IG Index - you've been warned!!!

[gle101]

Vodka, mostly.

Yes Ross, that was a good one, ha ha.

 

[Black Swan]

If SB firms are to be avoided, where does a trader who has mostly traded via sb turn to ?

You don't have to "turn to" anywhere and who said they have to be "avoided", a few random voices on an interweb forum? Make it your business to discover how the successful spread betting customers make their money..do not assume you'll get the answers here..

 

[mrfigure]

Black swan, theres plenty of people who are of the opinion to avoid sb firms. Take a look around the other threads on this site, im sure youv seen them anyway. Iv not really explored other trading products, maybe just cfd's to a degree but maybe others have traded a variety and can post up with the differences in comparison to sb, including success rates !!

 

[gle101]

Black swan, theres plenty of people who are of the opinion to avoid sb firms. Take a look around the other threads on this site, im sure youv seen them anyway. Iv not really explored other trading products, maybe just cfd's to a degree but maybe others have traded a variety and can post up with the differences in comparison to sb, including success rates !!

Newbies turn first to SB (for me it was the other way around). They don't understand the basics of trading, such as Risk & Money Management. If you don't make it spread betting you will not definitively not make it trading the real market such as trading the Futures.

 

[barjon]

This is total misconception, the SB's does not "make up their own prices". The price must reflect the movement of the underlying asset (or a combination of thereof). If it doesn't and you get an unfair execution it might pay of to refer the MiFID "best execution" directive. Also the user agreement does not override the MiFID directive. However I agree, it is best not to fall in and be dependent of the SB goodwill to settle things fairly.

gle

Oh? That's not what their representatives say on here. Anyway what's the underlying for FTSE100 and DOW - neither are tradeable instruments? And why do they call DOW "Wallstreet"?

And what does "reflect the movement" mean?

If you keep 5 different SB companies' FTSE100 rolling quotes up at the same time you'll see pretty surprising (and inconsistent) differences. Try it.

jon

 

[gle101]

gle

Oh? That's not what their representatives say on here. Anyway what's the underlying for FTSE100 and DOW - neither are tradeable instruments? And why do they call DOW "Wallstreet"?

And what does "reflect the movement" mean.

If you stick 5 different SB companies' FTSE100 rolling quotes up at the same time together with the "underlying", you'll see pretty surprising (and inconsistent) differences. Try it.

jon

You can get information from the SB company what parameters make up their products. They are based on the futures and the cash market (index), and thus follow the underlying asset. "Reflect the movement", it reflects the movement of the underlying asset, not necessary with the same figures displayed, but the degree of movement is the same. It is very seldom you can arbitrage as the SB have improved their price feed engine compared to a couple of years back.

 

[bbmac]

and there in may lie opportunity. A few years agon I used to trade with a broker whose price often lagged cmc and one other's when say their ask price lagged the other two's bid by a margin of more than 2 pips I would buy and scalp the bejesus out of it...these discrepancies are not as plenytyful as they used to be but probably still exist. (Incidentally the broker got wise to it and tightened their prices up calling the practice 'trading in the price.' )

G/L

gle

...If you keep 5 different SB companies' FTSE100 rolling quotes up at the same time you'll see pretty surprising (and inconsistent) differences. Try it.

jon

 

[gle101]

and there in may lie opportunity. A few years agon I used to trade with a broker whose price often lagged cmc and one other's when say their ask price lagged the other two's bid by a margin of more than 2 pips I would buy and scalp the bejesus out of it...these discrepancies are not as plenytyful as they used to be but probably still exist. (Incidentally the broker got wise to it and tightened their prices up calling the practice 'trading in the price.' )

G/L

I can agree to a point they have had a tough time keeping up with the crazy volatility lately. But they will for sure tighten it up even further with a faster price feed engine and technology.

 

[Black Swan]

gle

Oh? That's not what their representatives say on here. Anyway what's the underlying for FTSE100 and DOW - neither are tradeable instruments? And why do they call DOW "Wallstreet"?

And what does "reflect the movement" mean?

If you keep 5 different SB companies' FTSE100 rolling quotes up at the same time you'll see pretty surprising (and inconsistent) differences. Try it.

jon

And yet as a side by side comparison with forex quotes they are generally within a pip..which is nothing..

 

[barjon]

And yet as a side by side comparison with forex quotes they are generally within a pip..which is nothing..

May be an argument for playing with forex then, Swanny, but I hate it !!

jon

 

[brasil2000]

Newbies turn first to SB (for me it was the other way around). They don't understand the basics of trading, such as Risk & Money Management. If you don't make it spread betting you will not definitively not make it trading the real market such as trading the Futures.

+1

 

[Black Swan]

May be an argument for playing with forex then, Swanny, but I hate it !!

jon

Perhaps there's an obvious reason why the fx quotes from, for example, my Currenex chart/broker are very close to the likes of ig and CMC?

 

[potshot]

I have seen IG a few times recently on the ftse close move the price 10 points for no reason and no other sb had done the same, if you were on the wrong side damn but on the right side hell thats good. I have noticed different little things IG have done, never cost me any money but I didn't like what I saw and moved my money out of the account with them.


My worst loss was £5K on the dax the morning of the madrid bomb, no 24 hour market back then for most sb's or if the market was offered overnight the spread was like 16 points. I never blamed the SB for it but those bloody muslim terrorist for it but the buck stops with me and my bank account became £5K lighter in seconds as the market gapped on opening. I put it down to experience and moved on.

