Praise for IG Index

[fifteen grand]

15K,

It is very public-spirited of you to relate your experience. I (and many others I suspect) have some understanding of where you've been. It's all too easy when you first start out to let losses mount up. When you have little experience and have read just a few books that explain how simple it is ("but it ain't easy" as one contributor's byline truthfully says) it's almost an insult to your intelligence that you could actually be wrong! But I've been there & would be surprised if others haven't also.

In the old days before spreadbetting, all you could do as an amateur punter was to buy some shares and that, unless you were exceptionally unlucky would limit your loss to about 50%. After a few doses of that, you began to suspect something was wrong, had a think, and set off in a different and hopefully, more scenic direction. There was no T2W either in pre-internet days. So, you can see that it's a lot more dangerous these days.

You have learned that SB'ing can be dangerous - but that applies to any leveraged instrument. "Experts" have been caught out also - and they "knew" what they were doing. It seems that you have just succumbed to normal human failings despite the warnings in the SB Co's terms etc - but smokers ignore the "it can kill you" message on every packet, so it is a common trait. Not that that makes your loss any better but at least you know you're human!

Do also remember that the credit crunch has also arisen from basic human failings. I hope that once you have repaid your losses - and that's got to be your immediate aim & will certainly give you some thought in discipline and determination etc - that you will come back to investing / trading and make a success of it. Like many things, it's not rocket science but you do need to understand and practise the basics. Not many of us can equal Lewis Hamilton but most can learn to drive safely and competently - if you can do that in the markets you'll do ok.

It would be interesting to know more details of your loss-making trades - was it a poor system? Poor personal discipline? Bad advice? I appreciate you may not feel like revealing this to 100K readers but as you say in your post, it may just make someone else think twice.

My suggestion would be to forget about encouraging the regulation of SB Co's etc. People whose main aim in life is to empty your wallet are like moles They keep popping up all over the place and it's just like the cartoons - you go round bashing them down with a big mallet and they just keep popping up. Best put your energy into wising-up on how to look after your interests. And you are the best person to do that - no one else has your concern.

So, "chin up". When you look back, things are never as bad (or as good) as they seemed at the time. Some of the best traders ever (see the "Market Wizards" series of books by Jack Schwagger) have won & lost fortunes - maybe if you'd been more expert you'd have lost more!

Good luck and best wishes for the future.

thank you so much for your reply. I much appreciate it. IG closed my account today, after I sent them an email requesting it to be terminated. I only fond out they did it when I try logging in to my account. After everything, didnt even get an email back, confirming they did close it.
I work within the financial media industry. I have been learning about investing and find it very interested. i wanted to invest in shares at first. But then a friend went to a course from Win Investing and they offer spread betting accounts to people. They market it well, tax free.. etc... The opportunity is great. But it demands great self discipline which I proved to fail greatly. Once I made 1600 out of 50 pounds. But I lost straight away. I got nervous after I first lost 3k, started to spreadbet all day, everyday, hoping i was going to make it back.If I had bought 30k in shares, and lost 50%, at least I would have something back now. The odds to lose everything would be a lot smaller. But now I have nothing, just a loan to pay and money in my credit card, which was completely free of debt. I was able to apply some intelligence to it at times but I think I got completely hooked. It will take me at least 3 years to pay for everything, but if I work constantly and not spend at all. I will have some 150 pounds to live after all expenses. It makes me depressed to think about it,
but I wont give up. I will never spread bet again as i think it only suits the very disciplined. But I will continue to follow the markets and maybe in about 5 years time, I can start buying some shares again.
If I continue after having debt, then I would be completely insane. I put bets of 50pounds per point on the DOW.
But hey, I could have lost my house, it could have been worse. It could have taken ages until I realized what I was doing wasn't healthy. No one else knew, people asked me how i was doing but I lied all the time.
In regards to telling you my strategies, I don't think it would be more embarrassing then telling people that I lost all this money.
I placed short term bets on the Dow. Started with the FTSE, but as I got home later on, i thought it was better to bet during market hours. The first big chunck of money I lost was when the US was reporting employment figures for March. I placed a 30pounds bet that the dow was going to go down, a bit before 1:30pm london time, on the first friday of April. But when they announced the results, the dow shot up more than 50 points and triggered my stop loss. Just before it happened, IG logged me out and when I managed to log on again, i lost 1800 pounds. I opened other accounts with other companies and none of them went up on the dow that day as much as IG did. I phoned them up and they stood by their figures. I shold have known then but I got really stressed and just wanted to make it back. Never did. Just lost more and more, completely lost any sense I had.
Thank you for your support.

