“On the whole, very easy to use and reliable.
But sometimes the charts are VERY slow to appear, with a red message about "technical problems, please try later"
Also what I dont like is the widening of spreads after hours (though I assume other companies are similar).
But the recent demand for 4 times margin (on Eurostox etc) could be seriously inconvenient, and not necessary (it wasnt done for volatile Greek voting, 15th July).”
“IG provides a very good platform with loads of features and tools. One big problem I have in trading with IG is that for each stop entery order the amount of margin is taken out of the account limiting the number of orders you can make. If it was possible to remove this limiting factor I personally would be able to trade more freely and efficiently. I understand there is a reason for such system to protect the trader but I prefer to take the responsibility for myself.
Another issue is that because the platform has lots of features, on older PCs like mine the PC slows down or when the internet is poor there is problems opening charts etc. Since I use minimal tools (indicators etc) in trading I wish it was possible to have a simpler/minimalistic version of the platform available.”
“I use the Android App for most of my trading activity largely because it is more convenient. The website offers very little extra and I find it somewhat "clunky" to use. There are two things I find lacking. The first are the historical statements ... any chance you can extend the history back beyond 3 months? The second is the economic calendar. Please can you add more countries, especially major emerging markets to the list?”
“The website and mobile app work quite well. With all the recent market volatility, I've not had any cases of being unable to access the platforms. I've increased my trading activity in the last 7 months, and in this time I've never had a re-quote.
Stable technology, no re-quotes, and a wide range of instruments to trade on, all these combine to make IG my preferred Spread betting firm.
One thing I would love to see are Option extended to cover equities on the spread betting platform”
“ProRealTime charts very good & good value
Prompt trade entry at requested level vast majority of the time
Reasonable spreads but could be better
Trade risk sometimes too high - less than £1/pip would be useful
Overnight charges on the high side”
“Would by good if IG offered a demo account to run along side the main trading account allowing the testing of different trading strategy's without the risk of losing money.
Demo accounts are offered by other company's`”
“Overall IG are a good provider for trading a wide range of markets and equities. I trade almost only US Equities and they have the widest choice. Spreads are generally OK but I dislike the Extended Hours Trading as the spreads are wild. If you are not a day or intra-day trader then you can easily get stopped out so have to place much greater stop distances from entry to allow for this. I would prefer it if one could opt-in to extended trading rather than it be the default position. So that this is balanced, the extended hours trading does mean that you are much less likely to get gapped into a trade at market open.
I have looked for alternative providers, but IG remain the best for my Spread-Betting so I will stay with my rating of good.”
“more option and binary products especially over a longer tenor
more monthly binary fx currency pairs
yearly or quarterly binary bets on a range of market ( fx, indeces etc.)”
“Please make your execution fast it's not what it should be.
When you send emails for economical Calendar events please include the country name as well.
Thanks”
“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”
