IG Group Review
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Freetrade ReviewIG Review
Written by Elizabeth Anderson, Blain Reinkensmeyer
Fact-checked by Steven Hatzakis
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Your capital is at risk.
IG is an investment platform aimed at experienced investors looking to make frequent trades on the stock market. IG offers thousands of shares, trusts and ETFs to trade, as well as the ability to do spread betting and CFDs. It offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use trading platform that is used by both private and professional investors.
-
Minimum Deposit:
£0 -
ISA:
Yes -
SIPP:
Yes
IG pros & cons
Pros
- Established industry leader with a broad range of investment opportunities.
- IG offers more than 11,000 shares and investment trusts and 2,000 ETFs.
- Can trade through an ISA or SIPP.
- IG’s website is easy to use, even for beginner investors.
- I found IG’s educational material and learning resources to be the best of any U.K. broker.
- IG’s £3 trade fee is far cheaper than many other U.K. brokers (though if you trade less than three times a month, that fee goes up to £8).
- In my testing, I found IG’s easy-to-use mobile app to be one of the best UK stock trading apps.
- You can add money to your account through Apple Pay, if you have an iPhone.
- Investors who want a hands-off approach will appreciate IG Smart Portfolios, which allow you to invest in managed, broadly diversified portfolios with exposure to many global markets.
Cons
- IG’s platform works out expensive for investors making small trades infrequently.
- Does not offer mutual funds or bonds.
- Chart tools are on the basic side for infrequent traders – unless you have a Pro account.
- Crypto trading is only available to professional traders who either work in the industry or have financial instrument portfolios above €500,000.
- IG does not offer a demo account for share trading (though a demo account is available for spread betting and CFDs).
Overall summary
| Feature |
IG
|
|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| Charges & Fees |
|
| Investment Choices |
|
| Mobile App |
|
| Website |
|
| Ease of Use |
|
| Education |
|
IG is best for:
- Experienced investors making frequent trades
- Share traders who want access to a wide range of shares and ETFs
- Hands-off investors interested in managed portfolios
- People who prefer to trade through an easy-to-use mobile app
Charges and fees
Active traders pay low trading fees: IG charges £10 to buy and sell U.S. stocks, although this is reduced to zero if you place more than three trades a month. To trade U.K. stocks, IG charges £8, reduced to £3 if you trade more than three times a month.
The £3 fee is far cheaper than many other U.K. brokers. However, if you are looking to trade infrequently then £8 is quite steep. Barclays, for example, charges £6 and Interactive Investor charges £3.99. Some platforms such as XTB, Trading 212 and Freetrade don’t charge trading fees at all.
Many platforms offer reduced fees for regular dealing, so if you buy the same stock each month you’ll pay a discounted fee of up to £1.50. Halifax, Lloyds and Hargreaves Lansdown do not charge anything for regular dealing.
Annual custody fee: There is also a custody charge of £24 per quarter (£96 a year) unless you make at least three trades a quarter (12 per year), in which case there are no custody fees. This means IG could be an expensive place to hold investments if you have a small portfolio and don’t plan to trade much. However, if you invest at least £15,000 into a managed IG Smart Portfolio then you are exempt from custody fees.
Low forex costs: The average spread during the whole month of July 2023, including all trading sessions, was 0.98 pips for IG globally. Spreads on its main Forex Direct account offering are closer to the industry average in 2024, with spreads averaging 0.62 during July 2023 or an all-in cost of 0.82 after factoring in a per trade commission equivalent of 0.2 pips.
Government fees: Like with all stock trading, the government charges 0.5% stamp duty when you buy shares. You also pay a £1 government PTM (Panel of Takeovers and Mergers) levy if you trade shares with a total value of above £10,000. As an example of IG fees, below is an illustration of charges for buying 650 shares at £37.25 a share, totalling £24,212.50.
