Charges and margins

We are clear about our charges, so you always know what
fees you will incur when you trade with us.

Spreads, commissions and margins

You pay a spread on every non-share CFD and you pay commission on every share CFD trade. Find these charges for individual markets below, or see our 'costs and charges' document for examples of how spreads, commission and margins can affect your positions.

Region	Commission per side	Min charge (online)	Margin required
Australia	0.10%	$8	From 5%
US	2 cents per share	US$15	From 5%
Euro¹	0.10%	€10	From 5%
UK	0.10%	£10	From 5%

¹ Euro includes: Belgium, Eire, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain

With share CFDs you trade at the real market price, so we don't attach our own spread. Instead, we take a small commission when you open the position, and again when you close it. In each instance, a minimum charge applies.

See full share CFDs product details

Forex

Market name	Value per pip	Min spread	Average spread¹	Margin required
Spot AUD/USD	US$10	0.6	0.75	0.5%
Spot USD/JPY	Y1000	0.7	0.89	0.5%
Spot EUR/USD	US$10	0.6	0.75	0.5%
Spot GBP/USD	US$10	0.9	1.34	1%

¹ Average spread for the three weeks ending 24 February 2017. For our minimum and standard spreads, please see our forex CFD and MT4 details.

The spread is the difference between our Sell and Buy prices. We derive these prices based on the underlying market’s value.

See full forex costs and product details

Learn more about our pricing and execution

Indices

Market name	Value of one contract	Best available spread	Margin per contract
Australia 200 24 hours	AUD25	1	0.5%
Wall Street 24 hours	US$10	1.8	0.5%
FT100 24 hours	£10	1	0.5%
US500 24 hours	US$250	0.4	0.5%

The spread is the difference between our Sell and Buy prices. We derive these prices based on the underlying market’s value.

See full indices costs and product details

Learn more about our pricing and execution

Commodities

Market name	Value of one contract	Spread	Margin per contract
Spot Gold	US$100	0.3	0.7%
Spot Silver	US$50	2	2.0%
Oil - US Crude	US$10	2.8	1.5%
Oil - Brent Crude	US$10	2.8	1.5%

The spread is the difference between our Sell and Buy prices. We derive these prices based on the underlying market’s value.

See full commodities costs and product details

Learn more about our pricing and execution

View shares example

Buying BHP Billiton: detailed

	CFD
Underlying market/value	BHP Billiton
Our price	18.39/18.40
Trade	Buy at 18.40
Trade size	1,000 shares
Margin required	Margin = Number of shares x share price (mid price) x margin rate (5%) 1,000 x A$18.395 x 5% = A$919.75
What happens next?	At 4.15pm the market closed at 18.50, which is the price our funding is calculated at. It rises again the next day, reaching 19.04 (the sell price).
Funding	Funding = (One-month bank bill swap rate + 2.5%) x (number of shares x share price) / 360 (1.9% + 2.5%) x (1,000 x A$18.50) / 360 = A$2.26
Underlying market	19.04/19.05
Close	Sell at 19.04
Gross profit	19.04 - 18.40 = A$0.64c (Multiplied by 1,000 shares) Gross profit = A$640
Commission	Commission = Value of position x 0.10% (Minimum A$8) (1,000 x 18.40) x 0.10% = A$18.40 (1,000 x 19.04) x 0.10% = A$19.04 Total commission = A$37.44
Total costs	Total costs = Funding + commissions A$2.26 + A$37.44 = A$39.70
Net profit	A$600.30 profit subject to tax
What if...	If the underlying market fell to 17.60 instead (the sell price): A$17.60 – A$18.40 = - A$0.80c (-A$0.80c x 1,000 shares) - (A$2.26 + 36) Net loss = A$838.26

