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IG Review | Expert Traders Reveal Pros & Cons (2020) – AskTraders.com

IG is a brokerage firm that allows its clients to trade a range of financial markets using leverage via both CFDs and spread betting. The product offerings found in this review span multiple asset classes, including commodities, shares, forex, and indices.

IG is a brokerage firm that allows its clients to trade a range of financial markets using leverage via both CFDs and spread betting. The product offerings found in this review span multiple asset classes, including commodities, shares, forex, and indices.

Additionally, broker offers more traditional investment options, such as ETFs and shares. The broker also offers managed wealth portfolios.

Also is the shortened version of IG Markets Ltd., which has been in operation since 1974. Those who review this broker will find numerous well-earned awards in its history. The company now has 15 sales offices spread across five continents, appealing to clients around the world. Traders will have access to more than 16,000 markets in addition to multiple platforms and educational materials.

Strengths

  • Offers spread betting as a tax-effective option
  • More than 45 years of experience
  • Multiple trading platforms available

Weaknesses

  • Trading fees are slightly higher than some competitors’

What can you trade?

£250
Min Deposit

Mid
App Support

1:30
Max Leverage

Traders looking for a forex review should know that the broker offers access to more than 80 forex pairs, including majors, minors, and exotics. Trading of these assets is available via a range of platforms, including MetaTrader 4.

Forex trading on IG for UK clients can be done via CFDs, DMA (Forex Direct), or spread betting. Only professional clients can access DMA trading of forex. There is no commission for forex trading via spread betting or CFDs of FX, but broker has variable commissions for DMA trading.

To help you form your own review, consider sample margins and spreads. For EUR/USD, retail clients can have leverage of up to 1:30, while professional clients can have leverage up to 1:222. That same pair has minimum spreads of 0.6 with an average spread of 0.70.

£250
Min Deposit

Good
App Support

1:30
Max Leverage

Any CFD review will include a fairly extensive list of assets since most of the assets that are tradeable via the broker are in the form of CFDs. This includes indices, forex, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, options, Digital 100s, interest rates, sectors, ETFs, and bonds.

In most cases, trading CFDs via IG will not require paying commissions. Instead, the broker makes its profits via spreads. As you review CFD offerings, you will notice that there is negative balance protection and no stamp duty. It is also possible to offset losses against your profits via tax deductions.

$250
Min Deposit

Good
App Support

1:10
Max Leverage

No review is complete without mentioning its stock offerings. This broker offers the ability to use a dealing service to directly buy and sell shares or to trade them via CFDs.

There are more than 12,000 international shares available to trade via spread betting or CFDs in the UK alone, making IG one of the best UK stock brokers. One standout aspect of IG in this respect is that it also offers traditional methods of dealing stocks, a rare offering among CFD brokers. Commissions on UK stocks start at £5. There is even the ability to open a stocks and shares ISA, a strong bonus from this type of broker.

£250
Min Deposit

2000
App Support

1:30
Max Leverage

In addition to stocks, you will also find ETFs as you review IG. These can be traded in a traditional manner via the dealing service or in the form of CFDs.

For those in the UK who want to diversify their investments with ease, our review suggests the IG Smart Portfolios as an option. These are built, monitored, and managed by broker and feature a diversified portfolio of ETFs that is customised to your risk profile and goals.

£250
Min Deposit

Few
App Support

1:2
Max Leverage

Our cryptocurrency review team finds it highly convenient that using spread betting or CFDs allows traders to make a profit off of cryptocurrencies without actually owning the digital currency.

In the UK, IG reviews also mention that you can trade cryptocurrencies via spread betting. There is the option to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Stellar, EOS, and NEO. A unique point that our IG cryptocurrency review team appreciates is the Crypto 10 index, which lets you broaden your exposure with a single trade.

£250
Min Deposit

Good
App Support

1:30
Max Leverage

Spread betting is not offered in most global markets, including by IG.

A UK review will indicate that you can easily engage in spread betting with this broker if you are in the United Kingdom. In fact, nearly every single asset offered for trading is available as a spread bet instead of a CFD. This includes access to spread betting indices, forex, commodities, shares, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, bonds, interest rates, sectors, options, and digital 100s.

What did our traders think after reviewing the key criteria?

Our traders found that the broker makes most of its money via spreads, a fact that it notes on its website. Also charges several other fees, but those make up a comparatively small portion of its revenue.

