IG Index Thread

[Paulds11]

re. IG's 'customer services', does anyone ever receive a reply to e-mails, or am I being naive to expect a response?

Phil.. youll get a quick acknowledgment during office hours... but resolution of the exact issues you raise may take a looooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnngggg time, especially long if the response you crave could mean you deal less or reduce your stake..

thats my experience

 

[Riverland]

I have emailed IG Index on several recent occasions and have always had a timely response, usually within 1 or 2 hours. I've never had an automated response. Mind you I've never asked them to fix anything, just questions about their platform or a request to increase the point limit.

On the whole I find IG pretty good. I deal in small caps over the medium to long term.

Complaints:

Sometimes it's hard to get an order filled in a fast moving market (everyone complains about this). It would be nice if they would simply use the price that was quoted when you hit the buy button. Like Self-trade do. But at least you can deal. Buying and selling small caps online in the real market is impossible sometimes. Which is one of the reasons I moved to spreadbetting.

I wish they would quote minimum stop loss size and the min/max bet size in the dealing window. I've had lots of trades rejected because I miscalculate these.

Usual complaint about size of spread. They could be better, but I now just accept them as a dealing cost and try not to dwell on it. It's a bigger issue to day traders. But as I am looking to double the price of all my trades, they become fairly insignificant over the longer term.

Oh, and as somebody else noted. Their platform definitely works better on a faster computer.

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

Must say IG came up trumps today. I was out on half-term duties but wanted to set up a trade that would make the most of any range break-out from the various US news events this afternoon. I couldn't find a way of structuring what I wanted to do with my other brokers, but IG's platform allowed me to set up two stop orders with independent contingent stops and limits once triggered. All I had to do was keep an occasional eye via my mobile (great mobile trading interface, BTW) to cancel the order that wasn't triggered and the trade looked after itself. Worked like clockwork, no slippage and a neat bundle of pips in the bag while out having fun with the kids - really really impressive.

Sorry if that sounds like a bit of an ad for IG, but they've taken a bit of a knock in recent posts and I find them okay, so just setting the other side of the story. The ability to set up the trades like this was the difference for me between trading today or not, which ended up being worth a not insignficant amount of money.

 

[Atilla]

Must say IG came up trumps today. I was out on half-term duties but wanted to set up a trade that would make the most of any range break-out from the various US news events this afternoon. I couldn't find a way of structuring what I wanted to do with my other brokers, but IG's platform allowed me to set up two stop orders with independent contingent stops and limits once triggered. All I had to do was keep an occasional eye via my mobile (great mobile trading interface, BTW) to cancel the order that wasn't triggered and the trade looked after itself. Worked like clockwork, no slippage and a neat bundle of pips in the bag while out having fun with the kids - really really impressive.

Sorry if that sounds like a bit of an ad for IG, but they've taken a bit of a knock in recent posts and I find them okay, so just setting the other side of the story. The ability to set up the trades like this was the difference for me between trading today or not, which ended up being worth a not insignficant amount of money.

You might want to consider CMC then...

They have OCO type strategic order - One Cancels the Other. Which ever stop or limit level is reached first the the other is automatically cancelled. Allows you to setup strategic buy sell orders. Very useful.

They too have mobile trading facility.

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

Thanks Atilla, I have a CMC account - it wasn't a normal OCO that I was after, it was a bit more complex as I wanted to generate an OCO as a condition of a previous event occuring. I couldn't set it it up through CMC as I wanted it. It's not a particularly big deal, but thought it worth recording that IG's platform suited me perfectly today after bad press earlier on the thread. Credit where it's due and all that. CMC are generally okay too I find, although I use them infrequently.

 

[ashwoka]

I have a IGIndex account but they will not let me have an ordinary account . I can only have a Controlled risk account. So I had opened another account with another company and no problems with them giving me a proper account. Why is this, I give them the same information. It stops me trading with IG having the extra 2pt spread to 4 pts.
I asked IG if they would change my account but they said my situation has to change. But I gave exactly the same info to the other company and they allow me to trade "Normally".
Trading with the Controlled risk with the extra spread started to put me off trading with them. I trade the other company now all the time and have not used IG for 3 months now with 2 pt spread. With the controlled type account you cant put on OCO orders, or any other type of order. You only put in Limit & Stop. Hardly use IG now, although keep it open for emergencies.
Does anyone know if there is an "Account not used fee", I mean with GFTUK if you do not make a trade for 60 days you are charged £50, is there anything like this for other companys. I have read the terms but not like a good book if you know what I mean and cant find anything although could of missed it.

 

[Atilla]

I have a IGIndex account but they will not let me have an ordinary account . I can only have a Controlled risk account. So I had opened another account with another company and no problems with them giving me a proper account. Why is this, I give them the same information. It stops me trading with IG having the extra 2pt spread to 4 pts.
I asked IG if they would change my account but they said my situation has to change. But I gave exactly the same info to the other company and they allow me to trade "Normally".
Trading with the Controlled risk with the extra spread started to put me off trading with them. I trade the other company now all the time and have not used IG for 3 months now with 2 pt spread. With the controlled type account you cant put on OCO orders, or any other type of order. You only put in Limit & Stop. Hardly use IG now, although keep it open for emergencies.
Does anyone know if there is an "Account not used fee", I mean with GFTUK if you do not make a trade for 60 days you are charged £50, is there anything like this for other companys. I have read the terms but not like a good book if you know what I mean and cant find anything although could of missed it.

