IG Markets review: The premium AU broker for multi-asset breadth
IG Markets is the premium ASIC-regulated multi-asset broker for Australian traders who value breadth over absolute lowest cost. The Australian entity (IG Markets Limited Australia, AFSL 515106) operates under the LSE-listed IG Group parent (founded 1974, listed since 2000). Unique combination: 17,000+ tradeable instruments spanning forex, CFDs, share CFDs, AND direct market access (DMA) Australian shares - a rare offering that lets you trade ASX equities directly, not just CFDs. Spreads on the proprietary IG Trading Platform are competitive but not best-in-class for active forex; pricing is acceptable rather than aggressive. Best fit for traders who want one broker for forex, CFDs, AND ASX share investing. Rating: 4.4 out of 5.
Key facts at a glance
The headline parameters Australian retail traders should know.
Is IG Markets safe? Regulation check
The Australian entity is IG Markets Limited Australia, ASIC AFSL 515106. The parent company IG Group Holdings plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker IGG.L), founded 1974 - one of the longest operating histories in retail trading. Listed on the LSE since 2000.
The group operates under 8 separate regulatory licences:
- ASIC (Australia)
- FCA (United Kingdom)
- BaFin (Germany)
- MAS (Singapore)
- FMA (New Zealand)
- FSCA (South Africa)
- JFSA (Japan)
- CFTC / NFA (United States)
This is the broadest regulatory coverage among brokers reviewed on this site. Combined with the LSE listing (which subjects IG Group to UK Companies Act reporting standards, audit requirements, and shareholder accountability), the regulatory pedigree is genuinely best-in-class.
Client protections that apply to ASIC-regulated retail clients:
- Segregated client funds in Australian Tier-1 bank trust accounts
- Negative balance protection for retail clients
- AFCA membership for dispute resolution
- ASIC retail leverage caps enforced
LSE listing also adds an indirect protection: IG Group's financial statements are publicly audited and available, which means traders can independently verify the parent's financial health each year. Most retail brokers are private and traders rely on regulator-reported balance sheets, which are less transparent.
There are no recorded ASIC enforcement actions against IG Markets Limited Australia at the time of this review's last refresh.
Spreads, commission, and pricing
IG offers different pricing on different platforms within the same account.
IG Trading Platform (default, web/desktop/mobile):
- EUR/USD: 0.6 pip average
- AUD/USD: 0.7 pip average
- GBP/USD: 0.9 pip average
- USD/JPY: 0.7 pip average
- Commission: zero (spread-only)
ProRealTime platform:
- EUR/USD: 0.1 pip average
- AUD/USD: 0.2 pip average
- Commission: AUD 7 round-turn per standard lot
- Platform fee: USD 80/month, waived at 4+ ProRealTime trades/month
Cost comparison (round-turn cost on 1 standard lot of EUR/USD, AUD-equivalent):
- Fusion Markets ZERO: ~AUD 4.50 (cost leader)
- FP Markets Raw: ~AUD 6
- Pepperstone Razor: ~AUD 7
- IC Markets Raw: ~AUD 7
- IG ProRealTime: ~AUD 7 (matches but adds platform cost unless trade-active)
- IG Standard (no commission): ~AUD 6 spread only on EUR/USD - competitive at standard pricing
- ThinkMarkets ThinkZero: ~AUD 10.50
The headline standard-platform spread is wider than ECN brokers, but the all-in cost on a single round-turn at IG (~AUD 6 from spread alone) is comparable to the ECN brokers' all-in cost (spread + commission). Where ECN brokers win is on tightness during active sessions for traders who place 50+ trades a day.
Inactivity fee: USD 12/month after 24 months of no activity. Triggers later than AvaTrade's USD 50/quarter and lower than ThinkMarkets. Most active traders unaffected.
Platforms: IG Trading Platform, MT4, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer
Four platforms, each with distinct purpose:
IG Trading Platform (proprietary): the default and best-developed proprietary platform among AU brokers. Available web, desktop, and mobile, with feature parity. Notable features:
- Integrated TradingView-quality charting (built natively, not embedded)
- 70+ technical indicators
- Drawing tools, chart patterns
- One-click trading from charts
- Market scanner with custom criteria
- Economic calendar with impact filtering
- News feed integrated into the platform
- Watchlists and alerts
For traders who want a single proprietary platform to do everything, IG's offering is the strongest in the AU market. ThinkTrader is a close second; Pepperstone's proprietary platform is functional but less feature-dense.
MetaTrader 4: the industry-standard retail forex platform. Full feature set, EA support, custom indicators. IG's MT4 implementation is solid; MT5 is also available on some account types.
