for CFD trading - you should use the L2 platform for DMA (direct market access) if trading CFD's. if you use the "normal" platform, the share price has to trade through your price before it is filled - essentially doing that you always lose the spread as you sell into someone or buy from someone - no one can hit your order. with DMA your order goes into the actual market. so for CFD's, using the L2 platform - IG rates as VERY GOOD.
for FOREX trading - well i rate IG as VERY POOR. often (usless it suits them) they dont actually put your order into the market, so you are "betting" against them most of the time. they will use your position to make money for them. this is most applicable when you are using stops. if you arent using stops, you wont have a problem.
you will find, like i did, if you open an order with a tight stop, inevitablely, it will be hit/hunted very quickly, and since IG dont actually place your the order in the market - they have taken all your losses as their profits. NOT A HEALTHY WAY TO TRADE - ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE SETTING THE PRICE. when questioned on this, they said they will only hedge your position if they think it is in their best interests. the only way around this is to have your stops a long way off, and perhaps trade less contracts.
also - there can be massive slippage when using stops that are not guaranteed. i mean, if IG arent placing your order into the market - how can there be slippage???? that is PURE THEFT FROM IG.
food for thought, when news is released, the 1 minute candle tends to drop and rise at least 40-50 points either side of the move. whether this is IG or actual market volatility - im not sure. but i do know it negates the use of tight stops when trading news - as they are always hit within that 40 pip range, no matter what direction the market takes after the news.
EXAMPLES OF IG FOREX THIS WEEK:
i placed a short trade, with a limit of only 10 points. the price traded 11 points down on 3 x 1 minute candles in a row. so the trade should have been closed and my profits booked. well guess what - it didnt close, and the price proceeded against my position, and would have cost me 60-70 pips, as the price did not come back down to this level. i saw this and called them. i was furious. they did close the trade at that point and awarded me the 10 pips. but what if i left it and went to bed, only to awake 60-70 pips down - i wouldnt have even picked up on this!!! what really annoyed me here is that they are happy to hit my stops promptly when it might be costing me 50 pips, but when its only 10 pips they're losing, they dont cough it up. the reason they gave was "technical glitch". MY A.SS!
also this week, when i tried to place a sell trade on AUD/JPY, it wouldn't "submit". which left the price to carry on, which cost me at least 100 pips. i phoned up to place the order, but it was too late by then, i missed the move. i shouldnt have placed the trade, but i did, and hence lost 50 pips when the price retraced!!
CUSTOMER SERVICE - phone service good. email is poor. they take an especially long time to resolve issues.
CHARTS - good - but with occasional outages.
MY OVERALL RATING: 5 / 10.
i will still use them for now, but im wary.
advice: - use L2 platform for CFD trading
- if you trade FOREX, use long stops initially, then bring the stops up once the trade moves into profit. - dont be afraid to call them on their bull.sh1t if you see it. - remember you are trading AGAINST IG initially in every FOREX trade you place (until they decide they dont want the risk and place your order into the market), so they will want your stops to be hit - as this will be PURE PROFIT for them.
i hope this has helped. if anyone else has similar or different experiences, please do post your thoughts, as this is helpful for everyone.
i just want a fair go when trading, im happy to pay the spreads to IG. and if i wanted to trade against the house i'd go to the casino. LIFT YOUR GAME IG MARKETS.
if you dont understand what i have said, check out:
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