 

[Trader333]

But then a friend went to a course from Win Investing and they offer spread betting accounts to people

Oh dear, I think this is where the rot really started. There has been a lot written about Win Investing on here and none of it positive. As you have said you were taking huge gambles which is even worse when news events are expected. You also did not have any risk management which would have limited these losses. Also it is always a good idea to have an independent data feed when using SB companies as you can then argue that the market did not reach the price they claim it did. I know quite a few people who have been reimbursed when the have given this kind of evidence to a SB company.


Paul

 

[shortorlong]

thank you so much for your reply. I much appreciate it. IG closed my account today, after I sent them an email requesting it to be terminated. I only fond out they did it when I try logging in to my account. After everything, didnt even get an email back, confirming they did close it.
I work within the financial media industry. I have been learning about investing and find it very interested. i wanted to invest in shares at first. But then a friend went to a course from Win Investing and they offer spread betting accounts to people. They market it well, tax free.. etc... The opportunity is great. But it demands great self discipline which I proved to fail greatly. Once I made 1600 out of 50 pounds. But I lost straight away. I got nervous after I first lost 3k, started to spreadbet all day, everyday, hoping i was going to make it back.If I had bought 30k in shares, and lost 50%, at least I would have something back now. The odds to lose everything would be a lot smaller. But now I have nothing, just a loan to pay and money in my credit card, which was completely free of debt. I was able to apply some intelligence to it at times but I think I got completely hooked. It will take me at least 3 years to pay for everything, but if I work constantly and not spend at all. I will have some 150 pounds to live after all expenses. It makes me depressed to think about it,
but I wont give up. I will never spread bet again as i think it only suits the very disciplined. But I will continue to follow the markets and maybe in about 5 years time, I can start buying some shares again.
If I continue after having debt, then I would be completely insane. I put bets of 50pounds per point on the DOW.
But hey, I could have lost my house, it could have been worse. It could have taken ages until I realized what I was doing wasn't healthy. No one else knew, people asked me how i was doing but I lied all the time.
In regards to telling you my strategies, I don't think it would be more embarrassing then telling people that I lost all this money.
I placed short term bets on the Dow. Started with the FTSE, but as I got home later on, i thought it was better to bet during market hours. The first big chunck of money I lost was when the US was reporting employment figures for March. I placed a 30pounds bet that the dow was going to go down, a bit before 1:30pm london time, on the first friday of April. But when they announced the results, the dow shot up more than 50 points and triggered my stop loss. Just before it happened, IG logged me out and when I managed to log on again, i lost 1800 pounds. I opened other accounts with other companies and none of them went up on the dow that day as much as IG did. I phoned them up and they stood by their figures. I shold have known then but I got really stressed and just wanted to make it back. Never did. Just lost more and more, completely lost any sense I had.
Thank you for your support.

You have my sympathy, but that's not worth much I'm afraid.
Your story highlights the need to make the small bets until one has proved one's ability to collect points over a long time frame, but who the hell can be bothered with that? I know I can't .. but that shows a lack of discipline right there. Discipline is the key I think. and tight stops .. discipline with stops!
No I have not cracked it yet either .. still digging my own financial grave ..
anyway hope you make a full recovery .. I would say never give up .. but maybe we all need to consider other avenues when we hit rock bottom .. I will never give up though .. get back .. keep that straight jacket away from me .. one last gamble

 

[fifteen grand]

dangerous living. ha.
Thats what I was thinking. The thing is... We should really expect to make money from spread betting, When you are trying to recover as much money as I was, i lost it. I was disciplined at the beginning, only to ruin everything not much long after. I kept telling myself not to give up and keep trying but the more I lost, the less I could gain. I couldn't see straight. Until i thought to myself that I was blinded by the whole thing and without being cool, I would not make money at all, would only lose more.
You certainly must be doing better than I did and I honestly hope so! ;-)
30k is too much money.,
All I do now is to try to find other ways to pay it back. Paying my my debt became my newest obsession. SB was a lot more fun. BBut I suppose everything in life is about finding a balance....
good luck with everything!