Additional fees should mention include commissions on share CFDs, FX conversion, inactivity fees, and overnight fees. The commissions associated with share dealing apply to selling or buying ETFs or stocks. Depending on trading activity, clients may also have to pay a custody fee quarterly.

Keep in mind that broker offers all of its share prices in your local denomination, GBP. Converting to the base currency you choose is only 0.5 per cent.

The spreads are in line with those from other brokers, although the additional fees are worth consideration. As some examples, EUR/USD can have spreads from just 0.6 points, Spot Gold can have a spread as low as 0.3 points, and FTSE 100 and Germany 30 can have spreads as low as 1 point.

For transparency, IG maintains a list of its charges on its website. This page indicates the current spreads and commissions for each asset, divided by asset class for convenience.

Our IG review would appreciate if the broker offered more account types. At the very least, will show that you can choose from a retail or professional account, with demo accounts also available.

Retail clients get to take advantage of low spreads and margins, Saturday and Sunday trading for cryptocurrencies and indices, and extended hours for U.S. stocks.

Professional clients must meet at least two of the following three qualifications: (1) averaged at least 10 leverage transactions of significant size per quarter in the past four quarters; (2) having more than €500,000 in their financial instrument profile, which includes cash deposits; and/or (3) at least a year of experience in the financial sector in a professional position that required derivatives knowledge.

Professional accounts receive lower margin requirements but lose the negative balance protection found on retail accounts.

Demo accounts give traders access to £10,000 in virtual funds to test their trading strategies and review IG themselves. The demo gives traders full access, including to the free mobile applications and the Academy content.

Also should note the vast range of CFD offerings that the broker has in terms of trading platforms, as there is something for every type of client.

ig platform

The online IG Trading platform lets you trade with your web browser and does not require any downloads. This feature-filled platform makes it simple to review CFD offerings, as well as those for other assets. The platform includes multiple timeframes, indicators, drawings, smart settings, risk management tools, and breaking news via Twitter and Reuters.

Traders can also review smartphone and tablet applications with their native designs. These mobile platforms let you see live prices without logging in and include 256-bit SSL encryption. They also offer access to exclusive analysis and data for forex, indices, shares, stocks, and more.

Those in search will likely appreciate the inclusion of MetaTrader 4, a platform known for its ease of trading forex and other asset classes. MT4 for broker’s offers access to thousands of markets and the ability to go short or long with CFDs or spread betting.

ProRealTime features automated trading and is a web-based charting package. This is also exclusive to IG in the UK. It offers more than 100 indicators, the ability to build algorithms for 24/7 execution, and unlimited timeframes.

Additionally, supports L2 dealer for Forex Direct and DMA trading, including drag and drop functionality for trades. For the more technologically inclined traders reading this review, you can also connect front-end solutions of your own, including APIs and terminals, to the API.

Broker’s website can be intuitive to use with a professional appearance. The main navigation menu features multiple drop-down menus to make it easier to find offerings. Those looking to review IG’s cryptocurrency, forex, or other offerings should be able to easily find information on the given asset. Our review also appreciates the easy access to investments, the Training Academy, and the search bar. The bottom navigation bar is also useful, although slightly less extensive.

As we examined the support page, we appreciated the extensive FAQ section, especially its convenient divisions by categories, such as “Charts” and “Accounts and Statements.” The popular searches listed at the top of the page and the search bar are also very useful touches.

Traders can contact via live chat, email, or a 24/5 phone number. There is also the option to fill out a contact form.

One very interesting element of support is the community aspect. IG encourages users to seek assistance from others in the community. This is a nice feature that lets traders interact with each other.

Any IG review includes multiple methods of funding a trading account.

Card Payments

Card payments are the quickest method of funding an account, including credit or debit. These methods result in immediate deposits. broker does require users to register their card before making a deposit. You can have five cards on the account at once.

Bank Wire Transfer

Bank transfers are also available. They can take three days to process, but you can speed this up by uploading proof of payment.

E-Wallets

Supports funding via PayPal. The first deposit via this method will link your PayPal to your account. You will need to contact the help desk to change this account.

IG Academy is an exceptional offering from the broker. It includes free webinars, seminars, and online courses for all skill levels. The broker also has a Learn to Trade section of its website with additional resources.

Traders can read analysis and news, read about financial events on the economic calendar, explore expert trading strategies and techniques, and more. There are also sections regarding managing risk and a glossary.

The Financial Conduct Authority authorises and regulates broker under the names IG Markets Ltd and IG Index Ltd. As such, traders can expect their review to show segregated funds and deposit protection of up to £85,000.

