IC Markets vs IG

Leverage – IC Markets vs IG

When trading, we always prefer brokers that offer higher leverage limits. Leverage means you don’t need high levels of your capital to achieve large returns on your fx trading. While we always recommend being aware of the risks when trading with leverage, often you need leverage to achieve significant returns. This is because currency movements most of the time are only incremental. It is only in extreme events such as a political crisis that current movements can be drastic.

IC Markets offer leverage of 500:1 to clients that fall under the jurisdiction of the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA). For those that fall under the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in Cyprus (CySEC) or Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), leverage for forex pairs is capped at 30:1.

Likewise, IG Markets forex leverage varies depending on the regulation that applied to the territory their client is based on.

• UK, Europe, Australia (ASIC), New Zealand (FMA) IG entities offer a maximum leverage of 30:1
• Dubai (DFSA) and US (CTFC, NFA) branches offer 50:1
• Singapore (MAS) caps leverage at 20:1
• Japan (JFSA) limit leverage to 25:1

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Execution Speed and Risk Management – IC Markets vs IG

If you want to trade forex and CFDs, it is important to be aware of the high risk involved when trading complex instruments. All top brokers will offer some form of risk management tools available, such as order types, price alerts and company-wide investor protection policies.

IC Markets Execution Speed and Risk Management

Some of the fastest execution speed in the forex online broker industry is available with IC Markets. IC Markets place their fibre optic cable technology at Equinox data centres near major forex trading centres. This placement means they can achieve order execution completion of under 40ms. Fast execution is imperative for IC Markets as they only offer the basic risk management tools all forex brokers offer. Without the fast execution speed and low latency that IC Markets achieve, your trades could be at risk of ‘slippage’ which can impact your ability to trade confidently.

IG Execution Speed and Risk Management

Slippage performance with IG

The infrastructure behind IG trading infrastructure is not spoken about on their website. However, IG does provide statistics about their slippage performance, which is a good indication of their trading speeds.

What needs to be understood is that the ‘stop’ slippage should be low (i.e. closer to 100%) and the ‘limit’ slippage should be higher (i.e. close to 0%). IG uses algorithms that use ‘asymmetric’ logic when executing trades which helps them achieve ideal execution levels.

Rejection rates – IG

IG also publish their rejection levels. Rapid price changes and varying levels of liquidity can determine if your trade will be successful. Remember that IG is a market maker, which means they only hold so much liquidity of each currency at one time. This may mean if you are trading high volumes of a currency pair, IG may not have the necessary volumes of liquidity to execute your trade.

IG allows you to mage rejection risks through the following

1. Points through current: If you purchase insurance against an unfavourable price change, IG will guarantee your trade at your order price.
2. Partial fills: If IG cannot provide the entire volume you wish to trade, then they can do a partial fill.

While the above are all tools IG when it comes to execution speed, IG also has some risk management tools that IC Markets do not offer. The main tools are guaranteed stop-loss orders. This tool allows you to set your sell price for a small fee, and IG can guarantee this price when you go short.

The other feature IG off is a ‘limit risk account. This is a setting on your account that, when enabled, will require you to purchase a guaranteed stop-loss order for every trade you do.

Risk management comments

It is worth noting that neither broker offers guaranteed negative balance protection. Instead, both brokers offer a margin call system or minimum balance protection. This system is a series of warnings that your account funds are below specified margin limits. The idea of the notifications is to allow you to add more funds to your account or sell some of your positions.

Execution speed vs risk management Conclusion

It is important to understand why each broker has such different approaches when it comes to speed and execution. Speed is very important to IC Markets because they offer an environment similar to an ECN broker. Foreign exchange prices are constantly changing, and any lags during trade execution may mean the price you buy or sell might not match the advertised price. This can result in slippage.

IG, unlike IC Markets, is more about managing risk with risk management features to protect your investments.

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Platforms – IC Markets vs IG

IC Trading Platform

The following trading platforms are available with IC Markets. MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5) and cTrader. IG also offer MT4 (along with their proprietary platforms).

MT4, MT5 and cTrader are the most popular trading platforms worldwide and are available as desktop and webtrader platforms, as well as mobile trading apps for iOS and Android devices.