 

[mrfigure]

I have seen IG a few times recently on the ftse close move the price 10 points for no reason and no other sb had done the same, if you were on the wrong side damn but on the right side hell thats good. I have noticed different little things IG have done, never cost me any money but I didn't like what I saw and moved my money out of the account with them.


My worst loss was £5K on the dax the morning of the madrid bomb, no 24 hour market back then for most sb's or if the market was offered overnight the spread was like 16 points. I never blamed the SB for it but those bloody muslim terrorist for it but the buck stops with me and my bank account became £5K lighter in seconds as the market gapped on opening. I put it down to experience and moved on.

Potshot have you got screen shots of these 10 point gaps, or can you supply the date and times ?

 

[leonarda]

I have seen IG a few times recently on the ftse close move the price 10 points for no reason and no other sb had done the same, if you were on the wrong side damn but on the right side hell thats good. I have noticed different little things IG have done, never cost me any money but I didn't like what I saw and moved my money out of the account with them.


My worst loss was £5K on the dax the morning of the madrid bomb, no 24 hour market back then for most sb's or if the market was offered overnight the spread was like 16 points. I never blamed the SB for it but those bloody muslim terrorist for it but the buck stops with me and my bank account became £5K lighter in seconds as the market gapped on opening. I put it down to experience and moved on.

This can be dividend adjustment, and is normal. Different sb companies handle index dividends differently.

 

[jayedwards]

At around 1.45pm yesterday I went into my IG Index account to see if the orders I had placed at just after 9am had been executed. The details of these were:
1) Buy as the price comes up to 5624.3, with a win limit of 15 points and a stop loss of 10 points
2) As above but a win limit of 20 points and a stop loss of 10 points

My starting balance was just over €1,000 and both of the above were to be executed at €7.50 per point

Imagine my horror/disgust when I found that both positions had been filled(at 5624.3, exactly the price I ordered) and stopped out at prices of 5527 and 5528, meaning a loss of nearly 100 points on each!!! Not only did this wipe my balance but it also created a lovely situation where I am now deemed to owe them a further €400+

Of course, they tried to fob me off with the old 'slippage' thing and that I should have paid for guaranteed stop losses to fulfill my requirements, the markets moved too quickly, etc....but slippage of nearly 90 points per trade in an open, liquid market!!!!

To add insult to injury, when checking through the chart data on a tick by tick basis I found the following:

1) the market moved quickly up and then back down again. The price sequence went like this:

5591.5 5589.3 5602 5624.5(where it opened my order) 5622.8 5627 5640 5637 5638.5 5643.3 5643.5 5621 5596.3...
So to add insult to injury, my 15 point limit was actually reached(winning trade), although my 20 point limit was nearly, but not quite reached

2) To arrive at their famous stop-out prices of nearly 100 points loss(the lowest they could find, see below for details) the following sequence occurred:

cont from above prices...5599.3 5574 5563.5 5564.8 5566.3 5560.5 5559 5552 5557.8 5553 5560 5554.3 5546 5529.3 5530 5537.3 5529 5527.5 5528.5 5528.8 5531.5 5532 5533 5535.5 5537 5538.3 5534.3 5536
So in this situation, there were many ticks prior to closing my position which would have led to significantly lower losses, had they done their job properly

I would really appreciate your help on this as I feel robbed and let down by this company, who are yet to come back to me with a reasonable solution which involves compromise. As a new customer of theirs they give me the impression that they don't give a sh1t about where the money comes from as long as they are making it. The only 2 compromises I have offered them are:
a) to reverse trade 1) into a rightful winning strategy of 15 points, and allow them to treat trade 2) as a loser, but with a much lower stop out
b) that both trades should be cancelled as if they did not happen

I may come across as a bit naive, stupid, or a combination of both here but surely this shouldnt be accepted, by me or anybody else who finds themselves in this situation. As far as I am concerned, my belief is that these companies have an attitude of 'thanks for your money, close the door on the way out - and leave us a bit more for the privelege!!!'

can you tell me how long you have trading with them for and why did you not use a guaranteed stop? is seems to me that you have made a mistake and find it hard to deal with. guaranteed stop loss prevents and greater losses than you stop point even in the event of slippage.

 

[djnsfc]

I really think you have to take the rough with the smooth as I've had scenarios where I've been given vastly( 50-60 points in some instances) better prices on fills for limit orders during fast markets. I didn't complain to the SB firm that I wanted my original limit price so why should I expect them to do anything when I do complain about getting a crap fill. If you're entering orders just before major news announcements you have to accept that there's a chance slippage will dent your account. We all know the rules when using SB firms (read the small print), you either accept them or find an alternative.

I've used IG for over 2 years and I'd recommend them as a spread betting firm.

 

[alan5616]

I've used IG for over 2 years and I'd recommend them as a spread betting firm.

Really? It, always, amazes me that there's no end to the amount of abuse and fraud that traders are prepared to tolerate from SB Cos. This is the most crooked industry that I have ever encountered and, thanks to a toothless, incompetent FSA, it continues unabated.

 

[jayedwards]

can you tell me how long you have trading with them for and why did you not use a guaranteed stop? is seems to me that you have made a mistake and find it hard to deal with. guaranteed stop loss prevents and greater losses than you stop point even in the event of slippage.

.

 

[bedsit]

I've used IG for over 2 years and I'd recommend them as a spread betting firm.

http://www.trade2win.com/boards/spread-betting/45904-spreadbetting-ig-complaint-46.html#post1677710