In addition they have received numerous honours from independent organisations to show its appeal. At the ADVFN International Financial Awards in 2019, the broker earned the title of “Best Spread Betting and CFD Education Tools,” “Best Multi-Platform Provider,” and “Best Finance App.”

ig awards

At the Online Personal Wealth Awards in 2019, it was honoured with “Best CFD Provider” and “Best Stocks and Shares Provider” awards. At the ForexBrokers.com 2019 Annual Review, earned the title of “#1 Overall Broker.” Also in 2019, it was the Investopedia Online Brokers Awards winner for “Best for Forex Trading.”

IG FAQs

Yes, IG is legit. The firm is a subsidiary of IG Group Holdings Plc, an FTSE-250 listed company with ticker symbol IGG. Headquartered in London, UK, the group has offices in 16 countries across five continents and are subject to stringent supervision by the financial regulators in the country of operations. The regulators include the FCA in the UK, Singapore’s MAS, the CFTC and NFA in the US, and the Monetary Authority in Bermuda.

Opening a Live CFD trading account is a simple and straightforward process. While the account opening is free, you have to fund your account with a minimum initial deposit of £250, which is affordable and is among the lowest in the industry. You can transfer funds to your account via debit/credit card, bank transfer or PayPal.

If you are trading with IG, the CFD broker charges only the spread on all the asset classes except for shares. The spread starts from 0.6 pips for the major FX pairs, 0.3 points for Gold, and 1 point on the major indices like the FTSE 100. The other fees include the swap, FX conversion and an inactivity fee of £12 if your account is dormant for 2 years or more. Also, based on the trading volumes, you could be paying a quarterly custodial fee.

IG is a CFD, spread-betting and an investment broker operating since 1974. The broker’s offering covers more than 16,000 markets across forex, indices, shares, commodities, cryptocurrencies, futures, and options. The broker also has weekend markets where you can trade in GBP/USD, global indices, and cryptocurrencies.

IG’s investments offering includes share dealing, smart portfolios, ISAs, SIPP, and ETFs. Besides, the broker also provides prime services for institutional clients.

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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AvaTrade introducing 3 new crypto pairs

crypto trading with Avatrade

AvaTrade introducing 3 new crypto pairs – updating 3 others

AvaTrade has yet again improved their cryptocurrency trading offering.

AvaTrade is introducing three new cryptocurrency pairs: NEOUSD, EOSUSD & MIOTAUSD in addition to the 15 crypto assets already on offer.

These new pairs have been available since July 1st, 2019 and provide an excellent opportunity to diversify your clients’ portfolios and increase their exposure to this vibrant 24/7 market.

AssetTypical SpreadLeverageMarginMin Nominal Trade Size
NEOUSD1.5% Over-market2:0150%10
EOSUSD2% Over-market2:0150%10
MIOTAUSD1.5% Over-market2:0150%10

To unify their cryptocurrency instrument labels, They are relabeling their existing Ethereum, Ripple & Litecoin instruments, by replacing the existing instruments with new USD labelled ones:

AssetOld SymbolNew Symbol
RIPPLEXRPXRPUSD
ETHEREUMETHETHUSD
LITECOINLTC_MiniLTCUSD

These new pairs have also been available since July 1st,

The trading conditions for each one is identical to those of the older respective assets they replace.

Effective immediately, new positions are only available on the new pairs.

Avatrade Clients will not be able to open new positions on the old assets, but those already open will remain unaffected until July 29th.

Existing positions on XRP, ETH and Litecoin-mini that remain open on July 29th will be automatically replaced with corresponding positions on the new pairs, , at the same opening price and at no cost to clients.

as any broker that values their clients would do , Avatrade makes sure that the clients will not be affected by the change.

Visit Avatrade NOW

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Neteller Launches Cryptocurrency Exchange Service

Neteller Launches Cryptocurrency Exchange Service

Neteller  one of the most known Digital fiat currency wallet provider , has started allowing its users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, and LTC.

They do this on the large scale with a pilot in 10 countries and soon another 50 countries to join . They understand that if you do this effort it will only succeed if you can do this on a global scale.

Neteller and Cryptocurrencies

Neteller is a service which is operated by Paysafe Financial Services Ltd.,

paysafe

paysafe

founded in 1999, Paysafe Financial Services entered the market with the mission to provide an online alternative to the known traditional payment methods.

