Written by Steven Hatzakis Director of Online Broker Research Edited by John Bringans Managing Editor Fact-checked by Blain Reinkensmeyer Managing Partner Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for ForexBrokers.com. He is a forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. CFDs are complex instruments. 69% of retail client accounts lose money when trading CFDs, with this investment provider. You can lose your money rapidly due to leverage. Please ensure you understand how this product works and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing money. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. IG is my #1 overall forex and CFD broker pick for 2026. This is a verdict consistent with prior years and grounded in over a decade of hands-on testing across every platform IG offers: the proprietary IG web and mobile apps, MetaTrader 4 and 5, TradingView, the L2 Dealer DMA venue, and ProRealTime. Founded in 1974 and publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LON:IGG), IG Group is a multi-asset broker offering 19,500+ instruments, 11 regulatory licenses, and a £1 retail minimum deposit. The five-platform suite scales from a beginner retail account up to institutional DMA, backed by one of the highest Trust Scores in the industry, deep in-house research, and a product range that spans forex, CFDs, options, share dealing, and underlying crypto under one regulated banner. The two gaps where IG falls short are the lack of native copy trading and the fact that the IG Academy education library has stagnated. However, for traders who prioritize regulation, tight spreads, and platform depth over social features, IG is hard to beat in 2026. Minimum Deposit: £1 Trust Score: 99 Tradeable Symbols (Total): 19537 Check out ForexBrokers.com's picks for the best forex brokers in 2026. Led by Steven Hatzakis , Global Director of Online Broker Research, the ForexBrokers.com research team collects and audits data across more than 100 variables. We analyze key tools and features important to forex and CFD traders and collect data on commissions, spreads, and fees across the industry to help you find the best broker for your needs. We also review each broker’s regulatory status; this research helps us determine whether you should trust the broker to keep your money safe. As part of this effort, we track 100+ international regulatory agencies to power our proprietary Trust Score rating system. Our researchers open personal brokerage accounts and test all available platforms on desktop, web, and mobile for each broker reviewed on ForexBrokers.com. Learn more about how we test . travel_explore Can I open an account with this broker? Yes , based on your detected country of SC, you can open an account with this broker. Table of Contents IG pros and cons Tier-1 regulated across eight jurisdictions; among the highest Trust Scores in the industry. Over 19,500 tradeable symbols, including roughly 17,000 CFDs and 97 forex pairs. Five-platform lineup: proprietary web and mobile, MT4, MT5, TradingView , plus L2 Dealer and ProRealTime. No native copy trading ; closest analog is integrated trading signals. MetaTrader instrument list is significantly thinner than the proprietary platform. IG Academy course catalog has stagnated in recent years. My top takeaways for IG in 2026: Average EUR/USD spread of 0.91 pips on IG's standard CFD account during October 2025, narrowing to roughly 0.55 pips on the Forex Direct DMA account. Over 19,500 tradeable symbols across forex, CFDs, share dealing, options, and underlying crypto, including 97 forex pairs, 55 cryptocurrencies, and approximately 17,000 CFDs (product mix varies by IG entity). 33 charting indicators, 17 timeframes (down to 1-second and tick charts), and 20 drawing tools on the IG web app, with drag-to-modify stops and limits on a pre-trade basis. £1 minimum deposit on retail accounts; IG's underlying crypto exchange launched in 2025 alongside 30 crypto CFDs. U.S. traders access IG's forex experience through tastyfx , and listed derivatives (futures and equity options) through IG's tastytrade subsidiary. Developed by ForexBrokers.com and in use for nearly 10 years, Trust Score is a proprietary rating system powered by a range of unique quantitative and qualitative metrics, including each company’s number of regulatory licenses. Trust Scores range from 1 to 99 (the higher a broker’s rating, the better). Learn more . IG is considered Highly Trusted, with an overall Trust Score of 99 out of 99. IG is publicly traded and operates a regulated bank, and is authorised by eight Tier-1 regulators (Highly Trusted), two Tier-2 regulators (Trusted), zero Tier-3 regulator (Average Risk), and one Tier-4 regulators (High Risk). IG is authorised by the following Tier-1 regulators: Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) , Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) , Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) , Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) , Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) , Financial Markets Authority (FMA) , Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) , and regulated in the European Union via the MiFID passporting system. IG is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under LON:IGG with a market capitalization above £3.9 billion as of late 2025, and IG Bank in Switzerland operates under FINMA supervision, adding a banking regulatory layer beyond the brokerage licenses. