IG Markets Limited and IG Index Limited, together known as IG, is a world-leading online trading and investments company that provides access to opportunities in the financial markets’ investment domain.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Through intuitive platforms and apps, IG training helps clients leverage financial gains through spread betting and CFDs. With this best CFD broker, you will find success in both rising and falling markets and trade on indices, forex, shares, commodities and more. Established in 1974 with over 178,000 clients worldwide and a presence in 16,000 markets, IG brokerage company is one of the leaders in the market. Read on to see how to get most out of this broker's platform, or hop-over to our IG review for a complete analysis.
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Money matters
IG Markets Limited is an investment company that deals with customers’ or client’s money. As an investor, it is important that you understand where your money is used and how you will benefit from the monetary transactions that you engage in. You can garner most of this knowledge from the free IG webinars.
To start with, here is some information on how IG deals with the money you deposit as a retail client. Your money is held safely in a segregated bank account along with the deposits of other retail clients. The money that you deposit with IG is never used by the company for any of its operational or other business-related tasks.
This separation guarantees that your money will not be considered for disbursements in the event of any insolvency claim on the company. IG is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has strict regulatory requirements to handle client money and client assets, ensuring that your money is safe with IG.
For IG, the main source of income is through spread betting and CFDs. If you do any CFD broker comparison, you will realise that IG offers a lower rate for fees and commissions but is still among the most reputed companies in the industry.
Access to professional trading
With an IG professional account, you can enjoy added benefits such as low trading rates. While it is true that the regulatory landscape is changing, imminent leverage restrictions usually do not apply to professional traders. This exclusive range of perks, not available to retail clients, can make a substantial difference in the trading margin, thereby maximising the returns to the professional traders.
One thing to consider as a professional trader is that you will need to maintain a positive balance in your account at all times. If you meet the following conditions, you may be eligible to become a professional trader:
- Your trading averaged above 10 significantly sized transactions every quarter for the past four years
- You have a financial instrument portfolio with cash deposits exceeding €500,000
- You have worked in the financial sector with derivatives trading for at least a year
If you move forward with a professional trading account, one perk you will experience is access to Digital 100s. When you trade digital 100s with IG, you can trade on quiet markets, lower your risks and discover new opportunities in the form of speculating on indices, FX and commodities within a time frame of five minutes to one month.
Professional traders with IC also have the advantage of having a dedicated personal account manager for bespoke analysis. Lastly, as a professional trader, you can use up to 95% value of your shareholdings (collateral) as margin for your spread bets and CFDs.
Market insight and expert opinion
When it comes to successful trading, there are many factors to consider in your endeavours. In today’s market, it can be overwhelming to establish a career as a trader. The shares and commodities markets are known to be quite volatile, making the beginning stages intimidating for aspiring traders. Not only that, there is a large amount of information to absorb and utilise when you are starting out. It can be difficult to know where to begin. Even after you become more confident as a trader, it is imperative to stay on top of the market and familiarise yourself with the latest information.
While the IG webinars can be a helpful tool for those looking gain a better understanding of trading nuances and market conditions, there is a need for more up-to-date information that traders can easily access and utilise. A lot of this information is readily available on the internet, but it may not be practical for traders and investors to scan through infinite websites to locate the most relevant and credible information.
This is why IG’s Research and Development team has stepped in to offer a resource library to its clients. This library contains reliable information that is pertinent to the markets they are dealing with and the commodities they are trading. The experts at IG collect news articles and generate analysis reports to provide a helpful resource for less experienced investors.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
How IG supports its investors
At IG, the general belief is that the success of the brokerage company lies in the achievements of its investors and clients. This is why the professionally trained, expert trading agents at IG will always be there to support you in your trading goals. There is also a comprehensive IG training programme that investors can opt into for an in-depth understanding of the nuances of trade. But the personal service offered by the dedicated team at IG is enough to help you through the initial trading glitches that many experience when starting as an online trader.
The IG support team is a large, highly-skilled group that delivers services to all clients at all times. To reach a support executive, simply choose whichever mode of communication you find convenient – phone, email or social media – and you will receive an almost instant response. You can also connect with the team using the ‘live chat’ option available on their website at all times from Saturday to Friday.