View forex example

Buying AUD/USD: detailed

	CFD
Market	Spot FX AUD/USD
Price	0.76912 / 0.76920
Trade	Buy at 0.76920 (7,692.0 points)
Deal size	1 standard contract Equals US$10 per point
Margin required	Margin = Number of contracts x value of one contract x current level (mid price) x margin rate (0.5%) 1 x US$10 x 7,691.6 x 0.5% = US$384.58
What happens next?	AUD/USD climbs 150 points into the next day. This position is held through 10pm London time, when funding is calculated.
Funding	Funding = size x (tom-next rate + admin fee of 0.3% pa) US$10 x -0.96 = -US$9.60 (so you would actually receive US$9.60 in this instance)
Price	0.78412 / 0.78420
Close	Sell at 0.78412 (7,841.2 points)
Gross profit	7,841.2 - 7,692.0 = 149.2 points Each contract is worth US$10 per point (so US$10 x 149.2 points) Gross profit = US$1,492
Costs	0.8 point IG spread (included above) Funding adjustment = US$9.60 (a credit to your account)
Net profit	US$1,501.60
What if...	What if the market dropped 150 points instead (with a spread of 0.8 points): US$1,508 - US$9.60 Net loss = US$1,498.40

View indices example

Buying the Australia 200: detailed

	Cash CFD
Underlying market/value	ASX 200 JUN15 Future
Our price	Australia 200 Cash 5500.5/5501.5
Trade	Buy at 5501.5
Deal size	1 standard contract Equals A$25 per point
Margin required	Margin = Number of contracts x value of one contract x index level (mid price) x margin rate (0.5%) 1 x A$25 x 5,501 x 0.5% = A$687.63
What happens next?	The market rallies dramatically, moving up 149 points by 4.50pm, when funding is calculated. It drops back a little overnight, down 10 points from 4.50pm the previous day.
Funding	Funding = (One-month bank bill swap rate + 2.5%) x (size of position) / 360 (1.9% + 2.5%) x (5,650 x A$25) / 360 = $17.26
Underlying market	5639.5 / 5640.5
Close	Sell at 5639.5
Overall market movement & profit/loss	5639.5 – 5501.5 = 138 Each contract is worth A$25 per point (so A$25 x 138 points) Gross profit = A$3,450
Costs	1-point IG spread (included above) Funding cost: A$17.26
Net profit	A$3,432.74 net profit subject to tax
What if...	If the market dropped 139 points instead (with a spread of 1 point): (-139 - 1) x (A$25) - A$17.26 Net loss = A$3,517.26

View commodities example

Buying Spot Gold: detailed

	CFD
Market and price	Spot Gold 1248.06/1248.46
Trade	Buy at 1,248.46
Trade size	1 standard contract Equals US$100 per point
Margin required	Margin = Number of contracts x value of one contract x level of spot gold (mid) x margin rate (0.7%) 1 x 1,248.26 x US$100 x 0.7% = US$873.78
What happens next?	Spot Gold rallies 10 points into the next day. This position is held through 10pm London time, when funding is calculated.
Funding	Funding = size x (tom-next rate + admin fee of 0.3% pa) US$100 x 0.12 = US$12
Price	1258.06 / 1258.46
Close	Sell at 1,258.06
Gross profit	1,258.06 - 1,248.46 = 9.6 Value per point = US$100 9.6 x US$100 = US$960
Costs	0.4 point IG spread (included) Funding cost = US$12
Net profit	US$948
What if...	If the market dropped 10 points instead (with a spread of 0.4 points): US$1,040 + US$12 Net loss = US$1,052

Funding and interest

Funding and interest charges apply to CFD trades. Find out how we apply funding and interest below, or see our 'costs and charges' document for examples of how funding and interest can affect your positions.

Overnight funding

If you keep a position open overnight we make an interest adjustment to your account, including our fee of 2.5%.* We debit your account if your position is long, and credit your account for a short position – if the interbank rate is greater than 2.5%.*

When trading forex, the funding cost is calculated differently. See the table below.

Long positions	Short positions	Forex positions
We charge 2.5% above the relevant interbank rate.* Eg. If the relevant interbank 1-month rate is 0.5%, you would be charged 3.00% (annualised).	You receive the relevant interbank rate, minus 2.5%.* If the interbank rate is greater than 2.5%,* we credit your account; if the interbank rate is less than 2.5%,* your account is debited. Eg. If the relevant interbank 1-month rate is 0.5%, you would be charged 2.00% (annualised).	For forex positions, we charge funding based on the current tom-next rate. Tom-next shows, in points, the difference between the interest paid to borrow the currency that is being notionally sold, and the interest received from holding the currency.