| IG fees example | |
|---|---|
| IG trading fee | £8 |
| Stamp duty 0.5% | £121.06 |
| Market spread (0.5p per share) | £3.25 |
| Total | £133.31 |
Detailed scenario pricing: When calculating annual share dealing costs, trading frequency and account balance are the two most important factors to consider. Assuming a £30,000 portfolio in a traditional, taxable share dealing account, here are four scenarios of how much IG would cost based on trade frequency:
- 5 trades per year = £136
- 12 trades per year = £192
- 36 trades per year = £108
- 120 trades per year = £360
- 3 fund trades per year = N/A
| Feature |
IG
|
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £0 |
| Share Trading: 0-9 Deals/ Month | £3-£8 |
| Share Trading: 10-19 Deals/ Month | £3 |
| Share Trading: 20+ Deals/ Month | £3 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £0 - £250,000 | £0 / £96 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £250K-£500K | £0 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £500,000 - £1m | £0 |
| Annual Custody Fee: £1m and over | £0 |
| Bonds - Corporate - Fee | N/A |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) - Fee | N/A |
| ETFs - Fee | £3 - £8 |
| Investment Trusts - Fee | £3 - £8 |
| Telephone Dealing Fee | £40-£50 |
What type of trader are you?
New to the world of investing? See my picks for the best UK trading platforms for beginners. More experienced traders should check out my guide to the best UK Trading Platforms for Active Traders. If you're looking to trade shares on the go, read my guide to the best UK stock trading apps.
Mobile trading apps
I found IG’s mobile app very comprehensive and easy to use in my testing. You can easily see your watch list, search investments and set up an alert. You can add money to your account through Apple Pay, if you have an iPhone, or through a debit card or manual bank transfer.
When selecting individual stocks, you can set a price alert, buy, and see recent news through the app. There are also many chart tools on the app, allowing you to toggle between candlestick and line view. I was pleasantly surprised to see that you can also add your own drawings and annotations onto your chart, a feature not currently offered by most platforms.
Tap for a demo of IG's U.K. trading app.
Website
I was pleased with how easy the platform is to use—even beginner investors are not likely to have a hard time. When I logged into IG, I was taken to a home screen that features live prices, news, and links to courses. When clicking on my account, I was taken to my Workspace. This is where I can see my watch list, search for investments and be notified of upcoming earnings announcements.
I could also find analyst consensus for individual stocks, operated by third-party vendor TipRanks, and see sentiment among other IG customers – for example, you can see how many have long or short positions in the stock.
Chart tools are more on the basic side unless you have a Pro account. ProRealTime carries a fee of £30 a month, but is free if you place more than three trades a month. Through ProRealTime, you can overlay stocks and compare historical performance to an index such as the FTSE 100.
| Feature |
IG
|
|---|---|
| Web Platform | Yes |
| iPhone App | Yes |
| Android App | Yes |
| Stock Alerts | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools | 19 |
| Charting - Notes | Yes |
| Charting - Display Corporate Events | Yes |
| Charting - Stock Overlays | No |
| Charting - Index Overlays | No |
Investment choices
IG offers more than 11,000 shares and investment trusts, and 2,000 ETFs. It does not offer mutual funds or bonds. You can own shares outright, or through spread betting and CFDs you can speculate on share price movements without ever owning the stock.
IG Smart Portfolios: There are also five IG Smart Portfolios to choose from, allowing you to invest in managed, broadly diversified portfolios with exposure to many global markets. Total costs per fund are around 0.7% a year, including management fees and fund costs. Management fees are capped at £250 a year, meaning there are no management fees on amounts above £50,000.
On a £50,000 investment you’d pay total annual fees of £360 with IG’s Smart Portfolio. This means if you are looking to invest in a ready-made portfolio, IG is worth considering, as the costs are competitive against other platforms. Hargreaves Lansdown, for example, charges £720 per year for its all-in-one portfolio funds. Bear in mind that if you invest less than £15,000 into an IG Smart Portfolio, the £96 annual IG custody fee would apply, making it a less good value.
Cryptocurrency: IG offers crypto trading, but only to professional traders either who work in the industry or have financial instrument portfolios above €500,000.
Forex/CFDs: IG also provides access to the forex market, offering nearly 20,000 CFDs. They are a major player in this space and even rank as our top pick for U.K. residents in 2024 on our sister site ForexBrokers.com. For a more in-depth dive into its forex offering, check out our IG review over there.
| Feature |
IG
|
|---|---|
| Share Trading | Yes |
| CFD Trading | Yes |
| Funds | No |
| Research - ETFs | Yes |
| Bonds - Corporate | No |
| Bonds - Government (Gilts) | No |
| Investment Trusts | Yes |
| Spread Betting | Yes |
| Crypto Trading | No |
| Advisor Services | No |
Education
The IG Academy offers free courses, webinars and seminars that are designed for traders of all levels. I found a huge range of helpful material, such as the basics of technical analysis and how to identify key chart patterns.
