“The platform and charts are superb, but I would appreciate online courses, preferably live, so we can become a more effective trader. Many people have spent quite a lot of money on courses, only to be left alone afterwards - it's not so much the technicals, it's the support in executing an strategy effectively that is needed as well as some form of mentoring. With these things in place, a lot more people would use the platform and trade.”
“Excellent platform and charts. i phone app is fantastic. Could do with 50p a pip on major Fx pairs for those starting out or trying new strategies with small accounts. I am currently looking for another platform that offers 50p a pip on Fx EUR/USD after nearly 5 years with ig. Overall fantastic provider though.”
“IG is my main spread betting account because it's my favourite, it's as simple as that. I find the tear-off tickets and chart windows particularly useful as they allow me to arrange my screens the way I want them. The advanced charts are very good - so much so that I haven't got round to trying the MT4 offering yet! My only slight issue is that there is a requirement to place 2 trades per month in order to get the £30 monthly fee refunded. While I feel that's reasonable, I recently changed my trading pattern to a more long term outlook and as a result didn't fulfil the requirements - it would have been helpful if a warning had been sent, perhaps a week before the end of the month, to remind me that if I didn't place the necessary trades I wouldn't receive the refund. Other than that the only issue I've encountered has been a significant widening of spread overnight which resulted in a trade being stopped out - from the usual 2.5 pips to 12! However, it's only happened once so not a major concern. Overall I remain a very satisfied customer.”
“+ good graphing
+ good range of equity markets
- BIG negative for me is that closing out positions can be a nightmare. So often I get that the size I've chosen is not good for the market yet the likes of Spreadex and Finspreads just get on with it - Spreadex even close some of my illiquid small company positions so they are my favourite spreadbetters. I'd be grateful if you could ensure that I can close my internet set positions as I feel I may have to use others if this situation continues (seems to be every other position I set up... for example please look at my account for 6/8/14 as you'll see me trying to close out positions all made up of little closes as there was no way to close my overall position! As you can see the price moved detrimentally whilst doing this)
- range of small companies is poor BUT if I can't close positions then there's no way I will use IG”
“Great company reputation, solid platforms with excellent execution and fills. Good customer services, and a very open and helpful market strategist in David Jones very helpful when learning the ropes 2 years or so ago.”
“I spreadbet shares (and have in the past, forex).
I have been spread betting for about ten years and although only a hobbyist (and certainly not a day-trader type), I am very far from being a novice and know the ropes well.
The IG Index desktop and mobile websites are fast and generally speaking straightforward to operate.
I have a rather cranky old PC. I also have a CMC Spreadbet account. Starting simultaneously I can open the IG Index login page and login, place a bet and log out again before the CMC site has even finished opening the login page.
The IG mobile site is easy to understand and intuitive and I'm using it a lot at the moment for both research and for placing bets.
The website "Help" does not seem to fully cover the mobile site. In the last few days I have tried to research the setting of trailing stop losses and the information seemed only to refer to the desktop site.
By accident I have discovered that to set a mobile trailing stop one seems to have to set up a bet and then subsequently "Edit" it to sort out the trailing stop. I haven't actually done it, none of my present bets requires it.
I also tried using "Help" to find out how to calculate the real life value (i.e. the value if one bought the actual shares in a company) of a spreadbet and failed completely. I know that the answer is simple but I can't remember how to do it!
I find the trailing stop system on IG to be unnecessarily arcane. I still haven't got to grips with how it works. I have to say that on CMC it is completely transparent and I did not even need to refer to 'help' to figure out how it works.
I am sure that IG's "step" system has great merit but before it is of any relevance to me I need simple (dare I say) step by step instructions as to what the point of it is and how to set it up, how it works.
I was recently given a brand new Kindle Fire HD to use while I am travelling. On and off I am spending many months per year abroad, hence my interest in the IG mobile site. I am using the official Amazon approved IG Index app and it works marvellously. There is no CMC / Amazon app and one cannot use the CMC desktop site via the Kindle - it automatically redirects you to the non-functional mobile site.
If you feel like explaining what the benefits and intricacies of the trailing/stepped stops are then that would be appreciated. If so, in the first instance please email me on gilesaj@tesco.net and then if a phone call would be better I can arrange to be within range of the internet. I am out and about a lot. Please note that 'Standard Letter Template' type emails are especially not appreciated!
Best wishes, Giles”
“IG is an excellent platform, providing a depth of instuments with high liquidity. THe execution is impeccable over the form or on the web.
I am a long standing customer, for approximately 15 years, and I am intending to keep my account to continue enjoying such and experience.”
“IG provides me with a reliable spread-betting platform that I can trust. I can trust that my orders are placed at the levels I expected, and slippage only occurs in very fast moving scenarios, which is unavoidable. I can also close positions exactly where and when I wish. All these observations might appear obvious but contrast strongly with previous experience with another spread-betting company.”
“Regarding Working Orders; had one order yesterday that was not filled because quote: "the order price was hit exactly and only for a very short time - this is the way these orders work and is normal."
Also, another order today was not filled - kept getting message about 'market rolling over - unavailable'.
Altogether, this has cost about 190 pips at present.”
“Charges are non-transparent. Linking the charging of holding short positions to the prevailing LIBOR rate being below 2.5% seems like a cynical attempt to benefit from being able to charge overnight holding of both short and long positions.
Mobile app is unreliable.”
“Recommended. The spreads are amongst the best, so it costs less to open a trade and customer service is on the whole very good. The platform itself is good, although not as developed as CMC, but my understanding is that they are trying to improve it. The mobile app is outstanding. They do make a charge for using charts which is refunded if you place a set number of trades.
Personally, I would say IG are probably the market leaders, and a long way ahead of some.”
“I like IG in most aspects except their spreads on some markets such as DOW as well as spreads in markets like DAX after the close of London Exchange.Also historical data on most stocks are very limited as well as lack of clear simple examples of how to program an indicator.
Hence overall I would rate IG as Good= 8/10
Thanks”
“As a bigtime loser, there is definately not enough (any) coaching/advice re when trades are placed. I did an awful lot wrong in my previous trades and a little tap on the shoulder may have been useful. However, nothing arrived - save for requests to fill my account with more money. Left a bad taste.”
“Have used IG for 20 years plus. Always helpful and knowledgeable and above all entirely trustworthy in execution. I did a cable deal the other day where they improved 4 pips on the way in and 3 on the way out in a highly volatile market.
If I have any complaint it's that the mobile phone app doesn't always seem to work consistently even when there is 3G.
Above all the ease of use - whether payments, execution or credit is outstanding.”
“Prices are higher than competitors and the technology isnt either outstanding so i will likely switch to another provider if things doesnt get up to standard with other brokers.”
