IG Group — review of the British CFD broker founded in 1974

IG Group is one of the oldest retail brokers in the world. The firm was founded in London in 1974 by Stuart Wheeler and was the world’s first company to offer spread betting on financial markets. Half a century later IG Group Holdings plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange, gives access to roughly 19,000 markets and operates under the supervision of the UK regulator, the FCA. Let us look at what the brand actually offers, where it is strong, and where an EU client should be sceptical.

Who IG Group is and why it matters

IG began as a house offering spread bets on the price of gold — hence the original name, a nod to "investors gold". Today it is a global fintech group headquartered in London (Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill) and listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker IGG. For a retail client, the listing is not marketing — a public company files audited accounts every year, is subject to capital requirements, and its results are open to scrutiny. That is a real element of safety no anonymous broker registered on some far-flung island can offer.

The range is broad: forex, indices, shares, commodities, exchange-listed options and ETFs — around 19,000 instruments in total. IG is therefore not a narrow currency broker but a multi-asset provider. That is a plus for someone who wants forex and shares in one place, and not necessarily an advantage for a trader who deals only a few currency pairs and is hunting the cheapest possible execution.

Regulation and safety of funds

This is IG’s strongest suit. The group’s UK entities are authorised and supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority. CFD and futures accounts are provided by IG Markets Ltd (firm reference 195355), spread betting is handled by IG Index Ltd (reference 114059), and the whole is tied together under IG Trading and Investments Ltd. FCA oversight is one of the more rigorous regimes in the world: it covers segregation of client money, reporting, and hard rules on selling leveraged products to retail clients.

For a Polish or other EU investor, the practical effects of those rules matter most. An EU retail client trades under the ESMA 1:30 leverage cap on major currency pairs and benefits from negative-balance protection, meaning you cannot lose more than you deposited. IG itself warns on its UK site that 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with the firm. That is not a quirk of IG — it is the nature of a leveraged product.

"NCAs’ analyses on CFD trading across different EU jurisdictions shows that 74-89% of retail accounts typically lose money on their investments." — European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), statement of 27 March 2018

Before you trust any brand, verify its entry in the regulator’s register — for IG you can check references 195355 and 114059 on the FCA register. For the broader background on how a regime like this protects clients, see the primer on forexmechanics.com — regulations.

What trading with IG costs

IG is not a discount broker and does not pretend to be one. On forex and index markets the cost usually sits inside the spread, and IG quotes its own prices — a model closer to a market maker than to a pure ECN where you pay a low spread plus an explicit commission. For a position trader who opens a handful of trades a week, that model is entirely acceptable. For a scalper counting tenths of a pip, the difference between IG’s model and an ECN broker can tip the cost balance against IG.

On top of that come costs beginners often forget: swap points for holding a position overnight, an inactivity fee after a long break, and currency conversion if you fund from zloty into an account denominated in pounds, euros or dollars. I do not quote specific spreads or commissions here, because IG changes them over time and they vary across markets and account types — always check the broker’s current pricing page. I unpack the two cost models in the piece on spread versus commission.

Platforms and products

IG’s proprietary web platform and mobile app are a genuine asset — clean, fast and well integrated across the whole market range. They are often the main reason clients stay with IG rather than chasing cheaper execution elsewhere. For deeper analysis and automation there is ProRealTime, with rich charting and a strategy module, and separately L2 Dealer for traders who want direct market-depth access. Anyone used to the MetaTrader standard will also find MetaTrader 4 at IG — I cover its basics in a separate piece on MetaTrader 4.

Beyond CFDs and forex, IG also offers plain share and ETF dealing, plus spread betting and UK tax wrappers such as ISAs or SIPPs in the UK version of the service. Those last items are useless to a non-UK resident, since they are parts of the British tax system. It is also worth remembering that the product and platform line-up can be narrower on an EU retail account than in the full UK version. I describe the CFD product itself in more depth in the piece on what a CFD is.

Who IG suits and who it does not

IG is a sensible choice for an investor who values a long company history, FCA supervision and listed-company status, and who wants to trade multiple asset classes from a single platform. It works well for a position or swing trader for whom platform quality and safety weigh more than the last fraction of a pip in the spread. It is also a reasonable option for someone who deliberately picks a brand with a recognisable reputation over a cheaper but less transparent broker.

On the other hand, IG is unlikely to be the first choice for a scalper or very active day trader for whom the cheapest possible execution is decisive — there ECN brokers can be cheaper. It will also appeal less to someone who wants local-language support and a base-currency account from a KNF-licensed entity; IG operates in English and through foreign entities. And finally, the knowledge bar is high: a broad leveraged offering is a risk for a complete beginner who has no risk-management plan yet.

What to do before opening an IG account

1. Verify the entity and the licence. Confirm which IG entity you are contracting with and check its number on the FCA register (195355 for CFDs, 114059 for spread betting). A strong brand does not excuse you from this step.
2. Cost out your own style. If you trade actively, compare IG’s spread model with an ECN broker on the specific markets you trade. For a position style, execution cost matters less than platform quality.
3. Check the account currency and conversion. Funding zloty into a pound or euro account is an extra cost — estimate it before you move any larger capital.
4. Run the full broker-selection checklist. Instead of going on brand alone, assess IG against the alternatives using the forex broker selection checklist for 2026, and only then decide.