Long positions

Short positions

Forex positions

We charge 2.5% above the relevant interbank rate.*

Eg. If the relevant interbank 1-month rate is 0.5%, you would be charged 3.00% (annualised).

You receive the relevant interbank rate, minus 2.5%.*

If the interbank rate is greater than 2.5%,* we credit your account; if the interbank rate is less than 2.5%,* your account is debited.

Eg. If the relevant interbank 1-month rate is 0.5%, you would be charged 2.00% (annualised).

For forex positions, we charge funding based on the current tom-next rate.

Tom-next shows, in points, the difference between the interest paid to borrow the currency that is being notionally sold, and the interest received from holding the currency.

* 3% on mini and micro CFD contracts.

Futures and forwards

We offer futures for fixed-expiry trades on stock indices and commodities. We build the overnight funding charges into the spread, so that everything is included. This makes it easier to identify your break-even level on your trade.

Non-share markets

Stock index	Futures spread	Commodity	Futures spread
Australia 200	3	Spot gold	0.6
Wall Street	6	Spot silver	3
Germany 30	6	Light Crude oil	6

Cash vs Future example

Cash CFD vs CFD Future: FTSE 100

	CFD Future	Cash CFD
Underlying market/value	FTSE 100 JUN15 Future 6400
Our market/spread	FTSE 100 Jun15 6398/6402	FTSE 100 Cash 6401.5/6402.5
Trade	Sell at 6398	Sell at 6401.5
Deal size	3 contracts £10 per contract	3 contracts £10 per contract
Margin required	£750 Margin per contract x number of contracts £250 x 3	£750 Margin per contract x number of contracts £250 x 3
What happens next?	The market falls during the next 30 days and the FTSE 100 June Future reaches 6310
Funding	Included in the spread on the opening of the future	30-day funding charge: £ 104.90 Assuming a 30-day average price of 6350 ([one month LIBOR eg 0.49% minus 2.5% x value of underlying value at 10pm]/ 365) x number of days (-2.01% x [6350 x £10] /365) x 30
Close	Buy at 6312	Buy at 6310.5
Gross profit	Gross profit = £2580 6398 – 6312 = 86 £30 per point	Gross profit = £2730 6401.5 – 6310.5 = 91 £30 per point
Costs	4-points IG spread (included) Funding included in spread	1-point IG spread (included) Funding cost: £104.90
Net profit	Net profit = £2580	Net profit = £2625.10
What if...	If the market rose 86 points instead -(86 x £30) £2580 net loss	If the market rose 91 points instead -(91 x £30 + £104.90) £2834.90 net loss

How is funding calculated?

Shares funding

Size for CFDs means number of shares.

Closing price means underlying market price when underlying market closes.

If your trade is in GBP

Size × closing price × LIBOR +/- 2.5% ÷ 365

Based on LIBOR one month overnight rate

If your trade is in USD

Size × closing price × US LIBOR +/–2.5% ÷ 360

If your trade is in EUR

Size × closing price × EURIBOR +/–2.5% ÷ 360

The formula uses a 365-day divisor for UK, Singapore and South African shares, and a 360-day divisor for shares in other markets.

Forex funding

A tom-next rather than an interbank rate is used in the calculation of funding costs for forex and spot metals.

Tom-next is the day’s market swap rate for that pair or metal.

Example tom-next rate: -1.39/-0.39.

-0.39 would be used to calculate the funding cost on a long position.

-1.39 would be used to calculate the funding cost on a short position.

Size x (tom-next rate + admin fee)

CFD

Size means total value of lots (number of lots x value per lot)

Tom-next is the day’s market swap rate for that pair or metal

Admin fee is no more than 0.3% per annum (0.8% for mini contracts)

Three-day funding is charged on Wednesday 10pm UK time. For more information please visit our FX product details.