ProRealTime: premium technical analysis platform with USD 80/month subscription (waived at 4+ trades/month). Best-in-class for serious technical traders: 100+ indicators, ProBacktest backtesting engine, ProScreener custom scanners, ProAlert custom alerts. Available alongside the IG Trading Platform from the same account.
L2 Dealer: premium DMA platform for direct ASX share trading. Application required, not all retail clients qualify. The differentiator for share investors who want exchange-routed orders rather than CFDs.
The platform breadth is unmatched. No other AU broker offers all four levels (proprietary + MT4 + technical-analysis-focused + DMA share access).
DMA share access: the differentiator
This is IG's most distinctive feature. Read this section if you trade Australian shares as well as forex.
DMA = Direct Market Access. L2 Dealer routes orders directly to the ASX (or other supported exchanges), with you as the legal owner of the underlying shares. This is fundamentally different from CFD share trading where you take a synthetic position without owning the underlying.
The DMA difference:
- Ownership: you own the actual shares. Dividends, voting rights, corporate actions all apply to you directly.
- Tax treatment: straightforward CGT events on disposal, with the 50% discount available on 12-month-plus holds. CFD share positions are typically ordinary income rather than CGT.
- Holding indefinitely: no swap fees or financing charges (unlike CFD positions which accrue daily financing).
- Level 2 data: see the full order book depth, not just best bid/ask. Useful for active share traders.
- No counterparty risk to the broker on the underlying shares: the shares are held in a CHESS-sponsored account, separately from the broker's positions.
The trade-offs:
- L2 Dealer is a paid premium platform - subscription costs apply
- Application required and not all retail clients qualify
- Setup is more complex than CFD share trading
Comparable retail offerings:
- FP Markets via IRESS: the other retail-broker DMA share offering. IRESS is institutional-grade software historically used by professional brokers. Comparable feature set to L2 Dealer.
- CMC Markets: offers DMA shares through Pure Stockbroking - similar premium-tier offering.
- No other retail forex broker offers DMA share access in Australia.
If you want one broker for forex + DMA shares, IG, FP Markets, and CMC are the three options. Compare carefully against the specific share classes you want to trade.
17,000+ tradeable instruments
Among the broadest catalogs in retail trading globally:
- Forex: 80+ currency pairs including all majors, minors, exotics, and AUD-cross pairs
- Share CFDs: thousands of share CFDs across US, UK, European, Australian, Asian markets. Subject to ASIC retail leverage cap of 5:1.
- DMA shares (via L2 Dealer): ASX-listed shares with direct exchange routing
- Indices: comprehensive coverage including all majors (S&P 500, NASDAQ, ASX 200, FTSE 100, DAX, Nikkei) plus regional minors. ASIC caps 20:1 / 10:1.
- Commodities: gold, silver, oil, agricultural products, metals
- ETFs: US-listed and select international ETFs
- Crypto CFDs: BTC, ETH, major altcoins. ASIC retail cap 2:1.
- Bonds: government and corporate bond CFDs (rare among retail brokers)
- Options: equity options on major stocks (subject to availability)
The breadth is genuinely useful for diversified retail investors. Compare to:
- Pepperstone: narrower (forex + indices/commodities/crypto CFDs, no shares)
- IC Markets: narrower (forex + CFDs)
- FP Markets: comparable breadth + IRESS DMA shares
- ThinkMarkets: 4,000+ instruments, narrower than IG
- CMC Markets: comparable, similar premium positioning
If you want consolidated multi-asset access under one ASIC-regulated account, IG is on the short list.
Deposits, withdrawals, and AU rails
Standard AU rail set:
- PayID / Osko: instant during banking hours, no fee
- BPAY: 1-2 business days, no fee
- Bank transfer: 1-3 business days, no fee
- Credit/debit card: instant, no fee for AUD funding (some restrictions on credit cards apply per ASIC rules)
Withdrawals follow ASIC processing rules: requests typically same-day if before 1pm Sydney. Funds reach AU banks within 1-3 business days.
The withdrawal track record is solid based on user reports compiled across forum discussions; IG's LSE listing and parent-company financial transparency provide additional comfort that withdrawal-friction concerns common with smaller brokers do not apply.
IG Markets ratings breakdown
Seven criteria scored independently to produce the overall rating.
Pros and cons
The summary view of trade-offs.
Who IG Markets is for
IG Markets is the right pick if:
- You want one broker for forex, CFDs, AND direct ASX share investing
- You value LSE-listed-parent regulatory pedigree over lowest absolute cost
- You're a serious technical analyst who would use ProRealTime
- You want the broadest instrument catalog (17,000+) under one ASIC-regulated account
- You're comfortable with proprietary platforms and value polish over pure cost
IG Markets is NOT the right pick if:
- You're a high-frequency forex scalper where every basis point matters (Fusion Markets, FP Markets, Pepperstone all materially cheaper on per-round-turn)
- You only trade forex and have no interest in shares or other asset classes
- You require MT5 specifically (some IG account types don't include it)
- You want the simplest setup with minimum platform learning curve (Pepperstone's user experience is more streamlined)
Alternatives if IG Markets isn't right
- For multi-asset + DMA ASX shares at lower cost: FP Markets via IRESS, AUD 100 minimum, AUD 6 RT.
