IG US has recently rebranded and is now operating under the name tastyfx.
If you are not a US citizen, please visit IG global review.
IG was founded in 1974, making it by far the oldest broker I have reviewed for FX Empire. The London-based forex industry giant now has over 300,000 clients and offices across five continents. IG Group Holdings PLC is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a market cap of over £2.5B at the time of this writing. IG US launched in 2019, providing access to spot forex trading with leverage and tight spreads.
IG US is regulated by the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). As a principal model broker, trading costs are reflected in the spread. Clients of IG US can access 82 currency pairs via the IG Web Trading Platform, the IG Mobile App, and the MetaTrader 4 Desktop and Mobile App. Read on to learn if this award-winning forex broker is a good fit for you.
In the forex market, traders can take long and short positions, making it possible to find opportunities in rising and falling markets.
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IG US is a forex industry pioneer with a remarkable proprietary platform, highly competitive trading costs, and a substantial range of available currency pairs. The client sentiment data provided by IG US is especially valuable due to the sizable client base that it draws from.
IG US is an excellent choice for United States traders seeking access to the spot forex markets. Competitive trading costs and features like 1-click trading make IG US suitable for day traders and scalpers. The low swap fees make the broker attractive for swing traders and long-term investors.
In this review, we focused on the IG US LLC entity. which is a registered retail foreign exchange dealer (RFED) with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a member of the National Futures Association (NFA ID 0509630). We conducted our tests using a Standard Account via the IG Trading Platform.
☑️ Regulations | CFTC (United States), NFA (United States) |
🗺 Supported Languages | English |
💰 Products | Currencies |
💵 Min Deposit | $250 |
💹 Max Leverage | 1:50 (CFTC), 1:50 (NFA) |
🖥 Trading Desk Type | Dealing Desk, Market Maker |
📊 Trading Platforms | MT4, Proprietary |
💳 Deposit Options | Wire Transfer, Credit Card, ACH, Visa, Mastercard |
💳 Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Credit Card, ACH, Visa, Mastercard |
🤴 Demo Account | Yes |
🗓 Foundation Year | 1974 |
🌎 Headquarters Country | United Kingdom |
IG US performed much higher than the industry average in the Trust category. It earned a strong trust ranking from FXEmpire in light of being regulated by the NFA and CFTC, its lengthy operating history, financial stability, and transparency. IG Group is a member of the FTSE 250 and holds a long-term investment grade credit rating of BBB- with a stable outlook from Fitch Ratings. The company has also signed up for the FX Global Code of Conduct, a set of principles of good practice in the foreign exchange market.
Different regulators provide different levels of protection. IG clients in the United States do not have negative balance protection, and their funds are not segregated. IG US LLC holds client funds in the same bank account as operating funds because US regulations do not permit forex accounts to have segregated account status.
In the unlikely event that IG US LLC becomes insolvent or files for protection under bankruptcy laws, clients may have only an unsecured claim against their deposited funds. IG US LLC would pay all debts to creditors before any unsecured claims in the event of liquidation.
Entity | IG US LLC |
Country/Region | US |
Regulation | CFTC, NFA |
Segregated Funds | No |
Negative Balance Protection | No |
Account Insurance | No |
Maximum Leverage | 1:50 |
I gathered the data listed above in September 2023. Regulatory requirements are subject to change.
In our tests for the Trust category, we also cover factors relating to stability and financial strength. Here, we focus on how long the broker has been in business, the company’s size, and its transparency.
IG traces its origins to 1974, marking it as one of the oldest and most experienced forex brokers. According to its LinkedIn page, the company is headquartered in London and has 1,001-5,000 employees.
In my research, IG US showed high transparency in its regulatory status, listing its regulators in the footer of each page of the ig.com/us website. The website breaks down fees clearly on the Trading Costs page. Traders can find the Customer Agreement on the Terms and Agreements page.
To summarize, my findings indicate that IG US can be regarded as having a high level of trust and stability due to the following qualities:
My hands-on tests showed that IG US offers highly competitive trading-related fees. Spreads in major pairs are among the tightest in the industry, and swap fees are better than average. Premium clients can also earn substantial rebates, further lowering costs. There is an inactivity fee, but this only occurs after an account has been idle for two years.
I tested the spreads at IG US across different currency pairs using the IG Platform. The test was done at 8:00 a.m. GMT and at 4:00 p.m. GMT on 26 September 2023. I made the tests at two different times to allow greater perspective. 8:00 a.m. GMT is the London open when there is a great deal of liquidity in the forex market and tighter spreads in currency pairs. 4:00 p.m. GMT is during the New York trading session.
