IG investing review 2026

IG is an investment platform that does it all. It’s got a stocks and shares ISA, a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), contracts for difference (CFDS), research resources, and even a learning academy.

IG has been around for a while – since 1974 to be exact and has aover 300,000 clients. It’s a comprehensive all-in-one investment provider. Despite what it says on the tin, IG is not really for novices. It’s got incredible depth in its web app and platform, which could be a bit overwhelming if you’re new to investing.

That being said, IG does offer hand-holding “Smart Portfolios” for those who need a hand creating and managing a portfolio. It’s also got the IG Academy, which can teach you all about investing and how you can get started – so beginners can still get in on the action. IG secured a spot as one of our best trading apps because of the range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) it offers.

(Word to the wise – steer clear of the spread betting and CFD options IG offers if you’re new to investing! This is risky territory. If you’re an experienced investor and came here to read about these, we’ve covered them below.)

Yes, IG is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This means your deposits up to £120,000 are completely covered should something unexpected happen to IG.

To a certain extent, yes. There's now no platform fee to use IG and it's commission-free. However, other fees may apply, for example, if you're investing in international stocks, there's a 0.7% FX fee added to your trade. So, you should check out our in-depth coverage of the fees in our review or on IG's website.

With IG Smart Portfolios you can invest in a managed portfolio that matches your attitude to risk. It works by answering a set of questions about your knowledge and investing experience – along with your investment goals. You’re then matched to a portfolio based on your investing style.

Once you’ve taken the questionnaire, IG will ask about how much you intend to invest and how long you want to invest it for. It also asks how much money you have set aside as an emergency fund (and won’t match you to a portfolio if you have less than three months worth).

If you’re new to investing, you might be wondering what the difference is between the 2 types of accounts with IG.

There’s no cookie-cutter answer. It depends on what you want to do. People usually choose IG Share Dealing if they want to take a DIY investing approach and are happy to spend time monitoring and making adjustments. You don’t have to be an experienced investor to go for this option, but it’s recommended.

Meanwhile, IG Smart Portfolios offer some broad guidance by matching you up to a pre-made portfolio. This is definitely a useful option for newbies, but you pay added fees for the privilege of expert support.

Yes, IG is a well-established platform that’s fully regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the company has been around for over 45 years and is also a member of the FTSE 250.

Yes, this lets you get an idea of share trading before you start investing real money. This is often popular with beginner investors who are hesitant while they don’t know exactly how it works.

Annoyingly, IG’s demo account is only available for its spread betting and CFD trading services, which is pretty complicated territory. You can try it out with £10,000 in virtual funds to see how it works and get an idea of what the platform allows you to do. We liked that the platform is customisable. It allows you to choose your layout and watch markets that you’re interested in.

The charts are helpful, as they give detailed information on the movements – that is, if you know how to read them. This is where IG Academy can come in handy, as it gives you the opportunity to learn how they work. We briefly cover IG Academy below.

If you’re planning to stay away from spread betting and CFDs (a wise choice if you’re a beginner!) then IG’s demo account won’t be of any use to you.

IG Academy is IG’s educational hub. It has online trading courses, webinars, and seminars to give you a little leg-up in the market. This is handy, as investing can be complicated, especially when you have as many options available as IG offers.

The online trading courses have videos and interactive quizzes and exercises. There are frequent live sessions, which are webinars where IG’s experts share their knowledge and insight. This gives you the chance to ask questions about share trading.

IG Academy has its own app, which means that you can learn about share trading and investing on the go. It’s pretty simple to use and gives you info on how long each section will take.

You can trade contracts for difference (CFDs) with IG. A fair warning, in case you didn’t see it earlier: CFDs are complicated and risky, so aren’t really suitable for beginners. We won’t be offended if you skip this section, honestly.

Now we’ve got that out of the way. The CFD section of IG’s site is a bit overwhelming with all the blue and red flashing as the buy/sell prices change, but it’s really just a sign of how comprehensive it is in this area. It’s got loads of live data and a newsfeed to keep you up to date on what’s going on in the market to help you make better decisions.

You can trade on indices, foreign exchange (forex), shares and commodities with IG and never have to own the underlying asset. Main benefits include:

• Negative balance protection. This ensures that your account balance doesn’t stay below zero. It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t available for professional traders.
• Competitive spreads. In line with competitors.
• Expert support. 24 hours a day from 8am Saturday to 10pm Friday.
• Web-based platform and mobile apps available. Allowing you trade whichever way is convenient.
• Educational resources. These are through IG Academy.

The only direct charge you really need to worry about is the spread (a commission in the case of share CFDs). IG charges its own spread on top of the market spread as its fee for the trade.

Ultimately, this depends on market conditions. You can see the spread, as it’s the difference between the bid and ask prices.

This is the charge for keeping your CFD positions past 10pm UK time. This charge is added to your account as an interest adjustment. You don’t pay overnight funding for futures or forwards as it’s built into the spread.

You can attach guaranteed stops to your position to help protect your investments. IG charges a fee if it is triggered. This is called the premium.

There are some extra services that IG charges you for if you use it. These are listed below and you can find details on the website.

• Direct Market Access (DMA)
• Live price data fees
• ProRealTime Charts
• Inactivity fee
• Account documentation fee
• Currency conversion charge
• Third-party charges (such as fees for credit and non-UK debit card payments)

Yes, the company is completely regulated and abides by all the rules set out by the FCA.

There are lots of things we really like about IG’s platform. It’s comprehensive, provides access to lots of learning resources, has a massive range of investments, and the fee discounts are great if you’re a regular investor. However, the user interface isn’t as smooth as some other platforms, and the layered fee structure can be quite confusing to grasp.

The company is based in London in the UK with an office at Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill. For international operations, IG has 16 offices worldwide.

As soon as IG receives dividend payments for any shares that you own, it deposits money into your account. You can choose whether you want to reinvest the money or withdraw it.

If your account is inactive for 24 months then it is closed. IG then charges a monthly £12 inactivity fee if there are still funds in the account. As the IG Smart Portfolios are rebalanced every few months by the IG team (which counts as activity), you aren't charged inactivity fees for them.

This depends on where your withdrawal is going to. If you are withdrawing by bank transfer or to a PayPal account, it should reach your account on the same day as your request. Withdrawals to a card take between two and five working days to clear.

You can do this once logged into your account. You can add money by card, bank transfer or PayPal.

Yes you can. IG is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Yes, although it’s not as slick as some other platforms. You can use the IG app or the website to manage everything – check stock performance, set alerts and find out about significant events when they happen. IG has made it customisable to suit your preferences and has integrated a live news and Twitter feed to keep you up to date with the latest stock market happenings.