What we do with your money

The essentials

What happens to the money I deposit with IG?

Your money is held in segregated bank accounts under trustee arrangements. This ensures that the cash remains yours, rather than ours. It also means that it’s easily identifiable as client money, so we and our creditors don’t have any charge, liens, or rights of set-off or retention over it.

We have a number of segregated bank accounts at a range of credit-worthy high street banks such as Barclays and Lloyds. We intentionally ensure that client money is split between a number of banks, and we’re not permitted to hold it all in one place.

Money deposited in a US options and futures account will be segregated by Apex. See ‘What does IG do with my money and assets’ for more information.

What does IG do with my money and my assets?

Unlike banks, we’re required to separate client money and assets from our own resources. This means that we’re not allowed to use them in the course of our business activities, and that client money and assets are completely ring-fenced and protected in the unlikely event that we became insolvent.

We’re authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA have strict regulatory requirements, known as the client money and client assets rules (found in the Client Assets Sourcebook – CASS), which govern exactly what we can do and how we must do it.
The only clients whose money and assets aren’t treated like this are professional clients (like financial firms), or eligible counterparties who have signed a legal document explaining how their money and assets are held differently (this is known as ‘title transfer’).

Under the FCA’s CASS rules, we may also place client money in Qualifying Money Market Funds (QMMFs). This is mostly made up of low-risk investments like government bonds, and the primary objective of the fund is to maintain value. QMMFs offer an alternative way for us to hold your money without compromising on security. They’re a standard tool used by large financial institutions to diversify credit risk.

Where client money is placed in QMMFs, the units or shares in those QMMFs will be held as safe custody assets in accordance with the FCA’s CASS rules.

What happens to the money and assets in my US options and futures accounts?

If you have a US options and futures account with us, any money you deposit will automatically be converted to USD and securely transmitted to our clearing, custody and settlement partner, Apex Clearing Corporation (Apex), which is based in the US. Apex is subject to US laws and regulation around holding client money and is required to hold client money and assets separately from its own funds. Client money and assets held in this type of account are not subject to UK client money regulations. .

As well as being regulated in the US, Apex is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Company (‘SIPC’), which means money and assets held by Apex are covered by SIPC insurance protection.

When you use the US Options and Futures platform to trade, Apex will hold any assets that result from the transaction in accordance with US laws. The terms and conditions of this service are set out in your Apex agreement, which you receive when you open your account.

In the unlikely event that Apex becomes insolvent and can't return your money or assets, you'll be protected by the SIPC as follows:

• Cash and securities (stocks, shares and options) up to $500,000 total protection
• Cash protection under SIPC protection is limited to $250,000 within the $500,000 total

What happens to the shares that I buy at IG or transfer to IG?

Your shares are held in a segregated client accounts under nominee arrangements with approved custodians. This means that they’re easily identifiable as client assets and, as with cash, we and our creditors don’t have any charge, liens, or rights of set-off or retention over them. Your shares may be pooled with other clients’ shares, but never with shares owned by us.

What happens to my money or assets if IG goes into liquidation?

In the unlikely event of this happening, all our clients would have their share of the segregated money or segregated assets returned, minus the administrators’ costs in handling and distributing these funds.

Any shortfall of funds up to £85,000 may be compensated for under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is the compensation fund of last resort for customers of authorised financial services firms. It’s designed by the UK government to act as a ‘safety net’, and usually covers private investors (retail clients) and small businesses if they’ve been clients of a financial services firm which becomes insolvent.