 

[fifteen grand]

Oh dear, I think this is where the rot really started. There has been a lot written about Win Investing on here and none of it positive. As you have said you were taking huge gambles which is even worse when news events are expected. You also did not have any risk management which would have limited these losses. Also it is always a good idea to have an independent data feed when using SB companies as you can then argue that the market did not reach the price they claim it did. I know quite a few people who have been reimbursed when the have given this kind of evidence to a SB company.


Paul

If I only knew... I suppose I heard people saying that there are people making a lot of money. and I did a bit at the beginning, then went downhill, after less than 2 weeks.
I tried making a point with them but they got some figures from Bloomberg and I believe it must have been correct alhough they were the only ones picking it up.
The market went down after hitting my stop loss, so I would have made money that day.
I just wonder what id the percentage of people making money and lsing money with spread betting. Was I one of the only few of people are losing money right left and centre?

 

[shortorlong]

If I only knew... I suppose I heard people saying that there are people making a lot of money. and I did a bit at the beginning, then went downhill, after less than 2 weeks.
I tried making a point with them but they got some figures from Bloomberg and I believe it must have been correct alhough they were the only ones picking it up.
The market went down after hitting my stop loss, so I would have made money that day.
I just wonder what id the percentage of people making money and lsing money with spread betting. Was I one of the only few of people are losing money right left and centre?

I hear that 90% lose money. I can believe it .. I'm down 10K so far but on the plus side I was 11k down last month ..

 

[fifteen grand]

When I opened this account in this forim, I was down 15k.
I made some money but always lost in the end. be careful. I do think there is a degree of luck involved, but with discipline, all is possible. hope you have it, i dont.
Im the type that can't eat a small slice of cake, I want it all.... haha
but in my case now, not to eat it at all is the only solution.
good luck

 

[cryten]

Apologies I didn't mean you personally as "crying to the state", bit of a generalisation there. I admire you for being so honest and letting others know, the thought of losing that much money I cannot comprehend so I can't imagine how your feeling. It's good that you are determined to pay this off even with a 2nd job! Alot of people in your situation would be thinking of bankrupcy or something alot darker..

I started off the same as you but alot smaller so I guess the only difference is I could afford to start again lessons learned.

Wish you all the best, you sound like a really nice person.

Believe that I am not "crying to the state".
Just wanted to make people aware so others may think twice.
Gambling is pretty addictive and I am prepared to pay for my mistake.
Im going to get a part time job and have been doing lots of extra hours.
I did get some winning but wouldnt define them as large.

If someone searches about money being lost, I thought that my story might serve as a lesson.
I just wished someone or something would have stopped me. To be honest, i didnt realize myself until it was too late. not that I was losing money, that I knew. I realised that I was out of control. It;s a different point here, I think.
I am glad you are disciplined enough to not get into this sort of problem. I didt owe 1 pound before, Never missed a payment in any credit card, had no loans. B ut now I do and I feel terrible. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel really stuck and havent told anyone cause I am too embarrassed, So it feels good to write this.
Thanks for caring and taking the time to write to me,but believe me, I am not crying for money to anyone. I would work 24 hours if I could. Well, got an interview on wednesday for this stupid job. but I could get some extra money.
So you out there, think twice before doing what I did. before you realize, its done.

 

[Trader333]

The market went down after hitting my stop loss, so I would have made money that day.

You may think what I am about to say is strange but had this not happened to you on that day it may well have resulted in what is known as "Negative Reinforcement". The end result is that you could have lost even more than £30K


Paul

 

[donaldduke]

HI
This is my first message here.
I have lost nearly 30k since i started spread betting with IG Index few months ago..

