iOS app; the assumption is that IG Markets has concluded that Apple’s infamous terms of service are too restrictive and has decided to bypass the app store entirely.

IG Markets’ Android app features include:

• Access to 17,000 trading instruments including Forex, shares, indices, cryptocurrencies and commodities
• Advanced dealing with partial fills, points through current and tailored orders
• 28 technical indicators, such as Bollinger Bands, Fibonacci retracements and MACD
• News and analysis from IG’s in-house team and the Reuters live feed
• Trading directly from interactive price charts, featuring pinch to zoom and swipe to scroll

The PWA for iOS devices has reduced functionality compared to the Android app but still provides access to 17,000 trading instruments. While the PWA allows trading directly from charts, fewer technical indicators are available compared to the Android app. In addition, advanced dealing options, alerts and funding options are absent. Overall, iPhone users will be disappointed by the mobile trading experience at IG Markets.

MT4 Mobile App

IG Markets offers MT4 on a mobile trading platform, available for both Android and iOS. Although there is slightly limited functionality compared to the desktop version of the platform, with reduced timeframes and fewer charting options, traders will still have access to analytics with technical indicators, graphical objects and a full set of trading orders.

L2 Dealer is not available on mobile devices, due to the complexity of the platform. 

Overall, all users of MT4 – and users of the IG Markets platform with Android devices – will be satisfied with the mobile trading experience at IG Markets. Owners of iOS devices will find a lower-quality service unless they are using MT4. This is a poor service compared to other brokers and is surprising coming from such a large and well-respected broker like IG.

Trading platform comparison:

IG Markets offers clients a suite of trading platforms for beginner and advanced traders. Platforms available include the IG Markets web-based platform, MT4 and L2 Dealer – an advanced platform for DMA trading. This platform lineup won IG Markets the award for Best Multi-Platform Provider from 2016-2020 at the ADVFN International Financial Awards.

Web Trading Platform

Many similar brokers to IG Markets offer their own trading platforms, but IG Markets’ web-based platform is unusually customisable and functional when compared to other brokers’ own platforms. Some highlights include:

• 0.014 seconds average execution speed
• Compare up to four timeframes on a single chart
• 28 indicators (including MACD, RSI and Bollinger Bands) and 19 drawings
• Optional one-click trading, direct from charts – open, close and edit positions.
• Integrated access to ProRealTime, a web-based charting package for advanced traders. For more on IG Markets’ trading tools, click here.
• Free signals from both Autochartist and PIAfirst, providing a feed of trading opportunities based on technical analysis and market expertise
• Integrated news feed from Reuters and IG Markets analysts

All of IG Markets CFDs are available to trade through the IG Markets platform, no software download is required, and it’s suitable for traders of all experience levels.

The two downsides to IG Markets’ trading platform are the lack of automation and customisability available on MT4, and that traders will not be able to take the platform with them if they decide to switch brokers. 

MetaTrader 4

Developed by MetaQuotes in 2002, MT4 is still the most popular CFD trading platform in the world.  Although the platform’s interface is now dated, MT4 is still widely recognised for its fast execution speeds, a wide range of charting tools, algorithmic trading, and customisability.  Other features of MT4 include:

• Supports the creation, modification, and utilisation of automated trading strategies.
• Supports MQL4 programming language.
• Algorithmic trading, which allows any trading strategy to be formalised and implemented as an Expert Advisor (EA). 
• Allows traders to develop their own custom indicators.
• Superior charting tools in nine timeframes
• 24 graphical objects
• 30 built-in indicators
• Four pending order types, including buy stop, sell stop, buy limit, and sell limit.

MetaTrader4 is intended for Forex specialists and is an ideal platform for trading CFDs and spread betting. Advanced MT4 charts, chart trading features, and market orders, including limits, stops, stop-loss and take-profit features are available free of charge.

Unique advantages of the MT4 platform include the automated trading functionality achieved through the use of EAs, the 18 customer apps created by IG, and the free Autochartist plugin. Note that MT4 users do not have access to Reuters News, Bloomberg, or FIX API.

L2 Dealer

L2 Dealer, a specialist platform designed by IG Markets, offers direct market access (DMA) free of charge as long as clients maintain a balance of 2000 USD. This platform is not recommended for beginner traders as the complexity of trading the DMA market is only suitable for traders who understand the terminology and risks involved.

The primary advantage of the L2 Dealer software is trading Forex at market prices, with liquidity from major providers. This improved liquidity from dark pools, separate brokers, and other market makers use smart order-routing, which seeks out and executes trades at the best price from various trading venues automatically.

The L2 Dealer platform also functions as a specialist share trading platform and provides market depth from a range of exchanges (including full market depth from the LSE) and an ‘Iceberg’ facility, which break large shares orders into smaller tranches. Like IG Markets’ web-trading platform, the L2 Dealer platform also has integrated access to ProRealTime, a web-based charting package for advanced traders.

ProRealTime (IG Markets Platform and L2 Dealer only)

Only available on L2 Dealer and IG Market’s own platform, ProRealTime is a downloadable advanced charting package with advanced analytical features and monitoring tools. Intended for technical chart traders, ProRealTime allows clients to automate their trading and features a fully customisable interface. ProRealTime is free of charge for clients that trade at least four times per calendar month; otherwise, a fee of 40 AUD per month will be charged to use the tool.