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker Trust Score Ranking - #1 overall broker for Trust Score Trust Score - IG is one of only nine brokers to receive a Trust Score of 99. Range of investments IG is a true multi-asset provider, and the size of the product menu is what first sets it apart for me. I counted 97 forex pairs organized by major, minor, Australasian, Scandinavian, emerging-market, and exotic buckets, with a handful of the most exotic pairs (USD/KRW and USD/IDR among them) available only via voice broking and during more limited trading hours. Steven's expert take "The forex offering alone would carry the broker, but it's the depth across the other asset classes that puts IG among the most comprehensive lineups I review, with over 19,500 tradeable symbols across CFDs, exchange-traded shares and ETFs, options, futures, and underlying crypto." Steven Hatzakis Director of Online Broker Research CFDs : The CFD lineup is among the largest I've encountered, with roughly 17,000 contracts spanning indices, single stocks, commodities, bonds, and rates. Availability varies by IG entity, and U.K. retail clients face additional product restrictions; the broker's account dashboard surfaces what's available for your jurisdiction before you fund. Thematic indices are also offered as CFDs alongside the standard headline indices. Cryptocurrency : IG offers 30 crypto CFDs and a custom Crypto 10 Index, plus a separate underlying crypto exchange launched in 2025 that covers 55 coins on a 24/7 schedule at a 1.49% spread with no other trading fees. Position limits on the CFD side run up to $5 million in notional value per client, which is unusually generous for a leveraged crypto offering. Crypto CFDs are not available to retail clients of IG's U.K. entity (see our guide to crypto brokers for context). Options and exotic products : This is one of the more distinctive corners of the IG product range. The dedicated options account supports vanilla and barrier options across indices, popular single stocks, forex, and commodities. Complex multi-leg strategies are not supported, but barrier options (knockouts) can be used to deliver equivalent payoffs in many cases. The Turbo24 product line is being retired in June 2026. Exchange-traded shares and futures : IG Invest delivers over 12,000 shares and ETFs alongside the CFD book, across a wide range of global exchanges. U.S. clients access listed derivatives (futures and equity options) through IG's tastytrade subsidiary rather than the main IG entity. Available investment products During our audit, we verified access to 97 forex pairs alongside CFDs spanning indices, single equities, commodities, bonds, rates, and ETFs. We also confirmed exchange-traded share dealing for eligible regions, options trading, and an underlying crypto exchange covering 55 coins. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker One of three brokers offering at least 24 of the 28 variables we track for available investment products. Year Founded - 1974 - IG has been in business the second-longest of the 34 brokers we tested. Tradeable Symbols (Total) - 19537 - 4th highest of all brokers tested. 24/5 Trading (U.S. Stocks - CFDs) - One of four brokers to offer this feature. Available funding options Our tests confirm support for bank wire, debit and credit card, PayPal, and Apple Pay deposits and withdrawals, along with cryptocurrency wallet transfers for the underlying crypto offering. Skrill, Neteller, and Google Pay are not currently supported. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker Cryptocurrency (Wallet transfers) - One of three brokers to offer this feature. IG's pricing on the standard CFD account sits right around the industry average, with the real value coming through on the broker's commission-based Forex Direct DMA offering. On the standard account, EUR/USD spreads averaged 0.91 pips during October 2025, widening to roughly 1.13 pips when I included the daily rollover window. That cost profile is consistent with what I see from large, scalable brokers that can absorb significant retail flow; it is not, however, what an active trader paying for raw pricing should compare to. The minimum deposit on retail accounts drops to £1, which is among the lowest entry points on a major regulated broker. Mini-contract pricing tracks the same spread as the standard contract size, so smaller