Losing small and large fortunes in the markets is very common, it happens all the time.

I lost almost 30K over a six month period when i was jobless back in 2002 by day trading shares. (i also burnt through another 20K in living expenses over the same period)

I first read this article on fool.co.uk back in 1998:

The Motley Fool UK: The Bribble

The story is a bit out of date regarding spread widths, but sums up the attitude of the spread betting companies pretty well and im sure you can relate to the story.

 

[Hoggums]

I do think there is a degree of luck involved,

I don't think any successful trader relies on luck. If it happens then all well and good - but usually luck comes both ways. As a trader you should develop a strategy according to averages.

I usually only get just over 50% of my trades right (51% to be exact), which means I could effectively toss a coin and probably come out no better or worse. I do wonder if sometimes my trading knowledge and skills are purely a fantasy. But knowing that only 50% of my trades are good, I can plan a strategy that enables me to make money out of it.

most of my trades (>85%) never usually make any more money than my stoploss - so if they were the only successful trades then I'd probably never make any money - however it's those one or two rare trades that really boost my account balance making 4,5,6x my stoploss distance. They don't come very often - and usually in a batch of 2 or 3 together, but the crux is - you never know when they are due to come - so you have to keep on playing the market all the time.

Sometimes I have lucky periods, sometimes unlucky. The trick is not to let it bother you and keep on trading for those average results...

 

[Cromulent]

Sometimes I have lucky periods, sometimes unlucky. The trick is not to let it bother you and keep on trading for those average results...

While that is true, it can be a dangerous way to look at things. Feeling like you have to keep going could continue a downward spiral past the point you should have said enough is enough.

I think the number one golden rule in all of this though is never trade on credit. Only ever use money which you have and which you are prepared to lose.

 

[bigboy]

Re: lost nearly 30k using ig index, why wasn't i stopped????

HI
This is my first message here.
I have lost nearly 30k since i started spread betting with IG Index few months ago. I started well at the beginning and then gradually lost all this money. Today I closed my account. It was such a stupid and expensive mistake to make. Of course deep inside I blame them about it. of course after myself. But considering I am on a salary of 30k per year before tax, its ridiculous that I was allowed to do it in the first place.
But hey, It happened and dont think I can do much about it except work my a... off and pay a loan for 20k and a credit card for 5000 (i also lost my savings of 4k that i had before my stupid attempt to sb_) my life is pretty much ruined for some years now as I havent got money to do anything else.
I decided to write this because I wanted to make people aware of the perils of sb, although we do not think it would happen to us, it happened to me, it clearly became a gambling addition. I didnt know when to stop, clearly should have been stopped by someone else. I wish someone stopped me.
I did trading with IG Index from the beginning. Never gave a s... about me, and even though they were getting a lot of my money, customer service was appalling.
I do think that I lost money because I am terrible at it and with no discipline, it just gets worse. But they should stop people from losing so much money. They knew my situation before. I hope more regulations are introduce in regards to this so other people don't do the same mistake as I did.
I havent told anyone about this as I am embarrassed. I dont have the courage to tell people what I have done cause its too embarrassing. Thank you for taking your time to read this. and think twice about spreadbetting. they do manipulate numbers to get more money, specially at the end of trade

Don't worry. I have lost over £100K with IG. A year ago or so I started trading US shares. I would get instant fills to open trades but rejections and delays to close. I did not complain much and after losing enough stopped trading US shares with them. Then I noticed I was getting stopped out on Daily Dow a lot as they would drop their price for an instant to collect stops. I cannot prove that the dow futures did not do the same, but I started to suspect IG of manipulating their price and using their spread to stop people out. Then they made an error on my account and I expected an apology and a reimbursement but what I got was an argument. Then they suspended my account during trading even though I was in credit and I walked away leaving my trades open. I came to the conclusion that their system is unfair and not a level playing field. Puredeal is nowhere near pure. I hate to use the word, but I came to the conclusion that they cheat. They are now chasing me for the losses incurred on the last trades. But for me, I think they cheat and therefore I have no time for them. I would like to hear more stories from people like you, but I am afraid that too many are embarrassed and pay up for fear of what they might do.

