IG Maintains Title as Australia's No. 1 FX Provider

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Mar 18, 2014, 05:00 ET

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

IG's mobile/tablet apps are no. 1 for customer satisfaction
Client money protection remains a big concern for traders

For the third year running IG has maintained its significant FX market share, confirming its status as the largest CFD and FX provider* to retail clients in Australia.

Investment Trends' December 2013 FX Report revealed that IG boasts an 18% primary market share, which is 6% points ahead of its closest competitor.

In a market where more people are turning to mobile trading, IG also received the highest satisfaction amongst its clients for its mobile and tablet apps.

Head of IG Asia Paciﬁc, Tamas Szabo, says it's a big accomplishment in a fiercely competitive FX market.

"This not only recognises the focus we've applied to our FX offering, but also our dedication to continuously adapting to clients' needs," Mr Szabo said.

"The mobile trading space is huge, and constant technological innovation is required to give our clients the trading edge."

IG continues to stress the importance of client money protection

According to Investment Trends' report, 57% of frequent FX traders believe client fund segregation and not using client money for hedging purposes are key signs of a strong and secure FX provider.

Interestingly, only 30% of 'potential' FX traders see a provider's segregation of client funds as a sign of financial strength of a provider. This suggests that very few potential traders fully understand the risks involved when choosing a CFD provider.

Tamas Szabo reminds traders of the potential danger to client funds when trading with providers that use client money.

"Clients are dealing on a principal basis with all FX providers and the solvency of that firm and its hedging brokers poses significant risks when client money is used," Mr Szabo said.

"A number of FX providers do not offer complete protection of client funds, and it is of vital importance that clients are aware of where their money sits and if it is used in any way. Traders need to be aware that Australian regulators do not require CFD and FX providers to segregate all client funds including net-running profits, and providers can also hedge their own positions using client money.

"At IG we advocate and ensure the complete segregation of client funds, including net-running profits, and we never use client funds for hedging. These are important things to consider when choosing an FX provider, and should far outweigh a recommendation from an introducer who may not spell out these risks."

Decrease in FX traders; uptick in MT4 and automated trading

The report revealed a different FX environment compared to 2012.

Like the previous year, volatility was low, although this seemed to affect the FX market more in 2013, with the number of active traders decreasing by 4% to 51,000.

Investment Trends also reported that new FX traders entering the market decreased by 14%, though this drop was neutralised, with 11,500 previously dormant traders returning to the FX market in 2013.

In addition, the use of the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform increased from 47% in 2012 to 55% in 2013.

IG recognised this and expanded their offering last year to include MT4.

IG saw a significant uptake within its client base, and will continue to expand its FX offering on the platform; 57 currency pairs are already available, and it is looking to introduce more markets in the near future.

*By primary relationships, Investment Trends June 2013 Australia CFD Report & December 2013 Australia FX Report.

About IG

IG specialises in financial derivatives, principally CFD trading on over 6,000 global share CFDs, indices, forex, commodities, options, binaries and more. IG Markets is a part of IG Group, a FTSE 250 company established in 1974 which now employs over 1000 staff in 14 countries.

A CFD (or Contract for Difference) is an agreement to exchange the difference in value of a particular asset between the time at which a contract is opened and the time at which it is closed.

IG Markets advises that trading CFDs may not be suitable for everyone, since CFDs are a geared product and can result in losses that exceed an initial deposit, and that product disclosure statements are available from http://www.ig.com/au.

IG Markets Limited ABN 84 099 019 851, AFSL 220440