Is IG Group a Scam or Legit?
IG Group passes the kitchen inspection. Its licence is public and easy to check.
IG Group cooks under FCA licence 195355, issued to IG Markets Ltd, and that entry sits right there in the FCA public register. It has kept the doors open since 1974, 52 years on the line. Scam kitchens do not hold a regulated licence year after year; they close and vanish.
The FCA paperwork
| Regulator | FCA |
| Licence number | 195355 ✓ |
| Registered entity | IG Markets Ltd |
| Status | Authorised |
| Register | register.fca.org.uk |
| Years regulated | 52+ |
What the FCA seal buys you
FCA-regulated brokers must keep client funds in accounts segregated from company funds, provide negative balance protection, and contribute to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers up to £85,000 per client if the broker becomes insolvent.
Every licence on the wall
IG Group keeps 7 regulatory licences pinned up across different jurisdictions. Which one serves your table comes down to where you live.
| Regulator | Licence | Entity | Max leverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCA | 195355 | IG Markets Ltd | 1:30 max |
| ASIC | 220440 | IG Markets Ltd (AU) | 1:30 max |
| BaFin | 149169 | IG Europe GmbH | 1:30 max |
| FSCA | 41393 | IG Markets South Africa Ltd | 1:400 max |
| MAS | 200510021K | IG Asia Pte Ltd | 1:20 max |
| JFSA | 関東財務局長(金商)第2526号 | IG Securities Ltd | 1:25 max |
| CFTC | 0509630 | IG US LLC | 1:50 max |
Inspect the kitchen yourself
Open register.fca.org.uk and type in licence number 195355, or search the entity name IG Markets Ltd. A proper listing shows you the entity, its authorisation status, and exactly which regulated activities it is cleared to serve.
The whole check takes under a minute. When a broker is nowhere to be found on its regulator's register, treat that as a spoiled dish and walk away, every legitimate, regulated firm shows up there.
The usual complaints, and what they really mean
IG complaints mostly involve the inactivity fee (£12/month after 2 years) and the complexity of the fee schedule for shares. Guaranteed stop-loss order charges surprise some traders. No material complaints about withdrawal processing.
None of that is fraud. It is the ordinary grumbling any busy kitchen gets when it holds firm on its own terms. A genuine forex scam runs with no licence at all, blocks every withdrawal, and disappears with the money on the table. That is simply not how IG Group operates.
The red flags of a kitchen you should never eat at
Whatever broker you are weighing up, these are the signs of a rotten kitchen to walk out of:
- No licence number on show, or one that turns up nowhere on the official register
- Being pushed to deposit more before they will let you cash out
- Promises of guaranteed returns or "risk-free" trading, nobody serves that dish
- A platform that only ever plates profits and never a loss
- No real address and no way to contact a human
- A licence from a regulator nobody has heard of, with no official website behind it
Not one of these fits IG Group. Its FCA licence 195355 is out in the open, it names its offices in London, UK, and it has been serving without a break since 1974.
Frequently asked questions
Is IG Group safe to deposit money with?
IG Group cooks under FCA oversight, and your money sits in its own segregated pot. UK diners are covered on top by the FSCS, up to £85,000. None of this makes trading itself risk-free, but it walls your deposit off if the broker ever goes under.
Why do people ask if IG Group is a scam?
Most "scam" searches come from traders who lost money, not from anyone who was cheated. CFDs are a hot stove, 69% of IG Group retail clients burn their fingers. Getting burned on a legitimate platform does not turn it into a scam. Scams block every payout and disappear; IG Group has paid out withdrawals for 52 years running.
Is IG Group regulated in my country?
The kitchen holds licences reaching 11 countries across 7 jurisdictions. Which entity seats your account depends on where you are; the licence table above shows exactly which one covers your region.
What happens to my money if IG Group goes bankrupt?
A FCA-regulated broker must keep client cash in segregated bank accounts, walled off entirely from its own operating money. UK clients also get FSCS cover up to £85,000.