One of the most established names in trading, IG is launching a new welcome offer for UK investors on 1 April where you can get yourself up to £500 worth of US shares for free! If you’re a new IG customer aged 18+, use code FS500 and place a trade of at least £500 in a qualifying IG account during April, you’ll get between £50 – £500 in free US shares.
Sign up with our link, invest, and keep £500 invested until 31 July. As you might expect, there are a few T&Cs to know about, which we outline here.
Sign up and open a share dealing account. 👤
You'll need to be a new IG customer joining on or after 1 April, aged 18+, and using code FS500 when opening your account. Opt for a GIA, ISA or SIPP.
Invest at least £500. 💳
Fund your account by card or transfer then invest at least £500 by 30 April 2026.
Maintain £500 invested. ⏳
Sit tight! Keep £00 of investments until at least 31 July 2026. Its value might change during this time.
Receive your free shares! 🎉
IG will randomly select and credit up to £500 in US company shares by 31 August 2026.
Capital at risk.
If that’s put you off, check out more free-share deals. Otherwise, let’s go through those “need-to-knows” one-by-one.
You must live in the UK, be over 18, joining after 1 April and you cannot previously have traded in a GIA, ISA or SIPP with IG . Yes, that is rather a lot of abbreviations.
Specifically, the dealine is 11.59pm on 30 April 2026. You can open an IG account within just a few minutes, and providing it’s with market hours, placing a trade is near-instant too. Sometimes IG does extend its offers, but you can’t bank on that.
This means you’ll need to actually buy some stocks or ETFs. The good news is that share dealing on IG is commission-free, but expect to pay stamp duty of 0.5% if you opt for a UK stock, or a 0.7% FX fee for international shares (like US companies, for example).
You don’t have to hold your initial investment (i.e. not sell the stocks) but you do have to keep that £500 invested (so not just sitting as cash in the account). During that time, its value could go up or down.
It’s important to note that the value of the shares you receive is random, but weighted towards lower value stocks.
It’s also worth noting that the probability of recieving higher value shares is lower than what it was in IG’s previous free US share promotion. For example, previously you would have had a 25% probability of receiving £75 or more, however with this current promotion you only have a 7% probability.
Your free shares will be credited to a general investment account (GIA) (not an ISA or SIPP, if that’s what you opened) by the end of August.
You’ll need to fill out and submit a valid W-8BEN form by 31 July 2026 to recieve your free shares. This is because these are US shares, meaning you must complete this form to certify your non-US tax residency status, which is required under US tax regulations to allow you to reciecve tax treaty benefits.
Since you’re awarded US stocks, traded in US dollars, the exchange rate when you ultimately cash them in will affect how much you get back. This could work in your favour or against you, depending on how the USD-GBP rate shifts between getting the shares and cashing them in.
Both the £500 (minimum) investment you’re required to make plus any free stocks you receive can go up or down in value. That’s the nature of investing.
If you’re eligible and have satisfied the above conditions, IG will select and randomly allocate up to £500 from a shortlist of US stocks.
| stock | Icon | 1-year performance (to Apr. '26) | 5-year performance (to Apr. '26) | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) |  |
13.71% | -72.50% (3 years – 2021 IPO) | Invest Capital at risk |
| JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU) |  |
-14.52% | -79.77% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Compass Therapeutics (CMPX) |  |
168.42% | 55.96% (3 years – 2021 IPO) | Invest Capital at risk |
| Joby Aviation (JOBY) |  |
31.89% | -21.93% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Ford Motor Company (F) |  |
11.76% | -7.89% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Levi Strauss & Co Class A (LEVI) |  |
16.48% | -23.34% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (HPE) |  |
46.53% | 44.01% | Invest Capital at risk |
| The Gap (GAP) |  |
14.04% | -19.20% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Pfizer (PFE) |  |
9.59% | -23.50% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) |  |
-22.71% | -23.33% | Invest Capital at risk |
| AT&T (T) |  |
1.77% | -5.55% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) |  |
-37.94% | 8.31% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Mondelez International (MDLZ) |  |
-14.15% | -0.33% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Uber Technologies (UBER) |  |
-4.05% | 21.37% | Invest Capital at risk |
| The Coca-Cola Company (KO) |  |
6.49% | 45.25% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) |  |
-11.59% | -20.72% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Walt Disney Company (DIS) |  |
-4.44% | -50.09% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Walmart (WMT) |  |
40.68% | 173.19% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Procter & Gamble Company (PG) |  |
-15.08% | 7.77% | Invest Capital at risk |
| NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) |  |
52.40% | 198.97% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Amazon.com (AMZN) |  |
5.62% | 27.14% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) |  |
46.22% | 48.92% | Invest Capital at risk |
| Apple (AAPL) |  |
11.03% | 100.51% | Invest Capital at risk |
Capital at risk.
It’s pretty straightforward! You just need to invest £500, and the eligibility window runs for about four weeks, but this is a strictly limited time offer. Just be sure to keep your investment active through until the end of July to qualify.
IG is a comprehensive all-in-one investing platform, which has been around since 1974 and has over 300,000 customers. The provider caters to both beginners and experienced investors (with a dedicated “IG Invest” app for those starting out), offering a wide range of investments and ready-made portfolios.
The platform is commission-free, has no platform fee, and gives you access to plenty of trading tools and access to various accounts.
IG’s offer is great if you’re new to investing and you’re looking for something that will give you a kickstart. It’s also a good way to dive into IG’s extensive 0% commission investing platform. The only downside with the platform is that it doesn’t offer fractional shares.
Getting up to £500 worth of free US stocks and shares with an investment of just £500 is a strong incentive if you want to dip your feet into the world of investing with a tidy welcome bonus to start building your portfolio. Just make sure you understand and are happy with the need-to-knows outlined above, and research any investments thoroughly before you put your money to work in the market.
Robinhood’s stocks and shares ISA has arrived, and the UK investing scene just got a little more interesting. (Paid content)
Find out how to get 6% AER variable interest with XTB’s brand new cash ISA offer, running for a limited time.
See if you can make your money go further with free-share, sign-up or refer-a-friend offers from IG. Here’s what’s live right now.
Find out all the details you need to know about eToro’s new £500 free stock offer for UK investors.
Find out all the details you need to know about IG’s new cashback transfer offer.
Find out all the details you need to know about XTB’s new offer, where you can get a free share of your choosing. This is a deal that’s going to fly off the shelves, so you need to act fast.
Some trading apps and platforms now offer competitive interest rates on uninvested cash.
We’ve reviewed the best online trading apps in the UK and explained what they’re each best at, with pros and cons for each for different types of investors.
We’ve reviewed the best stocks and shares ISA accounts in the UK, explaining who they might suit and what the benefits and drawbacks are.