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Ways to trade
Unlock opportunity in the financial markets with spread betting, CFD trading and investing. Each offers you a unique set of advantages.
Call 0800 195 3100 or send us an email with any questions about opening a trading or investment account between 8am and 6pm (UK time) on weekdays.
Contact us 0800 195 3100
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
Call 0800 195 3100 or send us an email with any questions about opening a trading or investment account between 8am and 6pm (UK time) on weekdays.
Contact us 0800 195 3100
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
Spread betting and CFDs
Seeking short-term opportunity? Try these high-risk/high-return financial products from the world’s No.1 provider.1
No need to own assets
Spread betting and CFDs are derivatives, so you can take a position on a market’s price without owning any assets.
Take your capital further
Act on opportunity for less than traditional investment, as spread betting and CFDs are leveraged. Losses, as well as profits, are magnified.
Increase your opportunities
Unlike traditional investing, spread betting and CFDs enable you to take advantage of both falling and rising market prices.
Never stay below zero
If your account balance goes negative we’ll bring it back to zero.2
What’s best for me?
Spread betting profits are tax-free.3 CFDs give you direct market access (DMA),4 providing increased transparency useful for more advanced traders.
Spread betting
Bet on the future change in price of a financial market.
- Key benefit: no capital gains tax on profits3
- No commission, just our spread
- No stamp duty3
- Never stay below zero with negative balance protection2
CFDs
Trade on the difference between the opening and closing price of a market.
- Key benefit: DMA on shares and forex.4
- Offset losses against profits as tax deduction
- No stamp duty3
- Never stay below zero with negative balance protection2
Drawbacks of using leverage
- Possible magnified losses
- No shareholders privileges
- Possible margin calls
- Funding charges
What markets can I trade?
Forex trading
Trade forex with spread bets and CFDs to get access to our wide range of major, minor and exotic currency pairs, through powerful platforms.
- UK’s No.1 FX provider5
- Competitive spreads
- More 24-hour markets than anywhere else
Other markets
Low spreads. 17,000 markets, exclusive 24/7 opportunities.6
What are the risks?
| The risks | Why this happens | Ways we help |
| Losing more than you deposit on the trade. | Spread bets and CFDs are leveraged, which means you only need to put up a fraction of your trade’s value to open it. So you could lose – or profit – much more than your initial deposit. | You can mitigate risk and lock in possible profits by setting an automatic stop or limit, to define the level you'd like your trade closed at. Find out more about stops and limits |
| Losing more than you deposit on your account. | Sometimes your positions may close and leave you with a negative cash balance on your account – putting you in debt to us. | In line with regulatory requirements, negative balance protection enables your accounts to be brought back to zero at no cost to you.2 |
| Having your positions closed unexpectedly, resulting in losing money. | You need a certain amount of money in your account to keep your trades open. This is called margin, and if your account balance doesn’t cover our margin requirements, we may close your positions for you. | Keep an eye on your always-visible running balances in our platform or app, and add more funds if they’re needed. Find out more about balance snapshots |
| Sudden or larger-than-expected losses (or gains). | Markets can be volatile, moving very quickly and unexpectedly in reaction to announcements, events or trader behaviour. | As well as setting stops, you can also be notified of significant movement by setting a price or distance alert, giving you the choice of whether or not to react. Find out more about alerts |
| Having an order (an instruction you give us, to open or close a trade for you when the market hits a certain level) filled at a different level to the one you requested. | When a market moves a long way in an instant – or ‘gaps’ – any orders you have placed may be filled at a worse (or better) level than the one you requested. This is called slippage. | Use guaranteed stops for watertight protection against slippage on orders to close. They're free to place, with a small premium payable only if your stop is triggered. Find out more about guaranteed stops |
Investing and stockbroking
Take a longer-term position with more traditional investment.
Share dealing
Buy and sell thousands of global stocks on low commissions, from just £5 on UK shares.7
IG Smart Portfolios
Choose a fully managed and diversified portfolio to suit your goals and risk profile.
ISAs
Put a tax-efficient wrapper around your share dealing or IG Smart Portfolio returns.3
SIPPs
Save for your retirement and get 20-45% tax relief on your contributions, with no tax on investment profits.3
Try these next
We're clear about our 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
See how we've been changing the face of trading for more than 40 years
1 Based on revenue excluding FX (published financial statements, October 2020).
2 Negative balance protection applies to trading-related debt only, and is not available to professional traders.
3 Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
4 To trade with Forex DMA, you’ll need to qualify for an IG professional account.
5 By number of primary relationships with FX traders (Investment Trends UK Leveraged Trading Report released June 2020).
6 24/7 excludes the hours from 10pm Friday to 8am Saturday (UK time), and 20 minutes just before the weekday market opens on Sunday night.
7 Place 10+ trades on UK shares in the previous month to qualify for a £5 commission rate. Please note published rates are valid up to £25,000 notional value. See our full list of share dealing charges and fees.
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