- For pure-cost forex execution: Fusion Markets at AUD 4.50 RT.
- For execution quality + TradingView: Pepperstone at AUD 7 RT.
- For broad instrument catalog at slightly lower cost: ThinkMarkets, 4,000+ instruments.
- For LSE-listed parent + share-CFD specialty: Plus500.
See also: Best Forex Brokers Australia 2026 for the full ranked field.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. IG Markets Limited Australia is regulated by ASIC under AFSL 515106. The parent company IG Group Holdings plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker IGG.L) and has operated since 1974, one of the longest operating histories in retail trading. The group holds 8 separate regulatory licences globally (ASIC Australia, FCA UK, BaFin Germany, MAS Singapore, FMA New Zealand, FSCA South Africa, JFSA Japan, CFTC/NFA United States). Client funds at the AU entity are held in segregated trust accounts, negative balance protection applies to retail clients, AFCA membership provides dispute resolution, and ASIC retail leverage caps are enforced.
IG Markets Australia has no minimum deposit. This is unusual for premium brokers (Pepperstone AUD 200, IC Markets AUD 200) and makes the platform accessible to new traders without significant initial capital. Practical effective trading still requires sufficient capital for proper position sizing - typically AUD 500 to AUD 1,000 minimum for forex, more for share trading where minimum lot sizes apply.
On the standard IG Trading Platform (proprietary web/desktop/mobile), EUR/USD averages 0.6 pip during active sessions with no commission. On ProRealTime (the technical analysis platform with raw spreads), EUR/USD averages 0.1 pip with AUD 7 round-turn commission per standard lot. The standard spread-only pricing is wider than ECN brokers (FP Markets, Pepperstone, IC Markets all 0.1 pip + AUD 7 RT) for active trading. The ProRealTime pricing is competitive with the major ECN brokers but adds platform-licence cost. IG's premium positioning is justified by execution quality and platform breadth, not pricing.
Yes - this is one of IG's strongest differentiators. Through L2 Dealer (IG's premium platform for DMA access), Australian residents can trade ASX-listed shares directly via Direct Market Access, not just as CFDs. This means you own the underlying shares (with all the corporate-action and dividend rights), use Level 2 depth-of-market data, and route orders directly to ASX. Most retail forex-led brokers do not offer DMA share access; IG and FP Markets (via IRESS) are the two retail brokers offering it. L2 Dealer requires application and approval; not all retail clients qualify.
Four primary platforms: the IG Trading Platform (proprietary, available web / desktop / mobile, the default for most users), MetaTrader 4 (industry-standard retail forex platform with EA support), ProRealTime (premium technical analysis platform with deep charting tools and built-in scanners, USD 80/month or commission-paid), and L2 Dealer (premium DMA platform for serious share traders, application required). The IG Trading Platform itself is widely considered best-in-class for desktop charting; few proprietary platforms among AU brokers match its analytics depth.
Both offer multi-asset breadth including ASX share access (FP Markets via IRESS, IG via L2 Dealer). FP Markets has materially tighter spreads via the Raw account (0.1 pip EUR/USD + AUD 6 RT vs IG's 0.6 pip standard or 0.1 pip + AUD 7 RT on ProRealTime), lower minimum (AUD 100 vs IG's AUD 0), and a stronger education content library. IG has the LSE-listed parent (regulatory pedigree), broader instrument coverage (17,000+ vs FP's 10,000+), and the more polished proprietary trading platform. For pure-cost active trading, FP Markets wins. For premium-platform-experience and broadest instruments, IG wins. Both are quality choices.
Yes. IG Markets Australia accepts PayID, Osko, BPAY, bank transfer, and credit card for AUD deposits. PayID and Osko transfers credit instantly during banking hours; BPAY takes 1-2 business days. Withdrawals to Australian bank accounts process via the same channels with same-day approval if requested before 1pm Sydney.
Application submitted 2026-04-29 via the Impact platform (program 15576); approval pending as of this review's last refresh (May 2026). Once approved, the /go/ig-markets cloaked link will route through Impact's tracking. The contract preview shows tiered CPA structure (CFD deposit > GBP 6,700 + 10 trades qualifies for top tier GBP 1,080 CPA, scaling down to GBP 140 at lower deposit thresholds). The 10-trade qualifier is on the high side; AU geo eligibility is being confirmed. No commission is currently being earned on traffic from this site.
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