IG Index as a broker

[ForExed]

Hi,

I'm a relatively newcomer to the Forex arena... when I first started I had real trouble in finding a 'trustworthy' broker... I searched like mad to find an established company which I could trust my hard earned cash with... (I am based in UK btw)

The friend who introduced me to Forex was with IG Index and he didn't have any complaints about it... So, that was the company I started with... But I was still searching like mad to find a better 'trustworthy' company...

Everyone was recommending companies like Oanda and GFT. And I actually read some negative reviews about IG Index on popular Forex sites... but these were ratings posted by people rather than the websites themselves...

To me having to pay 1-2 pips more for spreads was less important than finding that elusive 'established' 'trustworthy' company...

So, anyway, then it hit me... IG Index was listed on the London Stock Exchange! Which I did... and I was quite suprised to learn that they indeed had £1.2B market capitilization... and they had payed out £700m to their clients the previous year!

Now, the thing is, those figures put all my fears away in trusting my money with them... Am I doing something wrong in trusting their size? I ask this because on this forum and many others I read about bucket shop operations and how my money wouldn't be safe with small companies etc. Then I read about how the new regulations about capital size, in the US, were going to cause problems for many brokers...

So, again, my questions is... am I being naive in trusting IG Index's size? They are also regulated by the FSA here in the UK, listed on FTSE 250 etc...

[NEWMAN07]

i think Alpari uk is ok so far i have been dealing with them

Originally Posted by ForExed

Hi,
I'm a relatively newcomer to the Forex arena... when I first started I had real trouble in finding a 'trustworthy' broker... I searched like mad to find an established company which I could trust my hard earned cash with... (I am based in UK btw)

The friend who introduced me to Forex was with IG Index and he didn't have any complaints about it... So, that was the company I started with... But I was still searching like mad to find a better 'trustworthy' company...

Everyone was recommending companies like Oanda and GFT. And I actually read some negative reviews about IG Index on popular Forex sites... but these were ratings posted by people rather than the websites themselves...

To me having to pay 1-2 pips more for spreads was less important than finding that elusive 'established' 'trustworthy' company...

So, anyway, then it hit me... IG Index was listed on the London Stock Exchange! All I had to do was look up their info at www.londonstockexchange.com! Which I did... and I was quite suprised to learn that they indeed had £1.2B market capitilization... and they had payed out £700m to their clients the previous year!

Now, the thing is, those figures put all my fears away in trusting my money with them... Am I doing something wrong in trusting their size? I ask this because on this forum and many others I read about bucket shop operations and how my money wouldn't be safe with small companies etc. Then I read about how the new regulations about capital size, in the US, were going to cause problems for many brokers...

So, again, my questions is... am I being naive in trusting IG Index's size? They are also regulated by the FSA here in the UK, listed on FTSE 250 etc...

[triphop]

ForexED - you're right. Because they're regulated by the FSA, it does offer a pretty good level of regulation. The FSA say they offer individual compensation up to £48k in the event one of these companies go bust. And spread-betting is tax free at present in the UK, which gives a big incentive over other trading platforms.

There is a big but here. You can find reviews over at forexpeacearmy which seem pretty genuine. I'm with another, similar spreadbetting company and the thing to watch out for is dodgy fills (or no fills) on your orders. This has happened to me twice this week, and I generally only trade 2 maybe 3 times a week. They've agreed to action my order / filled it at a proper price on both occassions, but I watch them like a hawk. Whether it's ineptitude or deliberate manipulation, I don't know or care, but just be careful!

[NEWMAN07]

i have 4uckin hug pair with my Brooker just wonna be sure its safe, i know i gonna trade well .its just the safety of the hard earned money .i have demoed for a year and half, and now i have made the bold move.

Originally Posted by triphop

Newman - you're right. Because they're regulated by the FSA, it does offer a pretty good level of regulation. The FSA say they offer individual compensation up to £48k in the event one of these companies go bust. And spread-betting is tax free at present in the UK, which gives a big incentive over other trading platforms.

There is a big but here. You can find reviews over at forexpeacearmy which seem pretty genuine. I'm with another, similar spreadbetting company and the thing to watch out for is dodgy fills (or no fills) on your orders. This has happened to me twice this week, and I generally only trade 2 maybe 3 times a week. They've agreed to action my order / filled it at a proper price on both occassions, but I watch them like a hawk. Whether it's ineptitude or deliberate manipulation, I don't know or care, but just be careful!