traders are not penalized on the per-trade cost side. Forex Direct (DMA, commission-based) : On the agency-execution account, EUR/USD spreads averaged 0.55 pips for October 2025, with a base commission of roughly $6 per round-turn 100k lot. The active-trader rebate schedule is where IG becomes meaningfully more competitive for high-volume desks: the commission steps down from $6 per round-turn to $3 over $100 million in monthly volume, $2 over $500 million, and $1 over $1.5 billion. At the top tier, that translates into an all-in cost around 0.75 pips on EUR/USD using the same October 2025 data. The L2 Dealer platform is the order-entry venue for the DMA account, with direct streaming from interbank liquidity providers. Inactivity and non-trading fees : IG does charge an inactivity fee after an extended period of no trades. International wire deposits are free, and funding via Apple Pay, PayPal , debit card, credit card, and bank wire is supported. GSLO premium : Guaranteed stop-loss orders are available at an added premium that is embedded as a wider trigger spread when the protection is in force. I treat the GSLO as insurance against weekend-gap risk on volatile underlyings rather than as a default execution choice on every trade. In our live pricing analysis, we observed average EUR/USD spreads of 0.91 pips on IG's standard CFD account and 0.55 pips on the Forex Direct DMA account during October 2025, with a base commission of $6 per round-turn 100k lot on the DMA side. Evaluation data We confirmed retail CFD, spread betting (U.K.), share dealing, options, and Forex Direct DMA accounts during our evaluation, alongside a designated Professional account for traders who meet the regulatory criteria. Islamic accounts are not offered, and IG does not run a discrete VIP or Premium account distinct from the active-trader rebate schedule. Evaluation data Mobile trading apps I spent considerable time in the IG Trading app, and the charts are what I keep coming back to. The four-tab bottom rail (Markets, Trades, Explore, Account) is as minimalist as you can make a trading app without losing functionality, and from the Markets tab I can execute a trade in three taps: buy or sell, set contract size, confirm. Charting : This is the category where IG's mobile app outperforms most peers I review. There are 33 indicators, 19 drawing tools, and 17 timeframes, including 1-second candles and a true tick chart, which most mobile builds drop. Chart templates sync across devices: any indicator set saved on the web shows up on mobile when I open the same asset (trend lines do not yet sync, which is the one notable gap). The drag-to-modify implementation is the standout: once dealing on charts is enabled, you tap an open position and drag the stop or take-profit to the new price level in a single motion. The IG mobile app allows for sophisticated risk management and technical analysis on the go, without ever needing to leave the main viewing area. IG empowers traders to visually manage risk on a pre-trade basis by dragging "Stop" and "Limit" handles directly on the chart, instantly updating the potential profit/loss figures and displaying a dynamic Risk/Reward ratio (shown here as 2.2:1). Order management : The deal ticket is dense without feeling cluttered. The Force Open and Net Off toggle is exposed at the ticket level for hedging logic, and the stop-loss selector covers normal, trailing, and GSLO. Pre-trade risk/reward ratios update as you adjust the limit or stop distance, with both the dollar value and underlying price shown. OCO orders are not supported on mobile. Discovery : The TipRanks -powered stock screener is integrated into both the Explore and Account tabs, with coverage on over 12,000 securities. Watchlists are functional but light. Popular markets, recently traded, and your custom watchlist are the only defaults. The mobile build does not yet expose the asset-class pivots (indices, FX, crypto, shares, commodities, bonds, ETFs) that I rely on from the web Explore tab. Special tools : Trade Analytics live inside the MyIG dashboard, with detailed performance breakdowns becoming available after 10 closed trades. Discover AI, IG's Telescope-powered generative-AI feature, is currently limited to live-account holders at IG's Australia entity. Trading signals are not yet ported from web to mobile. IG also runs a separate IG Academy mobile app for education and supports the MetaTrader and TradingView mobile apps. Available mobile platforms and tools In our hands-on testing, we found 33 built-in charting indicators alongside drag-to-modify stops and limits, 17 selectable timeframes (down to 1-second and tick), and integrated client sentiment data per asset, though OCO orders and trading signals are not yet supported on mobile. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker Mobile Trading Ranking - #1 overall broker for Mobile Trading. IG is one of three brokers to offer all 13 of the mobile trading variables that we track. Trading platforms IG offers five platforms in active use: its proprietary web app, the MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 suite, TradingView , the L2 Dealer DMA platform, and ProRealTime for advanced charting . For this review I focused my testing on the IG web platform, which is where the broker's design choices come through most clearly, with the specialty platforms as supporting venues for specific use cases. IG web platform : Workspaces are modular and saveable, with a persistent left rail that you can collapse and a right-hand panel that toggles between Notifications, Posts, and curated headlines from Bloomberg and Reuters. The platform ships without a default workspace, so the first session is spent building one. The integrated interactive in-app tutorial is a useful onboarding aid I rarely see done well at this level. The IG web platform features integrated video on its charting as well as a full layout combining a watchlist with relevant news headlines. Charting : 33 indicators, 17 timeframes down to 1-second and tick, and 20 drawing tools, with the standout feature being economic-calendar events plotted directly on the chart for historical and forward-looking analysis. Drag-to-modify works on a pre-trade basis as well. I set stop and limit visually on the chart before clicking Place Deal, and the integrated risk/reward ratio updates in real time as I drag. Custom indicators are not supported in the web app itself. For that, IG points you to ProRealTime, the MetaTrader suite, or TradingView. Order ticket and execution : Market, limit, stop, trailing stop, and GSLO are all supported in the web ticket, alongside the Force Open and Net Off behavior toggle. OCO orders are not supported on the flagship platform but are available on TradingView and the MetaTrader builds. Depth of market is not exposed on the web app; the L2 Dealer venue is the DMA path for Level 2 access and direct interbank liquidity. IG also caters to institutional and high-volume desks through Forex Direct, and while scalping is permitted, latency-based strategies are not. Speciality platforms : MT4 and MT5 are available across IG's global entities with FX Blue plug-ins bundled, though the tradeable instrument list on MetaTrader is significantly thinner than the proprietary platform, which is the main caveat. TradingView ports across the full proprietary asset range at the same spreads. L2 Dealer is the DMA agency-execution venue with commission-based pricing. Although the UX on L2 Dealer feels legacy compared to the modern web app, the execution depth and order-type coverage are best-in-class. ProRealTime is available as a separate advanced charting and backtesting package for £30 per month, though the fee is waived if you place at least four trades in a given month. Algorithmic trading and API : IG runs a public REST and streaming API with comprehensive documentation and its recent specification updates suggest active maintenance. Algorithmic trading on MT4 and MT5 uses standard Expert Advisor (EA) files. A free VPS is available to MetaTrader 5 clients who maintain at least $1,000 in account balance, which would otherwise cost $15 per month. Available trading platforms and features Our platform walkthrough verified 33 charting indicators, drag-to-modify stops and limits on the chart, and a 17-timeframe range that includes 1-second and tick charts, though the web app excludes depth of market and custom indicator scripting. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker Trading Platform Ranking - #1 overall broker for Trading Platforms. IG is one of three brokers to offer at least 24 of the 28 trading platform variables that we track. Available order types We verified the availability of market, limit, stop, trailing stop, and guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLO, at an added premium) directly within the IG trade ticket. OCO and OTO orders are not supported on the flagship web app, though OCO is available through the MetaTrader suite and TradingView. Evaluation data Research is one of the categories where IG separates itself from the broader competition. The web platform pulls in live news and Twitter/X feeds from Bloomberg and Reuters in a right-hand panel, alongside in-house articles and a personalized Recommended tab that adapts to your trading history. In-house programming : Trade Live with IG (which replaced the former IGTV) streams 7:30am to 10:00am U.K. time, Monday to Friday, in TV-quality video inside the web platform and on YouTube. Around that, IG produces The Art of Investing, Trade of the Week, Invest Like a CEO, Expert View, and Commodities Markets Weekly. The depth of regular dated programming is unusual for a broker of this size. IG enhances its research offering with "The Art of Investing," an award-winning video podcast that features expert panel discussions on timely themes like commodity