MetaTrader 4

This trading software or platform has long been the most popular trading platform for both traders and brokers. Continual upgrades mean the platform become one of the most ‘complete’ trading platforms available, making it popular with fx brokers. MT4 makes trading easy for those new to trading, but also offers sophisticated features for traders requiring more in-depth information. While it is true many other products nowadays offer similar features, MT4 continues to be the best as they consistently offer new features.

Key features of note on MT4 include charts and indicators, expert advisers (i.e. trading automation) and the ability to customise your trading screens.

MetaTrader 5.

This platform is an upgrade on MetaTrader 4. While it is true MetaTrader 4 continues to be far more popular than MetaTrader 5, slowly but surely MetaTrader 5 is catching up. MetaTrader 5 uptake has been slow because when MetaTrader was released in 2010, it was built to be compliant with USA trading regulations. USA trade regulation doesn’t allow hedging or F.I.F.O style trading. MetaQuest assumed that the rest of the world would follow the USA with these regulatory requirements. This error has since been rectified and MetaTrader 5 now allows netting (F.I.F.O) and hedging systems, meaning the meets USA and international regulatory requirements. So although MT4 remains the chosen platform, there is now little reason to choose MT4 over MT5.

MetaTrader 5 is an improvement over MT4 as it allows better trading through central exchanges. This makes the platform a better choice as now better built to allow for trading of all types of asset classes including shares, commodities and indices. Other benefits include faster processing (which can help reduce slippage) as it is a 64-bit multi-threaded platform that can handle up to 4GB (an upgrade on MT4 which uses 32-but, mono threading with a 2GB limit, more charts and indicators). Lastly, MT5 is better built for backtesting as it is using MQL5, which should assist with the easier creation of expert advisors.

Additional MetaTrader features

If you use MetaTrader with IC Markets, you will also get access to their MT4 Advanced Trader tools. This is a series of 20 additional trade execution and management tools that will make your trading experience even better.

cTrader trading platform

This platform is another very popular readily accessible free platform available for traders. Choosing cTrader over MetaTrader is simply a case of personal preference. All platforms offer many of the same key features however some many prefer the cTrader interface. Some of the main features of cTrader are Level II pricing, Detachable charts, a dedicated platform for trading automation and 26 timeframes. cTrader however, is only for forex trading, not CFD or cryptocurrency trading.

IG trading platforms

There are different trading tools available with IG. It is important to understand each platform serves a different purpose and therefore will serve the needs of different traders.

The first table shows with ‘Web-based’, ‘mobile app’ and ‘Tablet apps’ are IG proprietary platforms. This platform is IG award-winning platform and contains all the standard tools traders will want access to. It is worth noting that the Tablet is only built for iPad and that you can only trade directly from charts if using the web platform.

Below are some of the custom platforms that IG offer:

• L2 dealer is only for DMA traders, which means you will need a Forex Direct account. This means you would need to meet IG requirements to qualify as a ‘Professional Trader’.
• ProRealTime is a platform in its own right and its key feature is the high availability of charts and indicators you might not find elsewhere. There is however a $40 cost per month, and it is only available for web browsers.
• MetaTrader 4 is the same as MetaTrader 4 that IC Markets offer however it is only available as a download. To access this platform, you need to be using the IG web-based platform.

Conclusion –  IC Markets vs IG

IG gives you an extensive range of platform choices to choose from. We, however, don’t find these platforms interesting enough to choose over the MetaTrader options available with IC Markets. If you choose MetaTrader with IC Markets, you can access the platform on your phone, tablet or the web. MetaTrader 4 is a great option as many brokers offer this platform however we are recommending MetaTrader 5. While not as many brokers offer this as MetaTrader 4, it is still relatively common and offers all the MT4 features and more.

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Contracts for Difference (CFDs) – IC Markets vs IG

IC Markets CFDs

This broker offers a solid collection of different asset classes for trade. While IG offers a far more extensive range of trading options, IC Markets off most of the standard CFDs most people will look to trade with.

These CFDs include 17 different indices, 19 different commodities plus spot and futures CFDs,  120+ stocks from the ASX, Nasdaq and NYSE (provided you are using MT5). 6 different Bonds, 4 Global futures and 10 of the most popular cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ripple, Dash, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash.

