City Index

[OlympicBlue]

Demo accounts are great but you can't really use it as a true comparison to what it would be like operating a real account. Demo's tend to be slower and clunkier on account of using up less resources- real money accounts get priority. Saying that, i don't use capital spreads so do not know what their live system is like.

In my opinion, a good platform will reflect your new positions within 2-3 seconds of clicking the 'buy' and 'sell'. I am happy to say that IG has done this every time. Waiting 5 minutes is terrible- but like i said before, it could just be because it's a demo.

I don't use other charts outside of IG at the moment. I find their charts to be both very accurate and very flexible with regards indicators, customisation, etc (they are 'real-time' too). Out of interest i have had subscriptions in the past to compare the real-time data to see how closely IG track the 'real' prices- and have found them to be very accurate indeed. The best free charting package around is definitely with IG.

Perhaps if you have narrowed it down to a couple of spreadbetting companies you like you can open an account with them both- just deposit the minimums and place a few trades in each. It is only through actually having the experience of doing it that you will be able to tell which you prefer. It is also handy to have two accounts- one for use in emergencies- if your preferred platform goes down for whatever reason, or you have a problem closing a trade you can use the other company to 'hedge' the trade you can't close. I've only had one instance so far where this would have been useful- but i still keep several accounts there for my peace of mind. The last thing i would want is for a platform to fail on me only to see a losing position get ever bigger and not be able to do anything about it. (keep records of their phone numbers too incase you have a power cut and can't access their platform- recently my broadband went down and i wasn't able to close a position and didn't have the phone number to hand- cue mad dash to my mum's house to use their internet!).

TraderGirl

Great information and advice as usual, many thanks once again.

As you say, being a demo you cannot expect too much – but if I was in their marketing director - I would get this sorted out – as first impressions count.

Anyway, great to hear that IG virtually tracks the ‘real market’ and by comparison to the demo I used, positively places orders at warp factor 11! (Did the Enterprise travel that fast?)

Internet crashing would be a nightmare, hope you didn’t loose out! I will keep telephone numbers very close to hand!

If of interest to you – the esignal feed that I mentioned (esignal.com) is available on a month’s free demo – and was highly recommended by Julian on this site who indicated it was head and shoulders better than xyz. May or may not be useful to you at some stage?

Thanks again,

Good luck.

PS>

I have just thought of another question. If you placed three separate orders to buy the FTSE in the course of lets say a morning – would IG group these as one position?

I ask this because on the Capital Spreads demo that I used, this was shown as one ‘averaged out’ position. Although you could see each order separately, the individual orders could not be accessed and closed separately – if this makes sense.

One other point, do you have to specify a stop with IG?

 

[UKtradergirl]

TraderGirl

Great information and advice as usual, many thanks once again.

As you say, being a demo you cannot expect too much – but if I was in their marketing director - I would get this sorted out – as first impressions count.

Anyway, great to hear that IG virtually tracks the ‘real market’ and by comparison to the demo I used, positively places orders at warp factor 11! (Did the Enterprise travel that fast?)

Internet crashing would be a nightmare, hope you didn’t loose out! I will keep telephone numbers very close to hand!

If of interest to you – the esignal feed that I mentioned (esignal.com) is available on a month’s free demo – and was highly recommended by Julian on this site who indicated it was head and shoulders better than xyz. May or may not be useful to you at some stage?

Thanks again,

Good luck.

PS>

I have just thought of another question. If you placed three separate orders to buy the FTSE in the course of lets say a morning – would IG group these as one position?

I ask this because on the Capital Spreads demo that I used, this was shown as one ‘averaged out’ position. Although you could see each order separately, the individual orders could not be accessed and closed separately – if this makes sense.

One other point, do you have to specify a stop with IG?

Hiya,

I have tried esignal's demo- very good indeed. If i was going to buy a feed it would most likely be through them.

Yes, IG's fills are that quick. I've not tried it for larger orders though so can't comment on that. (above £20 a point). I've seen people on here who are trading larger amounts have problems with their SB company (not IG that i've heard of though).