 

[Black Swan]

Re: lost nearly 30k using ig index, why wasn't i stopped????

Don't worry. I have lost over £100K with IG. A year ago or so I started trading US shares. I would get instant fills to open trades but rejections and delays to close. I did not complain much and after losing enough stopped trading US shares with them. Then I noticed I was getting stopped out on Daily Dow a lot as they would drop their price for an instant to collect stops. I cannot prove that the dow futures did not do the same, but I started to suspect IG of manipulating their price and using their spread to stop people out. Then they made an error on my account and I expected an apology and a reimbursement but what I got was an argument. Then they suspended my account during trading even though I was in credit and I walked away leaving my trades open. I came to the conclusion that their system is unfair and not a level playing field. Puredeal is nowhere near pure. I hate to use the word, but I came to the conclusion that they cheat. They are now chasing me for the losses incurred on the last trades. But for me, I think they cheat and therefore I have no time for them. I would like to hear more stories from people like you, but I am afraid that too many are embarrassed and pay up for fear of what they might do.

you use IG to spread bet from the US of A?

 

[£10kLoser]

If you are going to use a SB company for big trades (anything over £10 a pip) you should expect to have problems closing trades instantly with a manual order. That said, I'll reinforce what I said to start this thread - all my trades with IG have been closed precisely on my stops or limits. It's always better to move your stop or limit near to the price rather than try and close manually because, for most SB companies, that needs a human at the other end to execute it. If one isn't immediately available, the price will often move considerably. If your pounds per pip is reasonably small, they will often give you the price you clicked on regardless but if it's £100 a pip, you're less likely to be treated so well!

As for regulation to stop people stupidly losing all their money, I say thank goodness we still have some freedom left. If you want to be controlled by a Nanny State, better stick with a 9-5 job and do what the boss tells you.

 

[meanreversion]

IG is one of the better platforms out there but you need to be careful of the hidden charges. The overnight roll charge is 2 pct per annum, or 0.0055 pct per day. In EUR/USD this equates to 0.8 pip. Thus if you have an open position in EUR/USD for a month, IG will cumulatively charge you 24 pips above and beyond any interest rate differential. In NZD/USD, for example, I am currently paying 0.3 pip per day for being long NZD (and this currency has rates 3 pct higher than the USD!).

This charge is applied on spreadbets and CFD's. City Index charge the identical rate; I don't know about the others.

 

[bigboy]

Does anyone actually make money using IG? I use a direct trading platform after using IG for years and find it much easier to make money. The fact that you cannot cancel a trade once you have clicked and it is being dealt by the trading desk is rubbish. You need ur phone on standby all the time and you have to argue the toss all the time cos they don;t admit anything. IG are rip off merchants in my book. I will never deal with them again.

 

[Black Swan]

Does anyone actually make money using IG? I use a direct trading platform after using IG for years and find it much easier to make money. The fact that you cannot cancel a trade once you have clicked and it is being dealt by the trading desk is rubbish. You need ur phone on standby all the time and you have to argue the toss all the time cos they don;t admit anything. IG are rip off merchants in my book. I will never deal with them again.

I'm sure they'll miss your business...

 

[Black Swan]

IG is one of the better platforms out there but you need to be careful of the hidden charges. The overnight roll charge is 2 pct per annum, or 0.0055 pct per day. In EUR/USD this equates to 0.8 pip. Thus if you have an open position in EUR/USD for a month, IG will cumulatively charge you 24 pips above and beyond any interest rate differential. In NZD/USD, for example, I am currently paying 0.3 pip per day for being long NZD (and this currency has rates 3 pct higher than the USD!).

This charge is applied on spreadbets and CFD's. City Index charge the identical rate; I don't know about the others.

You honestly think that's "expensive"? Can see where you're at with your issue having a trade open for a month, 24 pips is a chunk, but If I was in a swing/position trade for that long it wouldn't be with an SB Co. and I'd be expecting at least a 300 pip+ return...

 

[bigboy]

I'm sure they'll miss your business...

No, because you are still paying them.