IC Markets do not charge a commission when trading bonds and indices.

IG CFDs

If you’re looking for a broker that offers an all-in-one CFDs trading portfolio, then IG might be the right broker for you. IG range of derivatives covers just about any assets you might want to consider for trading. Trading options include over 8,500 shares from the Australian and international stock markets, over 31 global indices, 26 different commodities and all the major cryptocurrencies.

Please note: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK recently changed regulations banning retail traders from accessing or trading cryptocurrency markets. To trade crypto with IG, you will need to sign up with an IG branch outside of the UK.

IG also offer other assets not commonly on offer with other brokers, these include options, interest rates, bonds, exchange-traded products (ETP), exchange-traded funds (ETF) and initial public offerings (IPOs).

If purchasing shares, then IG allows you to purchase shares with lower commissions for the first weeks of trading while you build your confidence. After this period it is 0.08% commission per side with a minimum charge of $7. To purchase shares you will need a non-leveraged trading account.

If you are an IG client in the UK, you can also do spread betting. This is very similar to CFD trading but you don’t own the underlying product but instead bet on the direction the instrument will move. It is popular with traders in the UK as there can be tax savings on your profits.

Conclusion – IC Markets vs IG

IG offers great portfolio derivatives that cover all the CFDs you may wish to consider for investment.

Bonus Offers – IC Markets vs IG

IC Markets do not have any sign on or deposit bonus. Nor do they have a refer a friend program. This could be looked at favourably in some aspects. IC Markets focus on offering the lowest spreads through their ECN broker. This means they are operating on very low commission margins. If they had a sign-on bonus, this could be passed onto consumers through other costs.

IG (who are a market maker, not an ECN broker) on the other hand have a refer a friend program. With this program, IG will give you up to US$1000 in credit and your friend US$100 for each friend you introduce to IG. The program does have certain conditions whereby the friend must meet minimum deposit and trade requirements.

Conclusion – IC Markets vs IG

Given IC Markets don’t have a bonus program then consider IG as an option if you desire a bonus.

Customer Service – IC Markets vs IG

IC Markets customer support

You can contact the IC Markets support team 24/7 through live chat, email, or call back. They also provide FAQ in their help centre, where you can find possible answers to your questions.

IC Markets Customer service

IC Markets offer an extensive range of educational resources that will provide you with all the trading information you may need. This includes information on the advantages of Forex and CFD trading, video tutorials on how to use MetaTrader 4 and Web TV, which is recorded daily from the New York Stock Exchange discussing trade ideas in short video format. They also have a devoted webpage that provides an educational overview. When you choose this page, you are taken to a page they call an ‘Information Hub for the Serious Trader’. This site includes information on different types of analysis and trading data and a range of other topics such as risk management. You can also find links to all the past webinars they have hosted about different trading topics here.

IG customer support

You can reach out to IG for support via Email, Live chat, phone and Twitter. The customer support is available 7 days a week however the hours are more limited on Saturdays.

IG customer service

The broker has a decent collection of tools that can assist you when trading for any issues or information you may need. These include glossaries, forums, users’ guides and FAQ. the most notable feature is their ‘IG Academy’. This education series is made of 9 different trading courses covering forex and CFD trading. Here you will find booklets, webinars and mobile apps as different means to relay trade information.

Conclusion – IC Markets vs IG

While both brokers provide good customer support and service, we like the IG range of education tools as they are more comprehensive.

Deposits and Withdrawals – IC Markets vs IG

IC Markets have no fees when it comes to making a deposit or making a withdrawal with any of their funding methods. This is across the standard and RAW account types. The range of methods you can use for funding is quite broad. Funding methods include Credit cards and Debit Cards (Visa and MasterCard), Skrill, Neteller, PayPal, BPAY, POLi, UnionPay and FasaPay.

IG on the other hand have charges for various funding methods. You will find they have a 1% fee when using Visa and 0.5% when using MasterCard. PayPal also has a 1% fee. All these methods have a minimum of $500 when making a deposit. BPAY and Bank Transfer are free and have no minimum deposit.

Conclusions – IC Markets vs IG

IC Markets not only offer more funding options when we compare with IG but don’t have fees.