Trading: everything you need to know
Trading enables individuals and institutions to get access to the financial market. Learn how trading works, which markets you can speculate on, and how to get started with us.
Start trading today. Call +44 (20) 7633 5430, or email sales.en@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We’re here 24/5.
Contact us: +44 (20) 7633 5430
Start trading today. Call +44 (20) 7633 5430, or email sales.en@ig.com to talk about opening a trading account. We’re here 24/5.
Contact us: +44 (20) 7633 5430
Trading essentials
Trading is the act of buying and selling financial assets for the purpose of making profit. You predict the price movement of the underlying asset by going long if you think the price will rise, or short if you think that it’ll fall.
You’ll get exposure through buying or selling different markets like shares, forex, commodities, and indices without taking ownership of the underlying asset.
With us, you can trade using CFDs. This is a popular way to trade because it’s more accessible than trading derivative products that are listed on an exchange.
Trading with us
CFD trading
Exchange the difference in price between opening the position and closing it using a contract for difference (CFD).
Markets and assets to trade
Shares
Trade shares to speculate on company stocks without taking ownership. You’ll take a position on the direction of the share price by going short or long.
Indices
Get exposure to an entire economy trading indices with us. You’ll speculate on the performance of groups of shares by going short or long on rising or falling markets.
ETFs
Speculate on exchange traded funds or ETFs, which are investment baskets that track the value of individual commodities as well as a collection of stocks.
Forex
Take a long or short position on the conversion of one currency into another. There are several types of forex pairs you can trade against each other.
Commodities
Choose from a variety of physical goods to buy or sell on the exchange. Trade commodities from different industries, from agriculture and energy to minerals.
Thematic and basket
Form a unique portfolio by grouping certain stocks to speculates via thematic and basket trading. Your portfolio will be based on certain trend in which you take a position on stocks that form part of a theme.
IPOs
Take a position in anticipation of a private company that’s in the process of being traded publicly. You’ll track upcoming IPOs and take an early position to make a profit.
Bonds
Buy and sell corporate and government bonds for a profit on the secondary market. You’ll trade on the actual prices of the bond sold without taking ownership.
Interest rates
Speculate on the short-term future direction of interest rates to capitalise on changes that will affect the percentages that the banks charge on loan repayment.
Live market prices for traders
With us, you can get exposure to a wide variety of markets in real-time. Our platform provides traders an option to set alerts on the markets you’ve taken a position on to take advantage of changing market evens. You’ll be able hedge your position to offset any losses against profits for your capital gains tax (CGT) liabilities.1
Out of hours market prices
Do you want access to the most popular stocks after hours? With us, you can trade after the market has closed. We provide you with the longest trading hours for US stocks such as FTSE 100, Dow Jones, DAX, Hang Seng, and many others.
Note that trading after hours comes with the risk of experiencing high volatility in prices. This is because the trade volumes during this period is modest, thus, you’ll experience highs and lows at irregular intervals.
This provides traders with the opportunity to capitalise on the fluctuation in price. Every trade needs to take into consideration that speculating after hours offers low liquidity and a wider spread in the market.
Trading strategies and styles you need to know
Trading strategies
Explore different trading strategies and styles tailored for CFD traders. You’ll speculate on the price movements of various financial markets without taking ownership of the underlying asset. These strategies are particularly geared towards short-term trading plans to get the best outcome.
Day trading strategies
Trade a variety of markets over a short time frame to capitalise on fluctuations in price movements on the same day. You’ll choose from the best day trading strategies that prioritise taking different positions multiple times in 24 hours as the market price fluctuates.
Scalping trading strategies
Discover how scalping works and the best trading strategies to use to capitalise on small changes in price to make a profit. There’s four scalping strategies to choose from where you’ll open and close a position quickly once a profit has been made to limit your exposure to risk.
Swing trading strategies
Learn more about swing trading strategies in order to open a position that lasts for a couple of days to get the best outcome. Your position will be opened after hours and you’ll take advantage of the prevailing trend in the price movement to close your trade once profit is realised.
Best position trading strategies
Speculate using position trading strategies that enable you to place long-term trades and keep them open for an extended period. You can choose position trading strategies when you identify a trend emerging in the market and take advantage of it.
Latest trading news
Free trading resources for traders
- Learn how financial trading works by going through our comprehensive tools and resources available on
IG Academy - You can open a free demo account to practise and discover the best trading strategies that work before you move to a live account
- Beginners and seasoned traders can act on trading signals that describe emerging chart patterns and key levels on a range of markets
- You can customise trading alerts to receive automatic notifications when prices reach your specified targets
FAQs
How do I start trading?
To get started to trading, you need to understand the tools and platform you will use. Luckily, you can use resources from IG Academy to learn everything you need to know about trading and practise how to place a trade on our demo account in a risk-free environment.
How can beginners learn to trade?
Beginners can learn how to trade on our demo account that features all of the markets that you can speculate on live. You will be credited with $20,000 in virtual funds to take your first position.
What are the best trading platforms?
We offer the world's best platform and app.1 Our platform has a user-friendly interface and fast response time, including on different programmes we offer like MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer.
How can I start trading stocks and shares?
With us, you can start trading company stocks through buying and selling shares online using CFDs without taking outright ownership of the asset.
How can I start trading forex and currencies?
You can trade forex and currencies on the spot, or via forwards and options using a CFD trading account.
Try these next
Find out how to trade CFDs on our platform
Speculate on share prices using our leveraged trading products
Explore the main advantages of CFD trading
1 Best Finance App, Best Multi-Platform Provider and Best Platform for the Active Trader as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2024.
Contact us
New clients: +44 (20) 7633 5430 or email sales.en@ig.com
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