Try CMC then. You need minimum of £1000 I think though they may have changed their rules and their spreads I think are pretty good. There are no standing charges no commission. Their take is in the spread.

 

[Pippppin]

do they offer a large selection of US stocks, like IG?

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

do they offer a large selection of US stocks, like IG?

not as extensive as IG - the Nas100 and DJIA constituents plus the 200 biggest in the S&P500.

 

[fxprocessor]

Hi all

I experienced a 40 point slip on my stop loss with IG index trading Forex. Is this unusually high or should I expect more of the same around news time?

I am only using small stakes at present while I trial my system so luckily this was not such a big deal but I intend on increasing the stakes eventually so need to factor in all possibilities.

This happened during the retail sales news announcement and IG advised that the market flew through my stop and i was given the best price possible.
When I asked if this would happen should the market fly through a limit order (in my favour) they said that I would only get the price my limit was set at. So basically if the market goes straight through my stop loss then I am out of pocket. If it goes straight through my take profit level they are not out of pocket. IG advised this is industry standard practice.

Can someone clarify if all brokers work like this and if I should expect massive slippage on a regular basis?

thanks

 

[minx]

That is how the real market would work too.
A limit order means you are sitting in the book and want to be filled at that price even if the mkt flies through your order you are still only filled at the price.
The reason for your slippage on your stop is that stop orders are market orders- ie they aren't filled at a specific price, they hit the next available person/limit-order in the mkt and thats the price you get.
To avoid an obvious reply to my comment I do realise you set your stop loss at a specific price but all that means is "when price touches this level execute market order to get me out at the next available price".
Its cr*p but being filled at any price is usually better than not being filled at all...

 

[fxprocessor]

That is how the real market would work too.
A limit order means you are sitting in the book and want to be filled at that price even if the mkt flies through your order you are still only filled at the price.
The reason for your slippage on your stop is that stop orders are market orders- ie they aren't filled at a specific price, they hit the next available person/limit-order in the mkt and thats the price you get.
To avoid an obvious reply to my comment I do realise you set your stop loss at a specific price but all that means is "when price touches this level execute market order to get me out at the next available price".
Its cr*p but being filled at any price is usually better than not being filled at all...

Thanks for the prompt reply.

So how do we take profiit at a certain level but still leave ourselves available to benefit from market flying through our set (limit) price. It all seems very one sided towards the broker (If thats just how it is then at least I know now).

 

[Phil Mibbutz]

I experienced a 40 point slip on my stop loss with IG index trading Forex. Is this unusually high or should I expect more of the same around news time?

Same happened to me the other day, even though their price went quite slowly through my stop. Not content with widening the spread, IG seem to slip as many points as they can get away with, despite at the same time quoting a price that no doubt would allow you to open a new bet immediately if it's to your disadvantage.
Amazing that they could actually admit that limits are never slipped, though. Wonder what the Financial Ombudsman would make of that?

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

I really think that if you're trying to trade something like the news then you need to be trading in a 'real' market, not against a spreadbet 'house'. That means either going with an ECN type currency broker and lose the tax breaks, or consider Futuresbetting and trade DMA forex futures with a spreadbet 'wrapper'. There is so much on these boards about the tricks spreadbet firms get up to, people should really have learned by now...

 

[minx]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

So how do we take profiit at a certain level but still leave ourselves available to benefit from market flying through our set (limit) price. It all seems very one sided towards the broker (If thats just how it is then at least I know now).

If you set a price you want to enter/exit (limit) then there is nothing you can do about the mkt flying through. It has nothing to do with odds being stacked in favour of the broker, thats how the actual market works. If you say I want to buy at 1 lot @ 100 and someone wants to sell at that price then a trade takes place. If that person wants to sell 500 lots at mkt then they will fill your 1-lot at 100 and all limit orders below this until his 500 lots are filled. You sets your price you takes your medicine.

 

[Pippppin]

fxprocessor was arguing, quite correctly, that speadbetting companies apply double standards to stop/limit orders. They will do whichever is most profitable for them. That has nothing to do with how the market works if trading in a real trading environment

 

[Phil Mibbutz]

Apart from the double standards bit, the other point is that we're betting using the SB price supplied, not the market price, so if they quote a certain level at a certain time then they should fill at that level, not wait for the market to reach the worst possible price for the client.
To me it seems odd that IG should use these tactics, when the result is that they lose customers who would probably be happy to go on spending money if they thought the goalposts were at least staying in the same place.

 

[minx]

This is starting to sound like those letters from people who watch tv programs and then write to complain about all the s e x, drugs, violence in them.
If you think you're being ripped off or getting a bum deal then just stop using them, move on to another broker. If they're all the same then go DMA and experience the real market. If you dont like that then do something else...

 

[Phil Mibbutz]

Have already stopped using them, minx. Are you saying that IG's policy on limits and stops is fair?

 

[minx]

I dont use them for a completely different reason- wide spreads. If they are just imitating the real market, and thats basically what they do, then you have to accept you can only trade at a price if its there when you press the Buy/Sell button, just like in the real market. Also, stops do slip sometimes depending on yor market. I dont think I've ever had stops slip in the Bund, but then again its usually around 1000 lots at every price. I have been slipped in products like US Coffee, Soy, Lumber (horrendously so), UK Sugar, Dax, EuroFx, etc.... If its a thin mkt then expect slippage, if its Vodafone, Bund, EuroStoxx, Schatz, Bobl, Euribor, etc then you're fine 99.99% of the time.