Instrument | Spread AM | Spread PM |
EUR/USD | 0.8 Pip | 0.8 Pip |
GBP/USD | 1 Pip | 1 Pip |
USD/CHF | 1.5 Pips | 1.5 Pips |
USD/JPY | 0.8 Pip | 0.8 Pip |
GBP/JPY | 2.5 Pips | 3.2 Pips |
USD/CAD | 1.5 Pips | 1.5 Pips |
AUD/USD | 1 Pip | 1.3 Pips |
NZD/USD | 2.6 Pips | 2.6 Pips |
IG US spreads are highly competitive in major pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY. In other pairs like GBP/JPY and NZD/USD spreads are closer to the industry average.
In the table below, you can see the Swap Long (the cost/credit of holding a buy position overnight) and the Swap Short (the cost/credit of maintaining a sell position overnight) for one full-sized contract. A full-sized contract is 100,000 units of the base currency (the first currency quoted in the pair). I recorded the data on 22 September 2023.
Instrument | Swap Long | Swap Short |
EUR/USD | Charge of $1.50 | Credit of $7.10 |
GBP/JPY | Credit of $3.32 | Charge of $2.42 |
My live tests showed that swap fees at IG US are better than average for the industry.
IG US charges an inactivity fee of $12 on the first of every month if no trading activity has occurred for two years or more. The fee is fairly standard for the industry, and most brokers begin to charge an inactivity fee if an account has been idle for one year or less.
I rate the fees at IG US as highly competitive for the following reasons:
IG US offers its proprietary platform which is available on web and mobile. I rated both versions as among the best in the industry, with powerful features like sentiment data from IG’s large client base. Additionally, the broker incorporates MetaTrader 4 and ProRealTime which offer advanced capabilities like automated trading.
IG US acts as principal and is the sole venue for the execution of spot forex contracts. In the Principal Model, forex brokers are counterparties to client transactions – they take the other side of their trades. IG US acts as a market maker, and clients are trading with IG US, not within the underlying market.
The award-winning IG Web Platform is intuitive, highly customizable, and packs a meaty range of features. These include popular items like watchlists, a news feed, alerts, one-click trading, trading from the chart, trading signals, and client sentiment data.
The IG Platform is web-based and is accessible via your browser without any downloads required. The interface is clean and simple, making it easy for new traders to get up and running.
Charting within the IG Platform is robust, with 33 technical indicators, 19 drawing tools, 17 time frames, and 5 chart types.
You can customize the platform to view multiple charts at once on one screen or mix charts with items like watchlists, news, and alert panels. The image above shows one ‘workspace’. You can create multiple workspaces and flip between them in a tabbed format. I found this feature super useful and created workspaces covering different groups of assets – one for major currency pairs, one for exotic currency pairs, etc.
Watchlists enable traders to keep an eye on predefined lists like popular markets or recently traded instruments. You can also set up your own custom watchlists. Buy and sell buttons are conveniently placed to the right of each instrument in the watchlist.
The IG Web platform offers a strong range of order types, including market orders, limit orders, stop loss orders, and trailing stop orders. You can specify the duration for which your order remains active by marking it as ‘Good Till Canceled’ or setting it to expire on a future date of your choice.
The IG Platform has a sophisticated range of alerts to help optimize your trading performance. You can set up alerts to inform you about price movements, news events, and even emerging technical patterns.
IG US provides client sentiment data drawing from its user base of over 300,000 clients. Sentiment data shows the percentage of traders that are long or short in a currency pair. This gives you powerful insight into the psychology of a market. Traders can interpret the data in a variety of ways. Most commonly, it is understood that when an extreme percentage of traders are either long or short an instrument, a trend reversal may be coming.
The IG Platform has a built-in news feed from Thomson Reuters. A steady stream of stories is published throughout the day. The feed includes updates on major economic releases and central bank policy. It also has coverage of technical analysis, key support and resistance levels, and trade ideas. For example, the EUR/GBP Trader bulletin shows a current position, stop loss, profit target, and the technical rationale for the trade.
The technical context for the EUR/GBP trade shared in the Thomson Reuters news feed is also provided in chart format.
The IG Platform has a dark mode feature, making it easier on your eyes at night.
In my experience trading on the IG Platform, I appreciated the ability to customize it to your preference and create multiple workspaces. This makes it easy to stay on top of what is going on in multiple markets and lots of timeframes. Charting is robust, and the range of order types provides traders with advanced flexibility. Finally, the suite of tools – including Autochartist, client sentiment, and the news feed from Thomson Reuters – is outstanding. With its clean and uncluttered interface, this is a platform that can cater to beginners. It also has advanced features to accommodate experienced and professional traders.