When performing a broker comparison to gather information and choose a broker, ease of communication with your broker-agent can be a crucial deciding factor. This is where IG takes a noteworthy lead. This company was inducted in the Institute of Customer Service for its recognition to constantly deliver world-class client support.
What are the charges involved with IG?
When you deal with IG, there is very clear information available to you on the charges and fees you will have to pay. The first thing that you should know is that you will be charged for funding and interest charges only if you are applying for CFD trades and spread bets. IG provides enough resources for traders to check the charges that will apply to their trade well in advance to help them make informed choices.
The first charge when you open a daily funded bet or trade CFDs in IG’s commodity markets is an overnight funding adjustment, which applies if you hold your investment position beyond 10 PM (UK standard time). You will also be required to pay the spread, which is the difference between the bid price and the asking price. The spread charge will also include the market spread, which is highly dependent on the market conditions. These costs and charges apply to trading in CFDs, shares and Forex trading accounts. The funding costs are calculated using different formulae for shares, indices, forex and other commodities.
Detailed information and examples of these formulae are available on IG’s website, allowing you to ascertain your charges beforehand. By identifying with certainty which charges you are accountable for, you can ensure your own financial preparedness. The IG training programme will give you in-depth information on how to use this information to your advantage.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Build your trading skill with support from IG Academy
As a trader, relevant, timely information is your key to success. However, there may be times when you have all the necessary data but find yourself incapable of using it to optimise your trading returns. This common dilemma is nothing to concern yourself with. Trading is a skill that you build upon with the right kind of instruction. By seeking out the best training and resources, you help yourself get closer to your personal goals and achieve your greatest potential.
At IG Academy, there is a well of resources available to offer you the proper training to flourish as a trader of shares, forex or other commodities. The IG training courses will help you discover how to trade and later help you develop further knowledge you can use to your advantage. All of this from a company that has over 40 years of experience in financial markets can be quite empowering. Here is what you can expect at IG Academy for all your training needs:
- Online courses: short, step-by-step self-paced courses featuring interactive exercises and quizzes
- Live webinars and in-person training sessions: discussions online or in-person led by experts who will share their experiences and insights to equip you with the knowledge you need
What are the various courses available?
One of the best things about the IG training modules is the fact that you have a variety of self-study courses available. This enables new traders to choose the course that they find most relevant to their information and trading requirements. These learn-at-your-own-pace courses are very interactive and check your level of understanding at regular intervals through practical exercises and brilliantly designed quizzes.
The courses are all divided based on your level of expertise. There are courses designed for beginners, intermediate traders and even advanced traders. The IG Academy believes there is always something new that you can learn and apply to your trading to further improve your outcomes.
With these self-paced online courses, you can learn at your own convenience from just about anywhere, making it practical for the majority of traders who have busy work schedules. You can always support your learning through online courses by attending the live webinars and the in-person sessions that IG Academy puts on from time to time. These live webinars and in-person sessions are very interactive and are sure to further your learning perspective. Gaining new insight will allow you to reflect on your current knowledge decide whether to apply for more courses to get a leg up in the industry.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
How can you benefit from live sessions?
At IG Academy, you have the advantage of receiving live training sessions to increase your knowledge and expose you to a great deal of updated information. The live module will ensure you return to trading fully equipped with everything you wanted to learn and confident in your abilities. The live sessions are usually in the form of IG webinars that can be accessed online from anywhere.
Keep in mind, IG also offers in-person trading seminars that you can attend if you are someone who learns better when you have the trainer in front of you. You can choose between the live webinars or the in-person training sessions based on your convenience and comfort level. The IG Academy website will give you an upcoming schedule of the webinars and in-person training sessions a few weeks ahead, along with details of the presenters so that you can plan accordingly.
These details will give you a preview of what you can expect to learn at the webinar or the live in-person training session so that you can decide if it will be beneficial for you. Of course, you can always leave personal feedback if you feel you need further training. The IG Academy team will be happy to offer whatever you require in the future.
With IG, you will be at an advantage of leading your trading career towards higher returns and bigger profits. Benefit from the IG advantage today!
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