Margin rates
Our tiered margining system means we can offer competitive rates that reflect the size of your position and associated liquidity of the market.
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Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com to talk about opening an account.
Contact us 08001953100
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
What is margin?
Spread betting and CFDs are leveraged products, meaning you don’t have to pay the full value of your trade upfront. Instead, you’ll put up an initial deposit – which is a fraction of your position’s total value – to deal. This opening amount is called margin – also sometimes referred to as ‘deposit margin’.
Margin is usually required on leveraged trades. Bear in mind that the profits and losses of leveraged trades are calculated on the full position size, not the margin amount. This means that you could lose or gain more than the amount you paid to open the trade.
Our margin rates
All our margins are kept to competitively low rates. We offer tiered margining, meaning there are different margin requirements at different levels of exposure. Smaller deal sizes attract our lowest margin rates because they generally benefit from better market liquidity.
Our tiers start from one and go up to four. Tier one has the lowest margin rates, while tier four has the highest.
You can see a summary of tier one margins for some of our most popular markets below. For all tier one margins, you can limit your potential for losses by using stop orders. This limits your exposure to risk by automatically closing out your positions if losses reach a certain level, predetermined by you. However, if markets move too fast and your position is not closed in time, your trade can go through negative slippage. To counteract this, you can use guaranteed stops, which will always close out your trade at the predetermined level, but which you’ll pay a premium for.
- Indices
- Forex
- Commodities
- Shares
Spread betting |
||||
| Stock index | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| FTSE 100 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Wall Street | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Germany 40 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| US 500 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| US Tech 100 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
CFD trading |
||||
| Stock index | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| FTSE 100 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Wall Street | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Germany 40 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| US 500 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| US Tech 100 | 5% | 1:20 | ||
Spread betting |
||||
| Commodities | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| Spot Gold | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Spot Silver (5000oz) | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| High Grade Copper | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| Oil - US Crude | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| Oil - Brent Crude | 10% | 1:10 | ||
CFDs |
||||
| Commodities | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| Spot Gold | 5% | 1:20 | ||
| Spot Silver (5000oz) | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| High Grade Copper | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| Oil - US Crude | 10% | 1:10 | ||
| Oil - Brent Crude | 10% | 1:10 | ||
Spread betting |
||||
| Shares | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| Apple | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| Barclays PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| BHP Group PLC (LSE) | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| GlaxoSmithKline PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| Vodafone Group PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
CFDs |
||||
| Shares | Retail | Leverage equivalent | ||
| Apple | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| Barclays PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| BHP Group PLC (LSE) | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| GlaxoSmithKline PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
| Vodafone Group PLC | 20% | 1:5 | ||
Open an account now
Open an account now
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
Open an account now
Open an account now
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
Margin for professionals
Professional clients are exempt from regulatory limits on leverage that are in place for retail clients. If you qualify as a professional client, you won’t have to commit as much of your capital to the initial margin deposit as a retail client would.
For example, if a retail client wanted to take a position on the FTSE 100, a margin of 5% would be required. A professional client, on the other hand, would only need to put down a margin of 0.45%.
You can find out more, and check if you are eligible for professional status, on our professional trading page.
What’s maintenance margin?
Maintenance margin, also known as variation margin, is extra money that we might need to request if the market moves against you. It ensures you’ve got enough money in your account to fund the present value of the position – covering any running losses.
This type of margin is charged via a ‘margin call’, which is a status applied to your account when it’s fallen below the minimum required to keep a position open. Should you go into margin call, we will attempt to notify you by email. However, it’s important to note that’s it’s always the obligation of the client (you) to monitor accounts and ensure that you have sufficient funds to cover both margin and losses at all times.
Try these next
Learn about the risks associated with trading and how you can manage them.
We are transparent about charges, so you always know what fees you will incur.
All retail client funds are held in segregated bank accounts, in line with FCA rules.
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