The IG mobile app is available for Android and iOS. It incorporates the key features of the web platform, like watchlists, advanced order types, alerts, trading from the chart, client sentiment, Autochartist signals, and the Thomson Reuters news feed. As with the web platform, you can easily flip between demo and live trading accounts. Two-factor authentication is available for an added layer of security. It is also possible to add and withdraw funds via the mobile app.
I found the IG Mobile App intuitive and beginner-friendly while offering a powerful range of features. You can stay on top of your market positions, place trades, and stay updated with the latest market news and analysis. This well-designed app can accommodate most trading functions while you are on the move. I rate it as well above average for the industry.
IG US offers MetaTrader 4 for desktops, which includes advanced functions such as copy trading and automated trading.
MetaTrader 4 is available in 39 languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese. The platform provides popular features such as
MetaTrader also delivers when it comes to the range of available order types. The platform offers the following order types:
Charting features are robust. MetaTrader 4 offers:
MetaTrader is also popular due to its copy trading and automated trading features.
IG US offers the MetaTrader 4 mobile app for mobile trading, which is available for Android and iOS. The app offers popular features such as alerts, 1-click trading, and trading from the chart.
The MetaTrader 4 mobile app also provides many order types, including pending and stop orders. However, trailing stop-loss orders are only available from the desktop. To change the language of the MT4 app, you must change the language for your entire phone. As with the desktop and web platforms, the interface is not highly intuitive, but the MT4 app offers an above-average range of features.
The look and feel of MetaTrader 4 are a bit dated – I felt there is room for improvement in design and usability. But as one of the most popular trading platforms in the world and the only one offered by many forex brokers, I have spent a lot of time testing it.
MT4 is actually very well-rounded and can do more than most competitors – with advanced charting, a complete range of order types, and popular features like 1-click trading, trading from the chart, and alerts. The advanced features of the desktop platform set it apart in that it enables traders to run and backtest automated strategies.
Although it presents a steep learning curve, MT4 can cater to beginners. Meanwhile, its algorithmic trading capability can also accommodate professional traders.
Live account holders at IG US also have access to ProRealTime. This is a third-party platform geared towards experienced traders, with various advanced features:
IG Markets offers a strong range of spot forex instruments, including major, minor, Australasian, Scandinavian, exotic, and emerging market currency pairs. While the industry’s forex offering is above average, IG US could improve by adding spot commodities and cryptocurrencies.
IG US LLC offers trading in forex only. At the time of this writing, clients can access the following tradable instruments:
In the tables below, you can see a selection highlighting the variety of currency pairs available to US traders:
Forex Major | Forex Minor | Forex Exotic |
EUR/USD | GBP/USD | USD/JPY | CAD/CHF | GBP/CAD | SGD/JPY | GBP/PLN | USD/CZK | EUR/TRY |
Forex Australasian | Forex Scandinavian | Forex Emerging Markets |
AUD/CHF | NZD/USD | AUD/NZD | SEK/JPY | GBP/NOK | EUR/DKK | USD/CNH | AUD/CNH | CNH/JPY |
IG US offers an excellent range of currency pairs catering to different trader profiles. For example, some pairs, such as GBP/JPY are highly volatile, making them attractive to day traders. Other pairs like USD/CHF are suitable for traders who prefer slower-moving markets.
Emerging market pairs currently offer high-interest rates, allowing traders to engage in the carry trade and capture the interest rate differential between the base and counter currency. I also noted that traders using correlation strategies can work with highly correlated pairs like NZD/JPY and AUD/JPY.
IG offers support from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST, Sunday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday. Support is available via email at helpdesk.us@ig.com and by phone at 312-981-0499. I was impressed by the swift responses and high quality of assistance. In these areas, I judged support as better than average for the industry. However, no customer service was available via live chat, which influenced the score.
I evaluated IG US support with dozens of inquiries ranging from basic account-related questions to more complex regulation-related issues. Emails were typically responded to the same day or within 24 hours, and I could reach a helpful operator by phone within a couple of minutes.
Most leading brokers offer live chat via their platform, which is the most convenient way of reaching customer support. Given the attention to detail in every other area, I was surprised that IG US lacks this feature. Nevertheless, the high quality of help by phone makes up for it to a degree. Premium clients also have the benefit of direct access to an account manager.
IG US clients can deposit and withdraw funds via bank wire transfer, automated clearing house (ACH), and debit card (Visa and Mastercard). Processing times are relatively fast for the industry. Deposits are free, but there is a $15 fee for withdrawals via bank transfer.