Most of the traders aiming us now neteller as one of the companies through which we made our deposits and if we had any profits also our withdrawals. A couple of years ago they left the Forex and Binary industry behind since the charge-back issue became just too expensive.

But as any companies knows, if you do not adept you die. The binary option market is all but dead and the Forex industry has moved also into the directions of the cryptocurrencies. thus, neteller understands that this is where the future is.

So Lasts week they announced that they are now offering a wallet with buy and sell cryptocurrency options.

As of today, Neteller users can buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies via a recognized cryptocurrency exchange including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, ethereum classic and litecoin, purchased using any one of 28 fiat currencies available in the Neteller wallet.

It may not seem so exciting but for many users that love this service it actually is. More and more currencies will be added making them an true exchange in the near future.

Now one is able to fund their neteller account through many different means (Mobile, Epay, Paysafecard, local bank deposits, and bitcoin)

We think that will make the threshold for many people, who would want to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, lower. This in return is a good thing for the overall acceptance of the cryptocurrencies in the mainstream of every day life.

Conditions for buying and selling cryptocurrencies through Neteller

The rates offered are somewhat in the lower middle of the current market making them go for the save route. The average market rates on the major cryptocurrency exchanges differ all in all not that much anyways, as this is not the main reason to choose to buy Bitcoin through Neteller

The minimum cryptocurrency purchase or sale amount is “approximately equal to 10 EUR,” the firm clarified, adding that the maximum amount depends on the transaction limits associated with each account.

When You open an account with Neteller you have to choose your default currency. This is of course for most people in accordance on their geographical locations, people in Britain will go for the pound most Europeans go for the euro and pretty much the rest of the work goes for the US Dollar, thou other currencies are available

The fee is 1.5 percent for purchasing and selling cryptocurrencies from wallets with EUR or USD as the default currency.

The fee rises to 3 percent for wallets with other default currencies.

Neteller  | Why is this a good move for neteller and one that we should expect from other online Payment providers as well ?

At this moment till last week Neteller users can pay, get paid on thousands of sites, and send money around the world through their system.

The company claims to have “millions of point-of-sale, ATM and online locations” for users to withdraw or spend their cash.

Last July 25, Paysafe ( which as you remember is the company that owns Neteller and Skrill)  announced that another digital wallet provider in its group, Skrill ( formerly known as moneybookers), started allowing customers to “instantly buy and sell cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and litecoin, using any one of the 40+ fiat currencies available in the Skrill wallet.”

We could now see that this was like their test run on this concept.

We do not know the numbers that Skrill produced since they offered this service but it must have been encouraging enough for Paysafe to include their flagship brand in this endevour.

We will see where this leads but we are hopeful that this is the next step in global acceptance to the cryptocurrency revolution. Let me know what you think

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The basics of trading that one should know

The basics of trading that one should know

Things you should be aware of before you start

The currency trading industry and now also the cryptocurrency trading industry have gone through enormous volatile times the last couple of years. Now with trump and its trade wars. The fast rise and somewhat recline of the cryptocurrencies and the fast pace of international politics and economies that create high rises and steep fall of the currencies.

So what does it all mean and what can you do before start to trade on these news headlines.

Good brokers like LegacyFX and UBCFX provide the traders with the latest market news and updates on a continuous basis but if you are new to trading you still have no idea what to do with this.

You start by understanding that the involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of losing you hard earned money. Besides the ones that were lucky enough to have bought Bitcoin a couple of years back and cashed in in the end of 2017, most people don’t get rich overnight.

You have to understand that you only trade with money that you are able to lose, going hungry because you want to open a trade is not the right wy to go about it.

So, What is Forex?

You should by now understand that the value of currencies goes up and down every day.

This in general becomes apparent the moment you go on vacation and what you bought last year with your money now is not the same amount you get today at the exchange.

This is on a large scale, what a lot of people do not know is that there is a foreign exchange market – or ‘Forex’ for short – or “FX” for even shorter, where you can potentially make a profit from the movement of these currencies.

The most known Trader is George Soros who made a billion dollars in a day by trading currencies. This is of course on a scale that we are not able to reach and you need a huge amount of money to begin with. Still he made a billion in one day!!

The internet has played a huge part in making trading in currencies accessible for the masses. You also do not need huge amounts of money to actually do this. Now keep in mind that if you make 10% profit on your investment but the investment was just $50 you basically just end up with $55. still no bank will give you 10% interest on your money.

