Margin trading - borrowing money from your broker to buy more assets than you could otherwise afford - is popular, but it's not available at all brokers, and margin interest rates can vary widely.
Sadly, you can't trade real stocks or ETFs on margin at IG. If you insist on leverage, you can trade CFDs at IG, at average financing rates; or instead, just check the best margin trading platforms.
I've thoroughly tested IG's services to see whether margin trading is possible. Here's what you need to know:
- At IG, you can trade stocks/ETFs with leverage in the form of CFDs only.
- IG CFD fees are high, including average financing rates.
- Margin trading involves borrowing money from your broker to increase your exposure.
- Looking for real margin trading? Check our list of the best margin trading platforms.
Before we begin, let's see if IG is available in your country:
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. CFDs are not provided for US clients. Forex trading involves risk. Losses can exceed deposits.
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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Leveraged trading available for CFDs only
At IG, you can't trade real stocks or ETFs on margin. Your only chance for leveraged trading at IG is to trade CFDs (contracts for difference).
Unlike in the case of regular stock trading, you don't actually hold any asset when trading CFDs; you merely bet on the price movements of an underlying asset (which can be a stock, ETF, commodity, bond, etc).
Are you new to all this? Check out our introduction to the main concepts of CFD trading.
CFD financing rates
Also referred to as a swap fee or overnight rate, the financing rate is the cost you have to pay for holding a leveraged position overnight. The financing rate is one of your most important cost items in CFD trading. Your costs stemming from financing rates add up over time: the longer you hold your position, the larger your financing cost will be.
Financing rates are set at the broker's discretion but are usually closely linked to benchmark interest rates. In other words, if interest rates in general are high, financing rates will also be higher. Financing rates can also vary depending on the type of security being traded.
High CFD trading fees, average financing rates
At BrokerChooser, we regularly collect and update financing rate data along with other data sets for more than 100 brokers globally. Check out financing rates and overall CFD trading costs at IG in the following tables and see how they compare to rates applied by some close competitors.
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70% of retail CFD accounts lose money
Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.
Further reading
- Diversifying your investments
- IG stock conditions explained
- Stock trading at IG: an expert guide and rating
- IG penny stocks trading conditions explained
- IG bond availability
- ETF trading conditions at IG explained
- IG fractional shares trading conditions explained
- IG cash interest rate
- IG ESG investing
- IG Mexican stocks trading availability
- IG US stock trading details
- IG Australian stocks trading availability
- IG Canadian stocks trading availability
- IG Japanese stocks trading availability
- IG French stocks trading availability
- IG Italian stocks trading availability
- IG Swiss stocks trading availability
- IG Hong Kong stocks trading availability
- IG Dutch stocks trading availability
- IG Spanish stocks trading availability
- IG Singapore stocks trading availability
- IG Swedish stocks trading availability
- IG Norwegian stocks trading availability
- IG forex spreads explained
- Is the EUR/USD spread low at IG?
- Is the GBP/USD spread low at IG?
- Forex trading at IG: Discover the key features and highlights
Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.