Other markets

Size for CFDs means total contract value (number of contracts x value per contract).

Closing price means underlying market price when underlying market closes.

If your trade is in GBP

Size × closing price × LIBOR +/- 2.5% ÷ 365 Based on LIBOR one month overnight rate

If your trade is in USD

Size × closing price × US LIBOR +/–2.5% ÷ 360

If your trade is in EUR

Size × closing price × EURIBOR +/–2.5% ÷ 360

Please note: when trading a non-standard GBP-denominated index CFD, or a mini contract on any asset class, the funding rate is +/-3% rather than +/-2.5%

Understanding margins

Our margins are among the lowest in the CFD industry. Through a system of tiered margining we can offer lower rates for the majority of positions.

What is margin?

Margin trading gives you full exposure to a market using only a fraction of the capital you’d normally need.

Margin is the amount of money you need to open a position, defined by the margin rate.

CFD are leveraged product, you don’t need to pay the full value of your exposure in order to trade. Instead, you’ll only need to put up a fraction of your total exposure to open your position.

There are two types of margin to consider:

Initial margin

The initial margin is the minimum amount you’ll need to put up to open a position. It is sometimes called the deposit margin, or just the deposit.

Maintenance margin

The maintenance margin, also known as variation margin, is extra money that we might need to request from you if your position moves against you. Its purpose is to ensure you have enough money in your account to fund the present value of the position at all times – covering any running losses.

Margin at IG

At IG we offer competitive margins across our full range of markets.

We operate a tiered margining policy on all our markets, excluding digital 100s.

Smaller trade sizes generally benefit from better market liquidity and these positions attract our lowest margin rates.

What is tiered margining?

Things to remember

Ensure you have enough funds in your account to cover both margin and losses.
If you have more than one account, the funds in one account will not cover the margin requirement or losses in another.
Limit potential losses and reduce your margin requirement by using stops (tier one only).

How are margins calculated?

Shares margins

Share margins

	CFD
No stop or stop	Number of shares x share price x margin percentage E.g. 100 BHP shares at a price of $30.50: 100 x 33.50 x 5% = $167.50 margin
Guaranteed stop	The total risk on the position: Value per point x stop distance (in points) + limited risk premium E.g. 100 BHP shares at a price of $33.50, with a stop 100 points away and 0.3% limited risk premium. Calculation: ($1 x 100) + (100 x $33.50 x 0.003) = $110.05 So the margin requirement is $110.05

CFD

No stop or stop

Number of shares x share price x margin percentage

E.g. 100 BHP shares at a price of $30.50:

100 x 33.50 x 5% = $167.50 margin

Guaranteed stop

The total risk on the position:

Value per point x stop distance (in points) + limited risk premium

E.g. 100 BHP shares at a price of $33.50, with a stop 100 points away and 0.3% limited risk premium.

Calculation: ($1 x 100) + (100 x $33.50 x 0.003) = $110.05

So the margin requirement is $110.05

Forex margins

FX margins

	CFD
No stop or stop	Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage E.g. 2 contracts AUD/USD: 2 x A$100,000 x 0.7690 x 0.5% = $769 margin requirement
Guaranteed stop	The total risk on the position: Number of contracts x contract size x stop distance + limited risk premium E.g. 2 standard contracts GBP/USD with a guaranteed stop 20 points way and 1-point limited risk premium. Calculation: (2 x $10 x 20) + (2 x $10 x 1) = $420 margin So the margin requirement is $420

CFD

No stop or stop

Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage

E.g. 2 contracts AUD/USD:

2 x A$100,000 x 0.7690 x 0.5% = $769 margin requirement

Guaranteed stop

The total risk on the position:

Number of contracts x contract size x stop distance + limited risk premium

E.g. 2 standard contracts GBP/USD with a guaranteed stop 20 points way and 1-point limited risk premium.