cycles and seasonal market strategies. This professional-grade content underscores the broker's focus on delivering deep, actionable market analysis beyond standard charts and news feeds. Trading signals : This is the feature I think IG executes better than its competitors. Autochartist and Acuity (PIA First) signals are integrated natively into the web platform, and the Copy To Order button populates the trade ticket with the signal's entry, stop, and take-profit values for near-immediate execution. It is not copy trading, but it is meaningfully faster than typing parameters by hand. Read more in our guide to forex trading signal providers . Stock screener and fundamentals : TipRanks powers an integrated screener over more than 12,000 securities, with filters for Smart Score, Analyst Consensus, Earnings Date, Media Buzz, and Investor Sentiment alongside the standard sector, market-cap, and dividend filters. Filtering by target country is the feature I lean on most. The one noticeable gap is the absence of direct links from screener results into regulatory filings.

Economic calendar and sentiment : The integrated economic calendar lets you click into a historical chart of prior releases for any event, alongside earnings, dividends, splits, and IPO calendars. Client sentiment data sits per-asset inside the trade ticket and shows percentage long/short, underlying open-position counts, and rolling 1h/1d/1w/1m sentiment deltas. What's missing : Trading Central is not part of IG's research offering. Financial-statement data for individual equities is also not available outside the high-level TipRanks fundamentals, which is the most notable gap on the fundamental research side. Discover AI is a useful first step into generative-AI research but remains limited to IG's Australia entity. Available research tools Our analysis highlights in-house live programming (Trade Live with IG, The Art of Investing, Invest Like a CEO), native Autochartist and Acuity trading signals, TipRanks screening across 12,000+ securities, and integrated client sentiment per asset. Trading Central is not part of the stack. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker Research Ranking - #2 overall broker for Research. IG is the only broker to offer at least eight of the nine research variables that we track (34 total brokers tested). TipRanks - One of six brokers to offer this feature. Acuity Trading - One of five brokers to offer this feature. IG was an early pioneer in trader education, and IG Academy is still one of the better structured forex courses I've used. The bigger story over the past few years is what hasn't changed: the course catalog has stagnated, the IG Community has closed, and DailyFX is no longer part of the offering. The on-platform contextual education, however, remains useful in day-to-day trading. IG Academy : 10 courses span beginner through intermediate, with progress tracking, integrated quizzes, and a dedicated IG Academy mobile app. The course scaffold is well-built (risk management, intro to financial markets, risk/reward, technical-analysis fundamentals), and the end-of-course quizzes are challenging enough that you cannot skim past them. The gap is depth across asset classes as courses lean heavily toward foundational forex and CFD content rather than equities, options, or crypto. A typical course on IG Academy, detailing the basics of technical analysis with an overview of basic chart patterns. Platform tutorials and video : The web platform ships with an interactive in-app tutorial that walks new users through the layout. The IG YouTube channels (IG U.K. and IG International) carry years of archived content with daily uploads, including dedicated Trading Mistakes and MT4 tutorial playlists, plus a video overview of the new Discover AI tool. Some content does get fragmented across the multiple regional YouTube channels. Contextual education : This is an underrated strength. The trade ticket surfaces tooltips for Force Open and Net Off behavior, an integrated Size table that shows how spreads change by trade size, and inline error messaging when a stop is placed too close to current price ("Stop must be at least 4pts from the current market price"). The platform nudges with a specific, actionable error rather than a generic failure, which is what a working trader wants when the market is moving. Webinars and analyst commentary : Webinars are archived to the YouTube channels rather than to a dedicated on-site library, which makes them slightly harder to find than they should be. Fabien Yip and Alex Rudolph headline the in-house analyst writing on the website. The prose is technical and chart-supported. Available educational offerings We found 10 structured courses in IG Academy with progress tracking and integrated quizzes, a dedicated education mobile app, daily YouTube programming, and contextual platform tooltips throughout the trade ticket, though the on-site