In the tables below, I break down the fees and processing times for each deposit and withdrawal method.
Deposit Method | Fees | Processing Time |
Debit Card | $0 | Instant |
ACH Bank Transfer | $0 | 3 Business Days |
Wire Transfer | $0 | 1 Business Day |
While brokers do not normally charge any fees for deposits, IG US beats the industry average with a relatively fast processing time.
Withdrawal Method | Fees | Processing Time |
Debit Card | $0 | 2-5 Working Days |
ACH Bank Transfer | $0 | 2-5 Working Days |
Wire Transfer | $15 | 24 Hours |
Here again, processing times are better than average for the forex industry. Some brokers do not charge a wire transfer withdrawal fee, but the $15 charge from IG US is fairly standard.
Generally, all funds will need to be returned to the source of your payments. You will need to add your bank account to your IG account through “My IG” before requesting a wire transfer or ACH payment.
IG US has one account type, but clients with high trading volume can be upgraded to receive Premium Services. The account opening process is fully digital and can be completed via the ig.com/us website. I found the application straightforward, and it took me less than 10 minutes to go through all the questions. Traders can also access free demo accounts via the IG Platform and MetaTrader 4.
To open an individual account at IG US, prospective clients must provide the following information:
To qualify as a premium client, you must trade at least $50 million notional value (USD) per calendar month. Premium clients receive several significant benefits:
Volume-based rebates are automatically credited to your account in the following month if you qualify. Rebates are based on a tiered system, with a greater percentage paid out based on the total volume traded for the month.
Tier 1: $50-$100M | Tier 2: $100-$250M | Tier 3: $250-$500M | Tier 4: $500M+ |
$5 Average Savings Per Million (USD) | $8 Average Savings Per Million (USD) | $10 Average Savings Per Million (USD) | $15 Average Savings Per Million (USD) |
Here’s an example of how the rebate works.
Imagine that in the month of August, you opened and closed transactions for 800 full-sized lots of EUR/USD at a price of 1.0500. This means your total volume was $84M, placing you in Tier 1. Your rebate can be calculated as follows:
800 (lot size) x $10 (spread) x 5% (rebate) = $400 (rebate paid)
IG US offers demo accounts for the IG Platform and MetaTrader 4. Demo accounts are especially important for beginners as they allow them to practice their strategies and get comfortable with the trading platform without risking real money.
The demo account features live quotes and simulates live market conditions in all 82 currency pairs. Once users are to speed up on a demo account, they can easily switch to a live version.
One of the reasons that traders are attracted to the forex market is the high degree of available leverage. Leverage is the use of borrowed funds to increase the size of your trading positions beyond what would be possible using only the cash in your account. In the table below I cover the leverage available at IG US across a range of currency pairs.
Currency Pair | Margin Per Contract | Leverage |
EUR/USD | 2% | 1:50 |
GBP/USD | 5% | 1:20 |
AUD/USD | 3% | 1:33 |
EUR/JPY | 5% | 1:20 |
USD/CHF | 3% | 1:33 |
IG US accepts clients from all states with the exception of Ohio.
IG shines in the research category with a wealth of high-quality resources to draw from. The News and Trade Ideas section of the website contains regularly updated technical and fundamental research materials. Articles and videos are insightful and reflect IG’s remarkable depth of experience. Within the IG Platform, traders can get news updates and trade ideas from the Thomson Reuters news feed. Trading signals from Autochartist are also available within the IG Platform.
The News and Trade Ideas section features themed articles like previews of the coming week, which help orient traders on what to expect from the highest-impact news releases. In-depth coverage of major currencies like the euro and the US dollar goes over important technical price levels and market-moving economic data.
The section also includes articles with useful interpretation of sentiment data, revealing the expectations of IG’s client base.
IG US offers a powerful mix of in-house and third-party research. I like that the materials not only contain news and analysis but also feature specific trade ideas. The in-house research and Autochartist signals are accessible to beginners. Experienced traders can benefit from the pro-grade analysis within the Thomson Reuters feed. I rate IG as an industry leader in the area of research.
The IG Academy, available on the ig.com/us website, offers courses catering to beginner, intermediate, and advanced traders. The courses are broken down into short, easy-to-digest lessons and feature a quiz at the end to aid the learning process. The material is in text format interspersed with plenty of helpful graphics. I judged the content to be high quality and helpful to traders in establishing a foundation of knowledge. I rate the educational materials at IG US as better than average.
The IG Academy features a total of 11 courses. Beginner-level courses tackle topics like the basics of forex and market terminology.