Calculation: (2 x $10 x 20) + (2 x $10 x 1) = $420 margin

So the margin requirement is $420

Commodity margins

	CFD
No stop or stop	Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage E.g. one contract of Oil - US Crude: 1 x $10 x 3350 x 1% = $335
Guaranteed stop	The total risk on the position: Number of contracts x contract size x stop distance + limited risk premium E.g. One contract Oil - US Crude with a guaranteed stop 90 points way and 4-point limited risk premium. Calculation: (4 x $10) + (90 x $10) = $940 margin So the margin requirement is $940

CFD

No stop or stop

Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage

E.g. one contract of Oil - US Crude:

1 x $10 x 3350 x 1% = $335

Guaranteed stop

The total risk on the position:

Number of contracts x contract size x stop distance + limited risk premium

E.g. One contract Oil - US Crude with a guaranteed stop 90 points way and 4-point limited risk premium.

Calculation: (4 x $10) + (90 x $10) = $940 margin
So the margin requirement is $940

Full tiered CFD margin lists

PDF (3,000 KB)
Indices Margin Tiers (CFD)

PDF (785 KB)
Commodities, Interest rates & Bonds Margin Tiers (CFD)

Charges and funding FAQs

What are your trading hours?

Our helpdesk team is available 24 hours a day Monday to Friday, and from 9am-5pm (UK time) on the weekend:

Email: helpdesk.en@ig.com
Freephone: +61 (3) 9860 1734 or +44 2078 960079
International: +61 (3) 9860 1734 or +44 2078 960079

How does overnight funding work?

When you trade with us, you trade on margin. This means you provide only a deposit to open a position, and we in effect lend you the rest of the money required. If you keep it open overnight, we charge a small fee to cover the cost of the money you’ve effectively borrowed.

For share and stock index trades, this funding fee is based on the relevant interbank rate for your traded currency, plus or minus our small admin fee, depending on whether your position is long or short.

For forex and spot metals trades, it is the tom-next rate plus a small admin fee.

For commodities and other futures markets there is no overnight funding fee because the cost of funding is built into the spread.

Are charges fixed or do they vary?

Spreads

Our forex spreads vary depending on underlying market liquidity. The more liquid the market, the narrower our spread – as low as 0.6 pips.

Our stock index spreads vary by the time of day. During the underlying market hours we offer our standard and tightest spreads. When we offer an out-of-hours market, so that you can benefit from 24-hour trading, we offer a wider spread.

Commission

Our share CFD commissions vary depending on the host country for your stock. All Australian shares are subject to a flat 0.10% commission with a minimum of $8, while all US stocks are subject to a commission of 2 cents per share with a minimum of USD 15. Please see our product details page for all our share CFD commissions.

Overnight funding

The overnight funding fee is calculated using the relevant interbank rate for stock index and share trades. The fee for forex trades is calculated using the tom-next rate. These rates change daily, varying the funding fee each day. Do note that mini and micro CFD contracts are subject to a higher admin fee.

Do you offer guaranteed stops?

When you have a guaranteed stop attached to your position, we apply a small fee if it's triggered. For shares, for example, this starts at 0.3% of the underlying transaction value.

What are interbank and tom-next rates?

The interbank rate is the interest rate charged between banks for short-term loans. It is a key indicator for other interest rate charges, which is why we use it as a basis for calculating our overnight funding fees for your share and stock index trades.

Tom-next is the rate used to calculate the funding adjustment when a forex position is held overnight. It is an industry-standard rate, derived from the interest rate differentials of the pair’s currencies and market expectations of interest rate change.

Is there a currency conversion charge?

CFDs traded in a currency other than your account’s base currency will incur a currency conversion charge. Our default setting is instant conversion and we also offer daily conversions. When there is a credit or debit to your account, for example, when you close a position and realise a profit/loss, the amount is converted to your base currency at the prevailing rate including our charge of 0.3%.

Extra services and charges

For shares CFD trading there are some extra services that we charge for.