Many people and I am talking millions are now trading every day, most do this on the side and don’t do this as a full-time job, but there are today enough people that are full time traders and making enough money to live comfortably.

Retail forex market needed Brokers

The Forex market for the retail market was born, it started around 15 years ago to become more serious as technologies advanced and the stream of information became almost instant, this is important for trading as one second can make the difference between profit or loss.

So, the moment the technology was there the people that wanted to trade were there all that was needed were the Forex brokers that offered the platform for trading.

There are latterly hundreds of companies of not thousands that offer this service and there are good ones like LegacyFX and there are scams (these tend to not last long)

Forex explained in short

The Forex market is the largest financial market on the planet and has been for many years now.

Its average daily trading volume is more than $4 trillion. (just let that number sink in for a second). Of this total amount around 5% is the retail market meaning traders like you and me. Still 5% of 4 Trillion is still a number with a lot of zeros behind it.

If you compare that with the New York Stock Exchange, which only has an average daily trading volume of $55 billion. You truly see the size.

To give you another example:

if you were to put ALL of the world’s equity and futures markets together, their combined trading volume would still only equal a 25% of the daily Forex market. Insane right?

Why does this even matter?

It matters because there are so many buyers and sellers that transaction prices are kept low. To explain how trading the Forex market is different than trading stocks, here are a few major benefits.

  1. Most Brokers don’t charge commissions – you pay only the bid/ask spreads.
  2. There’s 24hour trading – you decide when to trade and how to trade.
  3. You can focus on your currencies and become experts in only those pairs that you follow instead of following and selecting out of 5000 stocks
  4. You can trade on leverage, (something to be very aware of as it can magnify potential gains but also your losses).
  5. Forex is accessible for almost everyone– you don’t need a lot of money to get started
  6. In the Forex market you can trade on Demo accounts to learn before you commit your money

How is Forex traded?

The mechanics of a trade are virtually identical to those in other markets. The only difference is that you’re buying one currency and selling another at the same time.

This is also the reason as to why the currencies are quoted in pairs, like EUR/USD or USD/GBP.

The exchange rate represents the purchase price between the two currencies.

Example:

The EUR/GBP rate represents the number of GBP one EUR can buy (relevant now with all the Brexit issues going on) . If you think the Euro will increase in value against the British Pound, you buy Euros with British Pounds. If the exchange rate rises, you sell the Euros back, and you cash in your profit.

Now the same works for strading Bitcoin, ethereum, Litecoin or other cryptocurrencies. this has become an entire new market and has introduced many people to Forex . you should here be also aware that trading cryptocurrencies is like regular trading so you will be able to lose great sums of money.

the Best thing i found about trading cryptocurrencies is that the Leverage by default tends to be very low which makes the risk of losing it all much smaller.

Sounds simply enough?

Why does not everyone Trade.

The same could be asked as to why not everyone plays poker, you can make money. The comparison between the 2 is actually closer than you might think.

All traders that are successful will tell you that 80% of successful trading is psychology and the other 20% is research. It takes time to get the research down, but it can take a lifetime to master the psychology.

People tend to do things differently when real money is on the line and are accepting losses in the hope that the trend will reverse or taking out profit too early because they don’t want to lose what they just have gained. In short, the psychology is the hard part.

One should be aware that you can loose real money and a lot of it very fast if you don’t know what you are doing.

Now most Good Forex brokers offer some educational tools, some more than others that will teach you how to trade. There is also something that is called social trading that will allow you to follow other traders and see what they are doing in order for you to learn and make money at the same time.

So here are some ground rules for those that look to start trading

  1. Get involved in the market, watch read and listen to the news to understand what is happening
  2. Go through a trading course ( a good one is here)
  3. Open a demo account and trade at least a month (my advice to do this even longer)only on this before you even think about trading with real money.
  4. Check out social trading, there are some options for this, this broker offers this also.
  5. Try with an amount that you are able to afford losing. See this as your tuition money.
  6. Take it slow, don’t become greedy and follow the basic rules

Basic Rules (there are many more but start with these)

  1. The trend is your friend
  2. Don’t add money to a losing position
  3. Don’t trade on too many different currency pairs
  4. Trade only with a good broker
  5. Don’t open to many positions (no one needs 100 positions a day)
  6. Develop your strategy and stick to it.
  7. Know that NO ONE is 100% of the times right, everyone loses some.
  8. Last but not least, don’t trade with money you cannot afford to lose.

Now all that I want to say is good luck.  😊

 

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