education library has not expanded materially in recent years. Evaluation data What differentiates this broker IG is among only four brokers to offer at least eight of the nine education variables we track. IG makes it easy for serious forex traders, multi-asset investors, and active CFD traders to consolidate everything (spot forex, CFDs, options, share dealing, even underlying crypto) under one account inside one of the most heavily regulated brokers in the industry. IG took the #1 Overall spot in our 2026 ForexBrokers.com Annual Awards , and the depth of the platform suite, the depth of in-house research, and the strength of the Trust Score are the three pillars that hold that position. The two things that keep it from being a default for every audience are the absence of native copy trading and an educational library that hasn't kept pace with what it used to be. For traders who value regulation, an advanced platform, and the ability to scale from a £1 retail account up to a Forex Direct DMA desk, IG is a strong choice. However, if copy trading is non-negotiable, I'd point you toward the dedicated social-trading platforms first like eToro or Vantage . IG's Star Ratings Yes, IG is a legitimate, highly trusted broker with more than 50 years in operation and a strong reputation as a well-regulated company. IG is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LON:IGG) and holds 11 regulatory licenses across the globe, including a banking license in Switzerland through IG Bank. IG also operates the tastyfx brand for U.S. forex traders and the tastytrade subsidiary for U.S. listed derivatives. Learn more about how we evaluate broker safety on our Trust Score page . Is my money safe with IG? Yes. IG holds your funds across a range of segregated bank accounts and services over 346,000 active clients globally according to its latest annual report. As a publicly traded company on the FTSE 250, IG operates under the financial-reporting requirements and regulatory-capital obligations that come with that status, and its market capitalization above £3.9 billion at the end of 2025 provides additional counterparty-risk buffer. IG appears on our list of most trusted forex brokers . Is IG available in the US? Yes. U.S.-based forex traders can access IG's platform suite, pricing, and regulatory licensing through tastyfx , IG's U.S. brand for forex trading. For listed U.S. derivatives (futures and equity options), IG operates the tastytrade subsidiary. Bottom line: If you reside in the U.S. and want to trade forex with IG's experience, tastyfx is the route; for futures and options, tastytrade. See our guide to the best U.S. forex brokers for additional context. What is the minimum deposit for IG? The minimum deposit at IG varies by entity and account type. For retail CFD accounts, the minimum deposit is £1 (or local-currency equivalent), making it one of the lowest entry points among major regulated brokers. The Forex Direct DMA account requires roughly £1,000 to open. Regional minimums apply at some IG entities; for example, clients of IG Japan, IG Australia, and IG Singapore are subject to different account-funding thresholds set by their respective entities. Is IG good for beginners? Yes. IG consistently ranks near the top of our education category, which is one of the key inputs in our list of best forex brokers for beginners . IG Academy offers 10 structured courses with progress tracking, integrated quizzes, and a dedicated mobile app, alongside an in-app interactive tutorial and inline tooltip-based education in the trade ticket. The £1 minimum deposit on retail accounts and a free demo account further lower the cost of getting started. Does IG offer MetaTrader? Yes. IG offers both MT4 and MT5 across its global entities, alongside the proprietary IG web platform, TradingView, ProRealTime, and the L2 Dealer DMA venue. The IG-branded MetaTrader builds come bundled with FX Blue plug-ins. The main caveat with IG's MetaTrader offering is that the tradeable instrument list is significantly thinner than what's available on the proprietary platform, so if MT5 access is your primary reason for considering IG, factor that in. Spreads on MetaTrader at IG match the proprietary web and mobile pricing. Where is IG regulated? IG holds 11 regulatory licenses across multiple jurisdictions, the majority of which sit in top-tier financial centers, which is the highest count of any major forex and CFD broker we cover. Tier-1 Licenses Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) - Australia European Union Authorised (MiFID via CySEC) - Europe Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) - Japan Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) - Singapore Financial Markets Authority (FMA) - New Zealand Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) - Switzerland Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - United Kingdom Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - United States (via tastyfx) Tier-2 Licenses Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) - South Africa Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) - United Arab Emirates Tier-4 Licenses Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) - Bermuda security Why regulation is important Choosing a well-regulated forex broker is important for avoiding forex scams . Check out our educational series on how to identify common forex scams and what to do if you've been scammed . Why you should trust us Steven Hatzakis is a well-known finance writer, with 25+ years of experience in the foreign exchange and financial markets. He is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for Reink Media Group , leading research efforts for ForexBrokers.com since 2016. Steven is an expert writer and researcher who has published over 1,000 articles covering the foreign exchange markets and cryptocurrency industries. He has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages. Steven holds a Series III license in the US as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) . All content on ForexBrokers.com is handwritten by a writer, fact-checked by a member of our research team, and edited and published by an editor. Our ratings, rankings, and opinions are entirely our own, and the result of our extensive research and decades of collective experience covering the forex industry. Ultimately, our rigorous data validation process yields an error rate of less than .1% each year, providing site visitors with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test . At ForexBrokers.com, our online broker reviews are based on our collected quantitative data as well as the observations and qualified opinions of our expert researchers. Each year we publish tens of thousands of words of research on the top forex brokers and monitor dozens of international regulator agencies (read more about how we calculate Trust Score here ). Mobile testing is conducted on modern devices that run the most up-to-date operating systems available: For Apple , we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest, and the iPhone XS running the latest version of iOS. For Android , we use the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra devices running the latest Android OS. All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser. Our researchers thoroughly test a wide range of key features, such as the availability and quality of watch lists, mobile charting, real-time and streaming quotes, and educational resources – among other important variables. We also evaluate the overall design of the mobile experience, and look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms. Forex Risk Disclaimer There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Read more on forex trading risks . IC Markets is built for algorithmic and cost-sensitive forex traders: 0.72 pips all-in on EUR/USD and free colocated VPS, but no platform of its own. Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. Pepperstone offers a growing range of tradeable markets, good-quality research, and support for multiple social copy trading platforms. Eightcap review 2026: low-cost forex and CFD trading on TradingView, MetaTrader, and TradeLocker, with a deep crypto CFD lineup. Read our expert verdict. 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IG is a London-based public company listed on the London Stock Exchange's FTSE 250 (LON:IGG) with a market capitalization above £3.9 billion as of late 2025, and operates IG Bank in Switzerland under FINMA supervision. According to IG's most recent annual report, the company services over 346,000 active clients globally across its regulated entities in the U.K., Europe, Australia, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, the UAE, Bermuda, and the United States (via tastyfx for forex and tastytrade for listed derivatives). See how IG stacks up against other brokers. About the Editorial Team Steven Hatzakis is the Global Director of Online Broker Research for ForexBrokers.com. Steven previously served as an Editor for Finance Magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). John Bringans is the Managing Editor at ForexBrokers.com. An experienced media professional, John has a decade of editorial experience with a background that includes key leadership roles at global newsroom outlets. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University, and conducts research on forex and the financial services industry while assisting in the production of content. Blain Reinkensmeyer has 20 years of trading experience with over 2,500 trades placed during that time. He heads research for all U.S.-based brokerages on StockBrokers.com and is respected by executives as the leading expert covering the online broker industry. Blain’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Chicago Tribune, among other media outlets.