Service	Charge
Direct Market Access (DMA)	There’s no charge for using DMA to trade CFDs on forex and shares, or buy and sell shares via our share dealing service, though in order to access live DMA prices for some shares you’ll need to pay a monthly exchange fee.
Live price data feeds	Obtaining live share prices from an exchange, whether that's to trade share CFDs or buy and sell shares via a share dealing account incurs a monthly fee.
ProRealTime Charts	Subscribing to real-time charts costs $40 per month. This is refunded if you place four or more trades a month. We reserve the right to charge you for the service if your qualifying trades are of an extremely low value.
Inactivity fee	We charge a $18 fee on the first of every month, if no trading activity has occurred for two years or more.
Account documentation fee	We charge a US$50 fee on accounts which have not supplied a mandatory W-8 or W-9 form prior to the dividend ex-date of a qualifying trade on a US-incorporated stock. We do not apply this fee to accounts with up-to-date documentation or accounts which have not entered into qualifying trades. We will notify you if you have entered into a qualifying trade and need to complete a form.

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Shares margin

Share margins CFD

Margin requirements for CFD positions with non-guaranteed stops are capped at the amount of margin for no stop (ie if the stop is wide then the calculations used may give a higher margin requirement than the calculation for no stop. If this happens then we limit the margin to the amount required for the same position with no stop).

No stop

Number of shares x share price x margin percentage

E.g. 1000 Vodafone shares at a price of £1.94:

1000 x 1.94 x 5% = £97 margin

Stop

(Margin for equivalent trade with no stop x slippage factor) + value per point* x stop distance

E.g. 1000 Vodafone shares at price of £1.94, with a non-guaranteed stop 3 points away:

(£97 x 30% + (£10 x 3) = £59.10 margin

* Note: 100 UK shares = £1 per point, 100 US shares = $1 per point, 100 Euro shares = €1 per point etc

Guaranteed stop

Value per point x stop distance:

E.g. 1000 Vodafone shares at a price of 194, with a guaranteed stop 11 points away:

£10 x 11 = £110 margin

Index margins

Index margins CFD

No stop

Number of contracts x value per point x price x margin percentage

E.g. one contract of FTSE 100:

1 x £10 x 7000 x 0.5% = £350 margin

Stop

(Margin for equivalent trade with no stop x slippage factor) + (Number of contracts x value per point x stop distance)

E.g. 1 contract FTSE 100 with a non-guaranteed stop 12 points away:

(£350 x 50%) + (1 x £10 x 12) = £295 margin

Guaranteed stops

Number of contracts x value per point x stop distance:

E.g. 1 contract FTSE 100 with a guaranteed stop 12 points away:

1 x £10 x 12 = £120 margin

Tiered margining

What is tiered margining?

Tiered margining enables us to set margin rates that reflect and best fit the size of your aggregate position* in a particular market. The majority of positions will attract our lowest margin rates, reflecting the liquidity of the market at smaller deal sizes. The largest positions may require greater margin, as it is more difficult to trade out of these positions quickly.

We will determine your initial margin using a table of four incremental tiers. The margin rate will increase progressively as your aggregate position moves up from one tier to the next. However, only the portion of your position that falls into a higher tier will be subject to its increased margin rate.

The range of the four tiers differs for every market.

See our tiered margining list for share CFDs. For our tiered margining levels on other markets, please use Get Info inside our trading platform.

* For the purposes of tiered margining, your aggregate position includes your non-limited-risk open positions and orders to open.

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Contact us

Questions about opening an account:

+61 (3) 9860 1799
helpdesk.en@ig.com

Existing client questions:

+61 (3) 9860 1734 or +44 2078 960079

We're here 24hrs a day from 7am Saturday to 9pm Friday (GMT).

CFDs are a leveraged product and can result in losses that exceed deposits. You do not own or have any interest in the underlying asset. Please consider the Margin Trading Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before entering into any CFD transaction with us.

Please ensure you fully understand the risks and take care to manage your exposure.

IG does not issues advice, recommendations or opinion in relation to acquiring, holding or disposing of our products. IG is not a financial advisor and all services are provided on an execution only basis.

This website is owned and operated by IG Markets Limited. ABN 84 099 019 851, AFSL 220440. Derivatives issuer licence in New Zealand, FSP No. 18923

The information on this site is not directed at residents of the United States and is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.