Trading hours
When you can trade will have quite an impact on which online broker you choose. Some brokers offer extended trading hours, giving you longer access to the markets.
We offer a number of markets, including shares, forex and indices. You can trade out of hours on more markets with us than any other trading provider.
We’re open 24 hours a day, from 11pm on Sunday (9pm for forex) until 10pm on Friday (UK time). However, note that shares don’t trade for 24 hours. You’ll be able to access our weekend markets from 8am (UK time) on Saturday up until 10.40pm on Sunday (8.40pm for Weekend FX).*
Trading platforms
A trading platform is the tool you’ll use to place your trade. All brokers offer some sort of platform, whether it’s their own or a third party system like MT4.
Our award-winning platform has a simple and clean design, offering you seamless access to markets you want to trade.2 You’ll have access to interactive features, such as charts, news and analysis, IG Live, alerts and signals – all housed on one platform. We also offer MT4 – a well-known third-party platform.
The best trading platform for beginners is almost always a demo account, where you can practise risk-free trading. The demo account will help you to build your confidence as a trader with £10,000 and R1,000,000 in virtual funds to help you hone your skills in a risk-free environment. Once you’re satisfied with your progress and you’re ready to trade in the real world, you can open a live account.
Educational material
Finding an online broker that offer plenty of training materials and learning resources can definitely help you on your trading journey. Learning as much as you can is crucial before opening any positions.
You can improve your trading knowledge and skills with IG Academy. This tool that offers courses for you to learn at your own pace – for free. You can then put your new skills to the test by opening a free demo trading account.
Customer service
Not only do you want to choose an online trading broker that’s got a good platform, you also want them to help you when you have questions. So, taking lines of communication and immediate availability into account is essential when choosing your broker.
If you’re a learner trader, you can make use of our client services team for a one-on-one walk through of our platform while setting up your account. We’ve also got a 24-hour live support where you can ask our trading experts for assistance. You can reach us via phone call, email or Twitter from 8am on Saturdays to 10pm on Fridays (UK time).*