Autochartist (MT4 only)

Free for all IG clients, Autochartist is an award-winning automated technical analysis tool that plugs into MT4 and scans all available CFD markets for trading opportunities.

Autochartist’s advanced pattern recognition engine identifies the strongest potential trading opportunities and predicts future price movements. Some of Autochartist’s key features are:

• Chart pattern recognition
• Fibonacci pattern recognition
• Key level analysis
• Pattern quality indication

The market scanner provides statistically significant market movements and identifies important price levels that are catalysts for market movements.

IG’s Trading Signals (IG Markets platform only)

IG has partnered with Autochartist and PIAfirst to provide users of IG Markets’ own web-based platform with free trading signals. Autochartist is an automated technical analysis tool that scans the markets and analyses data across multiple timeframes to provide users with trading opportunities. PIAfirst is a trading strategy service provided by market professionals that delivers award-winning analysis and easy-to-implement trading strategies to users.

Trading signals from both Autochartist and PIAfirst are easy to access from the drop-down Signals menu in IG Market’s trading platform. Each signal also provides the accompanying analysis, allowing beginner traders to learn how both technical and fundamental analysis can be used to spot trading opportunities.

MT4 Indicators (MT4 only)

Like most brokers who offer MT4, IG Markets offers a package of indicators to all users of the platform. When you download MT4 from IG, you get six of the most popular indicators on the MT4 platform for free. You’ll also receive more than 12 add-ons when you download MT4 from IG. These enable you to customise the platform to your own preferences and trading needs. Add-ons include:

• Mini terminal: Allows traders to adapt MT4’s deal tickets and charts to their preferences with a host of highly configurable new features.
• Trade terminal: Control all trades from a single, powerful window.
• Stealth orders: Let’s traders keep their trades anonymous.
• Correlation matrix: Enables traders to see how correlated their watched markets are, and limit risk accordingly.
• Sentiment trader: Let’s traders analyse market sentiment or view a historic price vs sentiment chart.

Partial Fills and Points Through Current (IG Markets platform only)

For high-volume traders, IG Markets offers two trading tools to reduce the change of trade rejection.

Partial Fills

IG Markets now offers clients partial fills on their online trades. If you are a high-volume trader you will be able to accept a partial fill to increase your chance of successful execution.

If you choose to use this feature, IG will only ever partially fill your order as an alternative to outright rejection. IG will never partially fill your order as an alternative to filling it in its entirety. So if you trade in a size so large that we cannot fill your entire order rather than reject your entire order IG will be able to fill you in the maximum size possible.

Point Through Current

Points through current will give traders even more control of their execution by allowing them to trade through the current IG price. This feature will reduce your chance of a price rejection in volatile market conditions, and increase the likelihood of successful execution when trading in large sizes.

While IG will still fill an order at the best possible price, the chance of a successful execution is increased when using ‘points through current.

API (Custom-built trading platforms only)

API stands for Application Programming Interface. It is a program that connects two applications – for example, your IG trading account and your custom-built platform. Trading with APIs enables you to gain direct access to IG’s ecosystem, providing you with faster order execution and more control, enhancing your trading experience.

Trading tool comparison:

IG Markets research and analysis is comparable with most other large international brokers, with a constant feed of news and thoughts from the in-house trading team.

News and trade ideas, trading strategy education, and analysis of upcoming financial events are frequently published at IG Markets. The analysis is written by the IG Markets Global team of analysts who have professional backgrounds in trading at some of the major investment banks.

IG Markets sends free Morning Call and The Week Ahead reports daily and weekly, respectively. Each promises to deliver an analysis of major economic events and corporate news before the opening of the markets.

Awarded Best Forex Educators 2018 (UK Forex Awards), IG Markets has plenty of current and accessible educational material for beginner traders. Reports and daily analysis are emailed to anyone who signs up, and 24-hour support is available.

IG Markets has a wide variety of educational materials to get traders started.  These include the IG Academy, a section on Managing Your Risk, a Trading Strategy section, Webinars and Seminars, and a glossary of terms.  See below for details:

• IG Academy: Online trading courses covering topics for beginner, intermediate and advanced traders. Live, structured classroom-style lessons are run daily and offer traders the opportunity to get personal feedback and interact with market analysts.
• Managing your risk: IG Markets provides several materials outlining how traders can reduce their risk. It also includes information on the various risk management tools offered at IG Markets.
• Trading Strategy: This section teaches traders how to look at the markets, use trading tools, and understand technical trading language.
• Webinars and seminars: IG Market’s webinars and seminars help build traders’ confidence and cover topics ranging from platform walk-throughs to upcoming trading opportunities.
• Glossary: The glossary provides comprehensive definitions and explanations of various financial terms.

Education material comparison:

Clients support is available by phone, email, Twitter, and live chat, 24hrs a day from 11.30 am Saturday to 01.30 am Saturday (GMT+5). In addition, the peer support platform offers assistance from other traders and IG staff in a forum discussion, which is an ideal additional resource for beginner traders who have questions about the platforms, analysis, and trading ideas.