I believe IG’s educational material is the best of any U.K. broker. Everything is easily explained across written, video and audio formats. You can join live webinars and in-person trading seminars that run weekly, for free, and you can also watch webinars repeatedly. They are organised according to level, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced investor.
IG does not offer a demo account for share trading, but does offer a demo account for spread betting and CFDs. These are complex instruments that should only be considered by investors who are willing to take high risk and don’t mind losing money. Most everyday investors would stick to share dealing and buying funds.
| Feature |
IG
|
|---|---|
| Education (Share Trading) | Yes |
| Education (Funds) | No |
| Education (Retirement) | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes |
Final thoughts
IG provides a fantastic share dealing experience that is very competitive on price if you trade more than three times a month. It has excellent learning materials that are helpful for both beginner and sophisticated investors. IG appeals more to experienced traders than beginner investors, but it is making moves to appeal to a wider range of investors who want a hands-off approach through its IG Smart Portfolio range. These ready-made portfolios can offer good value, particularly for those with larger portfolios above £50,000, as there are no management fees.
IG is a top-rated broker on the following guides
About IG
IG has a longstanding reputation, having been around since the 1970s. It was the first company to offer financial spread betting in 1974. It now has more than 310,000 customers worldwide with a physical presence in 20 countries.
Is IG safe?
IG is a highly respected broker, offering one of the most sophisticated platforms for day traders and experienced investors. IG is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under license numbers 11628764, 04008957, and 01190902, meaning strict money protection rules apply and your money and assets are ring-fenced.
FCA regulation requires IG to ensure client funds are kept separate in segregated accounts at regulated banks, ensuring they are secure in the unlikely event IG becomes insolvent. Additional asset protection up to £85,000 through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is provided. IG also offers negative balance protection, per rules mandated by ESMA, along with guaranteed stop loss orders which protect against large losses due to extreme market conditions causing wide gaps.
Is IG a good broker for beginners?
IG has historically appealed to more advanced investors, but its platform is easy to use by anyone. It offers ETFs and investment trusts for those looking for diversification, along with its ready-made Smart Portfolios.
What fees does IG charge?
IG charges a custody charge of £96 a year unless you make at least three trades a quarter (12 per year), in which case there are no custody fees. There are no custody fees if you invest at least £15,000 into a managed IG Smart Portfolio. If below this, the £96 annual fee would apply.
What is the minimum deposit at IG?
There is no minimum deposit at IG. One thing to keep in mind however is the custody charge described above which may not make IG ideal for infrequent traders with small portfolios.
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Methodology
For the UK.StockBrokers.com Annual Review, we assessed, rated, and ranked 17 U.K. share dealing platforms over a 10-week time period. Each broker’s platforms and features were exhaustively tested by hand and graded on 53 different variables. In total, over 25,000 words of research were produced.
We thoroughly tested and compared features of prime interest to everyday investors, including but not limited to:
- Investment choices, such as whether the broker offers trading of shares, ETFs, funds, bonds, and CFDs; and offers SIPP and ISA accounts.
- The broker’s charges and fees for investing.
- Functionality and design of mobile apps and website platform, and a fluid experience moving between app and web.
- Usability of tools such as charting and watch lists.
- Market research, such as screening, news and analysis.
- Educational resources including tutorials, online courses, videos, webinars and articles.
Our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .001% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Our lead researcher and writer, Elizabeth Anderson, has more than a decade’s experience as a financial journalist and market researcher. Elizabeth’s expertise is backed by a team of veteran fellow traders, data auditors, editors and project managers who work to ensure that UK.StockBrokers.com reviews and guides are the most unbiased and complete in the industry. Read more about our team.
About the Editorial Team
Elizabeth Anderson, lead writer and researcher, has been a financial journalist for more than a decade. In addition to her work with UK.StockBrokers.com, she has written extensively for major publications including BBC, The Times and Bloomberg. A keen investor herself, she is passionate about helping people understand finance and investing.
Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.
Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for UK.StockBrokers.com and ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, Steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
Carolyn Kimball is a former managing editor for Reink Media and former lead editor for the StockBrokers.com Annual Review. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.