IGAvis Broker ActionsHas commissions

The case for a full-service UK stock account

Most UK retail stockbrokers make you choose: cheap execution without tools, or tools without cheap execution. IG is one of the few where you don't have to. Real share dealing, a Stocks & Shares ISA with no annual platform fee, exchange-listed equity options, and bonds trading, all in one FCA-regulated account from the group that founded spread betting in 1974. That combination is genuinely unusual at retail level, and it explains why active UK investors keep landing on IG when they outgrow the commission-free apps.

IG Group trades on the London Stock Exchange (LON: IGG), one of a very small number of retail-facing brokers whose financial statements are publicly audited and independently scrutinised. For investors who factor regulatory credibility and counterparty safety into their broker decision, the listed-company structure provides a level of transparency that most private fintech brokers cannot offer.

Share dealing across 13,000+ stocks

The share dealing account provides access to over 13,000 stocks across 30+ exchanges, LSE, NYSE, NASDAQ, Euronext, Deutsche Boerse, and ASX among them. That market breadth is materially wider than most UK retail stockbrokers and meaningfully more than app-first platforms like Freetrade or Trading 212. UK shares cost £8 per trade or 0.1% (whichever is higher); US shares are priced at 2 cents per share with a $15 minimum; European shares carry a percentage rate that varies by market.

The ISA comes with no additional annual platform fee, sheltering up to £20,000 per tax year from capital gains and income tax. UK investors can hold any combination of real shares and ETFs from IG's full stock universe inside the ISA wrapper, the ISA is not a restricted subset of the dealing account. There is no minimum deposit to open an IG share dealing account.

Exchange-listed options: not synthetic, not CFDs

The feature that genuinely separates IG from almost every other UK retail stockbroker is access to exchange-listed equity options through its DMA (Direct Market Access) service. These are real listed calls and puts traded directly on the exchange, not options CFDs, not synthetic approximations constructed by IG's own desk. Clients can write covered calls against existing share positions to generate premium income, buy puts as downside protection on portfolio holdings, or run defined-risk spread strategies. The ability to combine exchange-listed options with real share ownership inside one regulated retail account is rare, Saxo Bank and Interactive Brokers offer it; most UK retail platforms do not.

The DMA options service opens to clients who meet a suitability assessment. Not every retail client qualifies on account opening, but the pathway to access is transparent.

Bonds alongside equities

IG also offers bonds trading on the same platform, government and corporate bond markets accessible from the same account as equities and options. For investors who want fixed-income exposure to balance equity risk without maintaining a second account at a specialist fixed-income provider, this removes a meaningful operational friction. Few retail-accessible platforms outside Saxo Bank and Interactive Brokers offer this combination of equities, listed options, and bonds in one place.

ProRealTime and the research stack

IG's proprietary web platform is above average for a UK retail stockbroker: real-time L1 quotes, a clean order ticket, integrated Reuters and Morningstar data, and reasonable charting are all standard without subscription. The ProRealTime integration, free with sufficient monthly trade activity or available by subscription, adds advanced stock scanning, strategy back-testing, and customisable automated alerts, a professional-grade charting tool most retail stockbrokers don't offer at any price. For investors who screen stocks systematically or validate strategy rules with historical data before deploying capital, this is a meaningful step up from the basic analysis tools on app-first brokers.

The IG mobile app provides full share dealing and ISA management with order management, price alerts, and Reuters news access. It syncs correctly with the desktop platform and handles limit orders and stop orders without issues.

Costs and the trade-off

IG's share dealing commission (£8 or 0.1% per UK trade, with similar structures on international markets) is higher than commission-free platforms. For passive investors buying a global index ETF monthly, Trading 212 or Freetrade cost nothing to run. For investors who value the options capability, bonds access, ISA wrapper, and ProRealTime research depth, IG's pricing is competitive with full-service UK stockbrokers like Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell, and the tooling is generally better. If you trade three or more times per month, IG's frequent trader discount reduces UK commissions to £3 per trade.

FCA-regulated and LSE-listed: FSCS protection and public-company transparency

IG Group is regulated by the FCA (reference 195355) in the UK and ASIC in Australia, and trades on the London Stock Exchange. UK share dealing clients are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000. IG holds real shares in a nominee structure, separate from its own balance sheet. The group publishes audited annual accounts with full client asset reconciliation, financial transparency that most private retail brokers do not provide.

Where it falls short

There is no SIPP at IG, UK investors who want pension wrapper access need a separate provider alongside their IG ISA. The share dealing account doesn't offer fractional shares, which puts high-priced US stocks out of reach for smaller portfolios. Customer support is primarily available during UK market hours; service quality outside those hours has drawn inconsistent feedback. The DMA options service requires a suitability assessment, which can delay access for new clients.

Bottom line

IG is the strongest choice for active UK investors who want real share dealing, an ISA, exchange-listed options trading, and bonds access in one regulated account. Commission-free passive investors building a simple index portfolio should start with Trading 212 or Freetrade. Investors who have moved beyond buy-and-hold and want genuine multi-asset capability, including derivatives and fixed income alongside tax-efficient equity investing, will find IG hard to match at the retail level.