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Contact us
New to IG: +35 318 009 95362
Existing clients: +35 318 009 95364
Email: newaccounts.uk@ig.com
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It’s free to open an account and no downloads are required to use our web-based platform.
Margins
Our tiered margining system means we can offer rates that remain competitive while reflecting the size of your position and associated liquidity of the market.
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.
For example: if you were to buy £1000 of shares through a traditional broker, you’d need to pay the full £1000 upfront to own them (plus the associated broker charges).
For spread bets, CFDs and sold vanilla options, 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.
Things to remember
- You should ensure that you have enough funds in your account to cover both margin and losses. If there isn't, you may be put on margin call
- CFD, spread betting and barriers & options accounts are margined independently: funds in one account will not cover the margin requirement or losses in another
- You are able to limit your potential losses and reduce your margin requirement by the use of different stops (this is available to tier one only)
Margin at IG
At IG we offer competitive margins across our full range of spread betting and CFD markets. We provide tiered margining for these products, as smaller deal sizes generally benefit from better market liquidity. These positions attract our lowest margin rates.
For sold vanilla options, margin tends to be standardised across markets.
Here's a summary of our tier one margin requirements for some of our most popular spread betting and CFD markets. For all tier one margins, you can reduce your margin requirement with the use of stops. See each market's charges and costs for individual margin rates.
Margins for professionals
Professional clients are exempt from regulatory limits on leverage in place for retail clients. This means that 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 your eligibility for professional status, on our professional trading page.
| Shares | Spread betting Retail |
Spread betting Professional |
CFD Retail |
CFD Professional |
| Apple | 20% | 4.5% | 20% | 4.5% |
| Barclays PLC | 20% | 4.5% | 20% | 4.5% |
| BHP Billiton PLC (LSE) | 20% | 4.5% | 20% | 4.5% |
| GlaxoSmithKline PLC | 20% | 4.5% | 20% | 4.5% |
| Vodafone Group PLC | 20% | 4.5% | 20% | 4.5% |
| Forex | Spread betting Retail |
Spread betting Professional |
CFD Retail |
CFD Professional |
| EUR/USD | 3.33% | 0.45% | 3.33% | 0.45% |
| GBP/USD | 3.33% | 0.45% | 3.33% | 0.45% |
| AUD/USD | 5% | 0.45% | 5% | 0.45% |
| EUR/JPY | 3.33% | 0.45% | 3.33% | 0.45% |
| USD/CHF | 3.33% | 1.35% | 3.33% | 1.35% |
| Stock index | Spread betting (margin factor) Retail |
Spread betting (margin factor) Professional |
CFDs margin per contract Retail |
CFDs margin per contract Professional |
| FTSE 100 | 5% | 0.45% | 5% | 0.45% |
| Wall Street | 5% | 0.45% | 5% | 0.45% |
| Germany 30 | 5% | 0.45% | 5% | 0.45% |
| Hong Kong HS50 |
5% | 1.35% | 5% | 1.35% |
| Japan 225 | 5% | 0.68% | 5% | 0.68% |
| Commodities | Spread betting
Retail |
Spread betting
Professional |
CFDs Retail |
CFDs Professional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spot Gold | 5% | 0.63% | 5% | 0.63% |
| Silver (5000oz) | 10% | 1.8% | 10% | 1.8% |
| High Grade Copper | 10% | 1.35% | 10% | 1.35% |
| Oil - US Crude | 10% | 1.35% | 10% | 1.35% |
| Oil - Brent Crude | 10% | 1.35% | 10% | 1.35% |
Shares
Share margins
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).
|
CFD |
|---|---|
No stop |
Number of shares x share price x margin percentage Eg 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 Eg 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 |
The larger figure of the two calculations below:
Eg 1000 Vodafone at a price of €1.94, with a guaranteed stop 11 points away and 0.3% guaranteed stop premium. Calculation 1: (€10 x 11) + (1000 x €1.94 x 0.003) = €115.82 margin So margin requirement is €115.82 (the larger figure of the two). |
Forex
Forex margins
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).
| CFD | |
|---|---|
No stop |
Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage E.g. 2 contracts GBP/USD: 2 x £100,000 x 1.5500 x 3.33% = $10,323 margin |
Stop |
(Margin for equivalent trade with no stop x Slippage Factor) + (Number of contracts x value per point x stop distance) E.g. 2 contracts GBP/USD with a non-guaranteed stop 20 points away: ($1.550 x 50%) + (2 x $10 x 20) = $1,175 margin |
Guaranteed stop |
The larger figure of the two calculations below:
E.g. 2 standard contracts GBP/USD with a guaranteed stop 20 points way and 1-point guaranteed stop premium. Calculation 1: (2 x $10 x 20) + (2 x $10 x 1) = $420 margin So margin requirement is $10,323 (the larger figure of the two). |
Indices
Stock index margins
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).
|
|
CFD |
|---|---|
No stop |
Number of contracts x contract size x price x margin percentage E.g. one contract of FTSE 100: 1 x £10 x 6600 x 5% = £3,300 margin |
Stop |
(Deposit requirement for no stop x slippage factor %) + (number of contracts x contract size x stop distance) E.g. 1 contract FTSE 100 with a non-guaranteed stop 12 points away: (£330 x 50%) + (1 x £10 x 12) = £285 margin |
Guaranteed stop |
The larger figure of the two calculations below:
E.g. 1 contract FTSE 100 with a guaranteed stop 12 points way and 1-point guaranteed stop premium. Calculation 1: (1 x £10) + (12 x £10) = £130 So margin requirement is £3,300 (the larger figure of the two). |
Commodities
Commodity margins
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).
|
|
CFD |
|---|---|
No 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 10% = $3,350 |
Stop |
(Deposit requirement for no stop x slippage factor %) + (number of contracts x contract size x stop distance) E.g. one contract Oil - US Crude with a non-guaranteed stop 12 points away: ($335 x 50%) + (1 x $10 x 12) = $287.50 margin |
Guaranteed stop |
The larger figure of the two calculations below:
Eg One contract Oil - US Crude with a guaranteed stop 90 points way and 4-point guaranteed stop premium. Calculation 1: (4 x $10) + (90 x $10) = $940 margin So margin requirement is $3,350 (the larger figure of the two). |
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 dealing platform.
*For the purposes of tiered margining, your aggregate position includes your open positions without a guaranteed stop and orders to open.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Options are complex financial instruments and your capital is at risk. Losses may be extremely rapid.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.