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CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

How does IG make money?

We make most of our money through our spreads, with a small proportion of our revenue coming from other fees. We aim to build lasting relationships with traders, and provide a range of tools to help you trade profitable.

Call 010 500 8624 or email newaccounts.za@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We're around 24 hours a day from 9am Saturday to 11pm Friday.

Contact us: 0105008624

We want our clients to trade profitably

We make most of our money from the spreads that clients pay to trade with us

We’ve invested heavily in tools to help our clients trade profitably

If our clients’ account balances go negative, we bring them back to zero at no extra cost1

We hedge only when overall client exposure is skewed in one direction

We aim to build long-lasting relationships with our clients based on trust

Where does IG’s income come from?

The main way we earn money on our leveraged products – eg CFDs – is through the spreads that we wrap around the market price.

The costs of any given trade are factored into the offer (buy) and bid (sell) prices – so you’ll always buy slightly higher than the market price, and sell slightly below it.

If the FTSE 100 is trading at 6545.5 and has a one point spread, for example, it might have an offer price of 6546 and a bid price of 6545.

You might also need to pay other fees when trading with us:

  • Share CFD commission
  • FX conversion
  • Overnight fees

You can find out all about these on our charges page.

Does IG aim to profit from client losses?

No. Our business model is based on providing individuals with the opportunity to trade the world’s financial markets, in exchange for fair and proportionate transaction fees. It is a well-known fact that trading successfully is difficult, and most speculative traders tend to lose. However, we do not typically benefit from trading losses that an unsuccessful client may experience.

Mostly, our clients offset each other’s positions. For example if client A buys one lot of the DAX and client B sells one lot of the DAX, both sides of the trade are covered. This means IG is not exposed to the profit or loss of either client. Instead, we make our money via the spread (i.e. the transaction fee) that each client pays to trade.

Sometimes, a large majority of clients will trade in one direction. When this happens, we will protect our exposure to risk by hedging in the underlying market. For example, if client A and client B buy the DAX, we may buy actual DAX futures. This then covers the amount we will pay out if both clients are successful.

Resources to assist your trading

We’ve invested in plenty of resources to ensure we offer the right balance of educational tools and personal support for your trading.

You’ll have a dedicated account manager on hand during your initial time with us

Find answers to your general account queries on our help and support site

Our friendly team is available from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday

Get free buy and sell signals, live Reuters news and expert analysis

Interactive courses and live events to help you develop your trading skills at your own pace

Share ideas, opportunities and advice online with like-minded traders

Try out strategies with nothing to lose on our free, permanent demo

Benefit from negative balance protection1 and cap losses with our free-to-place guaranteed stops2

We consistently aim to get you the best possible result when executing orders on your behalf

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

React faster with powerful technology

Our platform and apps are intuitive and highly responsive, so trading opportunities are always within reach

Grow your confidence with an established provider

We’re a FTSE 250 company that’s been leading our industry for nearly 50 years, so our expertise is second to none

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

React faster with powerful technology

Our platform and apps are intuitive and highly responsive, so trading opportunities are always within reach

Grow your confidence with an established provider

We’re a FTSE 250 company that’s been leading our industry for nearly 50 years, so our expertise is second to none

Start trading now

Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.

Start trading now

Log in to your account now to access today’s opportunity in a huge range of markets.

You might be interested in…

All retail client funds are held in segregated bank accounts, in line with FCA rules.

Find out how we aim to achieve the best result for you for every trade.

Discover the tools we offer to help you manage your exposure.

1 Negative balance protection applies to trading-related debt only, and is not available to professional traders.

2 You’ll pay a small premium if your guaranteed stop is triggered.