Scope and date: UK leveraged trading, focused on IG Markets Limited, researched 17 October 2026. IG also markets investment and spread-betting products whose contractual operators and protections may differ. We did not create an account or test live orders. This is an editorial research profile, not a recommendation or a score.
Start with the operator, not the logo
IG’s UK client-funds explanation identifies IG Markets Limited for its UK CFD offering and cites FCA registration 195355. This is IG’s own disclosure, not our independent live verification. The FCA’s Firm Checker is the appropriate place to match the firm name, allowed activities and warnings against the signed agreement. Do not assume a similarly branded spread-betting or investments account is governed by precisely the same terms.
A regulator’s register answers whether a firm has permission for relevant activities; it does not promise profit, uninterrupted service or that market losses will be reimbursed. Client-money segregation and insolvency compensation eligibility are separate issues. IG describes segregation of client money, but customers should read the account’s current client-money documents and consider individual eligibility rather than assuming blanket protection.
What the UK pricing page actually says
The IG UK charges schedule distinguishes commissions and spreads across different product lines. For its leveraged forex products, dealing spreads are typically built into the bid and offer, while overnight funding can apply to positions held across the relevant rollover period. Other instruments or arrangements can carry additional charges. The page also discusses currency conversion and extra services.
An advertised minimum spread is not an observed typical EUR/USD spread at the hour you trade. We have not independently sampled IG’s bid and ask quotes or measured realized fills. No number here is a promise of what a UK applicant would pay.
For an educational example: a hypothetical EUR/USD dealing spread of 1.4 pips on 100,000 EUR represents approximately USD 14 of initial spread cost at conventional pip value, before other costs. 1.4 pips is an invented illustration, not an IG market quote. Compare observed spreads from equal-sized, time-matched orders with any additional funding or commission.
Platforms: verify the exact product
The platform information from IG UK covers proprietary web and mobile tools and relevant account/product capabilities. Availability of specialist features, market data and order types changes by product. A screenshot from a firm’s investment app cannot establish features for CFD users.
A useful demo test would record whether the interface exposes order size in money and units, a clear trade-cost preview, position margin, pending-order management, a history export and a support route. None of those operational checks has been independently performed by The Market Ledger.
The hard part: knowing what cannot yet be compared
To compare IG fairly with Pepperstone UK or CMC Markets UK, ask for the same product and trade size at the same timestamp. The three firms may use different quote conventions, funding models or account features. A broker’s self-reported award and an anonymous user rating cannot substitute for those observations.
What remains unverified
We have not independently retrieved IG Markets Limited’s current FCA register record, collected comparable execution quotes, authenticated the latest funding and withdrawal fee agreement, or assessed complaints and customer-support outcomes. These omissions are shown openly in our broker comparison. The source disclosures should be revisited before account opening.
Common mistakes and limits
Do not treat a legal group as one universal licensed entity; compare IG investment-account pricing against a competitor’s CFD contract; assume a minimum spread is typical; or infer the absence of risk from an FCA registration claim. Spread bets and CFDs are leveraged, and substantial loss is possible. No rating, safety guarantee or country-specific tax advice is implied here.