IG do not average the position. It is shown as several positions side by side. This is great for me as i like to stagger my take profits as well as my stops and having separate positions in the same market allows you to do this.

Yes you can trade without placing a stop but the margin requirement for doing this is fairly high. I think around 400 points on the DOW index- but not surprising considering the volatility (Dow moved 300 points in 3 minutes earlier today!). Also be aware that if you have no stop, your margin requirement gets greater when your position goes into a loss (e.g. you will always need 400 points margin available, not from the entry price, but from the point the market is currently at). I wouldn't recommend not using a stop at all. Even if you put one 100 points away, 200 points away, use one!

Another thing i like about IG- you can deal straight through their charts without having to go through the main platform. Can alter your stops and take profits too- just click and drag on the chart.

Oh, if you do sign up with IG, make sure you click the option for a standard account, not the 'limited risk' one. The limited risk account forces you to place guaranteed stops, and the spread on these is big. I've never used a guaranteed stop before, yet always had my normal stops taken at the correct price, even in fast markets, so they are really not necessary.

I agree with you regarding demo accounts- they should make sure they are up to scratch. Doing so would ensure they get more customers.

 

[OlympicBlue]

Hiya,

I have tried esignal's demo- very good indeed. If i was going to buy a feed it would most likely be through them.

Yes, IG's fills are that quick. I've not tried it for larger orders though so can't comment on that. (above £20 a point). I've seen people on here who are trading larger amounts have problems with their SB company (not IG that i've heard of though).

IG do not average the position. It is shown as several positions side by side. This is great for me as i like to stagger my take profits as well as my stops and having separate positions in the same market allows you to do this.

Yes you can trade without placing a stop but the margin requirement for doing this is fairly high. I think around 400 points on the DOW index- but not surprising considering the volatility (Dow moved 300 points in 3 minutes earlier today!). Also be aware that if you have no stop, your margin requirement gets greater when your position goes into a loss (e.g. you will always need 400 points margin available, not from the entry price, but from the point the market is currently at). I wouldn't recommend not using a stop at all. Even if you put one 100 points away, 200 points away, use one!

Another thing i like about IG- you can deal straight through their charts without having to go through the main platform. Can alter your stops and take profits too- just click and drag on the chart.

Oh, if you do sign up with IG, make sure you click the option for a standard account, not the 'limited risk' one. The limited risk account forces you to place guaranteed stops, and the spread on these is big. I've never used a guaranteed stop before, yet always had my normal stops taken at the correct price, even in fast markets, so they are really not necessary.

I agree with you regarding demo accounts- they should make sure they are up to scratch. Doing so would ensure they get more customers.

Thanks again for some great feedback.

I like the idea that you can stagger your trades and close them separately and that also you can place trades while in ‘chart viewing mode’. This all sounds good to me, so will now make contact with IG to open an account.

Do you recall any questions being raised about required trading experience in order to open a standard account?

Thanks again for your time.

 

[UKtradergirl]

Thanks again for some great feedback.

I like the idea that you can stagger your trades and close them separately and that also you can place trades while in ‘chart viewing mode’. This all sounds good to me, so will now make contact with IG to open an account.

Do you recall any questions being raised about required trading experience in order to open a standard account?

Thanks again for your time.

Yes they do ask you- every company i've signed up to does. Just say you have got experience. You are not walking into this blind, you obviously know what you are doing and have your head screwed on and are well aware of the risks- this is what they are checking. I'm not sure what they will do if you say you haven't got experience- probably put you on the limited risk account where you have to use guaranteed stops and massive spreads. You don't want that.

 

[OlympicBlue]

Yes they do ask you- every company i've signed up to does. Just say you have got experience. You are not walking into this blind, you obviously know what you are doing and have your head screwed on and are well aware of the risks- this is what they are checking. I'm not sure what they will do if you say you haven't got experience- probably put you on the limited risk account where you have to use guaranteed stops and massive spreads. You don't want that.

Thanks TraderGirl for all your advice .

Happy trading!