Looking for a new Spread Betting home...will be moving from IG...Tips welcome

Tickdoc

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So the time has come to move from IGindex!

I have had some niggling doubts with the puredeal platform and IG itself for a while and am therefore in the market for a new primary account.

So far my options and what's going for them (Based on literature and demo account experience.) I'm looking for your help to expand this:

Cityindex- Decent platform, competitive spreads, established and experienced, works smoothly on a Mac (I switch between windows and Mac depending on whether I'm mobile or not!)

Partymarkets- As above, plus they seemed to be slightly ahead in terms of incentives. They currently are offering a tempting long-term rebate scheme. Although I can't see the benefits through my demo account it looks like with the amounts I trade I could receive a healthy chunk (10-15%) of my spreads back each month.

Cmc don't fit my needs and have a pretty high-pressure team that are demanding exorbitant start capital (Amounts that I have available to trade with, but I resent their attempt before even finding out what my wishes are...)

GFT have a nice platform but it's a bit unstable on my systems...nono there.

Please help me out with any experience you have of shopping around. I am really most interested in any sites that will work to keep me as their customer...one big gripe with IG has been that instead of making life easier for trusted traders with them, things only get harder. No incentives, no perks...I shall be transferring my substantial account away from them soon!
 
Should add that in this climate I am also looking for an established company with a solid base and finances that can be verified easily...ie listed or transparent...
 
Well, what I outlined above...apart from a few individual issues that I won't go into, I feel totally unrewarded for being a faithful customer. There's also absolutely no significant development since I started with them 4 years ago, and in this kind of internet based business I find that unbelievable to be honest.
 
Really? They changed their platform 2 years ago and added things like trailing stops and bungees (not that I'd use them) plus 5 minute binaries for indices throughout the day.
 
Sure, so a little polish...2 years is a huge amount of time, especially with a huge chunk of cash sitting in their coffers and a regular spread income from me...
 
Anyway, point is, they have neglected me as a company and it is my DUTY (insert movie speech mode!) to move if I don't feel valued...gotta keep the free market improving itself!
 
The only other one I can meaningfully comment on is Tradefair Spreads. On the one hand, their bid/offer is tighter on some of the more common things I play with (Spooz, various bond futures). The flip side is that they don't offer quite the variety of products IG does. Also, I don't like their automatic stops policy and their margin requirements are steeper (IG has been very lenient with those).

Just my Z$2c...
 
Gotta agree with shadow. You won't be treated any better anywhere else. IG have their main instruments open and running 24hrs - most SBs do not - which can cause big slippage on stops.

The are constantly adding new types of bet and their extras are 2nd to none. Fast platform, instant execution and very rare rejections.
 
I have accounts with three major SBs and think IG are the best at handling customer calls. So you could go from the pan into the fire. Yes they probably don't need your business but you might just have to accept that. There's a new one though (started by an ex employee of CMC i think) - can't remember what it's called but as it's new, they will probably treat you better. How good it is though is another matter.
 
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erm, I wouldn't even consider a "dishonest" company! To reiterate, I'm NOT losing...I have a large amount in there and therefore I simply feel that for a mediocre platform they should offer a lot more to keep customers. They seem to be an entrylevel/ standard site that everyone uses, but that doesn't mean they should get complacent...

Anyway, point is I am leaving to someone that will offer me more of a valued customer feel...I just have to find that...not really here to discuss IG...
 
Have a look at Dealingdesk, I think they have got a very good thing going. Probably not as sophisticated as IG, but they got very tight spread on indices. A user predefine stop loss and target is very helpful. They are usually open during the futures market hours. I suggest you use your own external charting package.
 
Strange ! IG update their services and products every few weeks , but i am curious what u want from them to offer you ? U say u have a big account i dont understand how much u mean but if u mean 50 - 100 k quids then this is not a large amount in this business it is barely noticeable for a company like IG ...
 
Tar, they tweak for sure, but I am researching the market for a better customer experience. slightly better or worse spreads aren't the end of the World...

My account is "big" for me...like I suppose many people's are! But it is not insignificant...
 
have a look at "Advantage pro" account at CMC , i didnt try it though ...
 
I tried Interactive Investor, mainly because of the £100 they were giving at the time for new applicants (may well not be being offered at the moment), and was pleasantly surprised that it was a good platform, with fast execution most of the time, and quite intuitive to use (Has some, not all, of the nice features I remember from IG).

There was a problem with the platform freezing a couple of times, but they seem to have fixed that now.

I may stay with them for the long haul (although not with them exclusively).

I do not have any connection with them except as a normal (small) customer.
 
Hey Mont,

I am currently having a similar experience with partymarkets. the name put me off at first but it is not such a surprise the platform is ok, it being based on cityindex. But they offer a welcome bonus, and now that I have done the maths, I would qualify for a good deal (compared to some forex rebates I have out there...) of my spreads back.). Anyway, if I don't find anything better here I will probably stay with them and try them with real money.

Other platforms I tried...
ACM for forex- run-of-the-mill and really annoying sales techniques.
Etoro for forex- Way too cartoony for my tastes...

Also I have realised I may never go back to trad forex trading, finding spreadbetting a far more convenient option...
 
Hello Everybody, I am also looking for a SB platform! Average indices size is about 10/tick. I was using the Cityindex before but maybe now I will get a new account at Partymarkets and try out the tradback, if spreads are normally same as Cityindex I will get a discount on my trading costs! Why does everybody love IG so much?
 
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