Intermediate-level courses introduce technical and fundamental analysis, while traders who are ready to move on to an advanced level can benefit from the courses containing practical content including breakout and range trading strategies.
Launched in 2019, IG US is a relatively recent addition to IG Group’s global entities. IG US earned a strong trust rating in our review due to its status as an NFA and CFTC-regulated broker, its high level of financial stability, and first-class transparency.
Low trading costs and modest account-related fees make this an attractive broker. IG US provides a broad range of currency pairs and brings the advanced tools of an industry leader to the US retail market.
Strong educational materials and a user-friendly platform make it a suitable choice for beginners. Meanwhile, it can accommodate experienced clients with an impressive range of analytical resources and rebates for high-volume traders.
If you are a US trader looking to try out the spot forex market, I rate IG US as a strong choice.
Headquarters Country | United Kingdom |
Foundation Year | 1974 |
Regulations | CFTC (United States), NFA (United States) |
Publicly Traded | Yes |
Number Of Employees | 1001 |
Trading Desk Type | Dealing Desk, Market Maker |
Trading Platforms | MT4, Proprietary |
Restricted Countries | Wallis and Futuna, Niue, Cocos Islands, Anguilla, Singapore, Gambia, Ukraine, French Polynesia, Uganda, Uruguay, Azerbaijan, Andorra, New Caledonia, Paraguay, Vatican City, Tonga, Malawi, Namibia, Nauru, Finland, Ecuador, Burundi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Benin, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote dIvoire, Croatia, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Lesotho, Guyana, Liberia, Mauritania, India, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Niger, Hungary, Nigeria, Iceland, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Marshall Islands, Tunisia, Kosovo, Somalia, Sweden, Slovenia, Belgium, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Syria, Sierra Leone, Comoros, El Salvador, Serbia, Vietnam, Guernsey, Kiribati, Libya, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Haiti, Spain, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Australia, United Kingdom, Honduras, Egypt, Samoa, San Marino, Algeria, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Bahrain, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cameroon, Cape Verde, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Eritrea, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Estonia, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Laos, Guinea-Bissau, Montenegro, Malaysia, Sao Tome and Principe, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Palau, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Nepal, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Peru, Romania, Greece, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Curacao, Guam, Cayman Islands, Swaziland, Bermuda, Suriname, Senegal, Zambia, Angola, Turkey, Albania, Timor-Leste, Slovakia, Cook Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Togo, Argentina, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Macao, Solomon Islands, Venezuela, Switzerland, Greenland, Tuvalu, Botswana, Brazil, Seychelles, Bonaire, Uzbekistan, Brunei, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chile, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Mayotte, Madagascar, Aruba, Ethiopia, Taiwan, Fiji, Vanuatu, Panama, Israel, Tajikistan, Mauritius, Japan, South Africa, Virgin Islands, British, Tanzania, Isle of Man, Malta, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Faroe Islands, American Samoa, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Aland Islands, Christmas Island, Montserrat, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre |
Supported Languages | English |
Min Deposit | $250 |
Max Leverage | 1:50 (CFTC), 1:50 (NFA) |
Deposit Options | Wire Transfer, Credit Card, ACH, Visa, Mastercard |
Withdrawal Options | Wire Transfer, Credit Card, ACH, Visa, Mastercard |
Time to Withdrawal | 2 |
Time to Open an Account | 8 |
Products | Currencies |
Demo Account | Yes |
OCO Orders | Yes |
Offers Hedging | No |
Automated Trading | Yes |
API Trading | No |
Guaranteed Stop Loss | No |
Guaranteed Limit Orders | No |
Guaranteed Fills / Liquidity | Yes |
Economic calendar | Yes |
Trading From Chart | Yes |
One-Click Trading | Yes |
Expert Advisor | Yes |
Social Trading | Yes |
Autochartist | Yes |
Trading Signals | Yes |
Platform Languages | Multi-lingual, English |
24 Hours Support | Yes |
Support During Weekends | No |
Live Chat | No |
Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
Webinars | No |
Deposit Fee | No |
Withdrawal Fee | No |
Inactivity Fee | Yes |
Dan Blystone began his career in the trading industry in 1998 on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Later Dan gained insight into the forex industry during his time as a Series 3 licenced futures and forex broker. He also traded at a couple of different prop trading firms in Chicago. Dan is well-equipped to recommend the best forex brokers due to his extensive experience and understanding of the brokerage industry.
At FXEmpire, we strive to provide unbiased, thorough and accurate broker reviews by industry experts to help our users make smarter financial decisions.