There will be some changes to some of our Asian markets over the upcoming Lunar New Year, starting Monday 4 Feb. We will continue to make out of hours index prices throughout any breaks (excluding Taiwan and Malaysia).
Who has an interest in Emerging Markets? How would you like the opportunity to have direct access to a panel who will be able to answer your questions directly? You can be part of the latest IG chat by leaving your EM question on social media using the #IGEMchat hashtag, or by simply leaving a comment on this blog post. Even if you don't have an account with IG you can leave your comments below! The live broadcast will be available within the dealing platform, or on this page, on Wednesday the 6th of February at 1pm GMT. We would also look to post the video after the event, as well as here.
What will we talk about?
The discussion will cover a wide range of topics that relate to emerging market economies, including:
The emerging markets to watch in 2019
The relationship between EMs and the US dollar
The impact of the US-China trade war
How to trade EM assets
Who's on the panel?
Paul McNamara, Investment Director, GAM Investments: Paul McNamara is an Investment Director, and is the lead manager on emerging market bond and currency long only and hedge fund strategies. He joined GAM Investments following its acquisition of the fixed income and foreign exchange specialist, Augustus, in May 2009, where he started managing most of the funds he runs to date. He joined Augustus (then Julius Baer Investments Limited) in 1997 from the Export Credits Guarantee department of the UK Government Economic Service, where he was an economist. He began his career as a lecturer. Paul holds an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and is a CFA charterholder. He is based in London and you can get an insight into his journalistic style via Twitter or on the Financial Times.
Gavin Serkin, Managing Editor, Frontier Funds Media & Intelligence: Gavin Serkin has been a prominent writer, broadcaster and commentator on emerging markets for over two decades. His book, Frontier: Exploring the Top Ten Emerging Markets of Tomorrow (Bloomberg/Wiley) – an investment travelogue across 10 countries – was acclaimed as a “must read” by the Financial Times. Serkin’s leadership of Bloomberg’s credit markets coverage and his focus on the derivatives that triggered the global financial crisis won him the Society of American Business Editors & Writers’ Best in Business Award and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Deadline Club Award. Subsequently creating and leading Bloomberg’s emerging markets team, Serkin founded Frontier Funds Media & Intelligence in 2015 to help deepen understanding of the opportunities and challenges in developing countries through his own writing, and through constant and proactive dialogue with journalists, investors and leaders.
Tuesday the 15th will see a UK Parliamentary vote in the Commons regarding Brexit. There is considerable uncertainty surrounding the vote, however one thing is known: this could make or break Theresa May's Brexit deal. The political uncertainty has flowed over into the financial markets with a number of assets seeing significant volatility. A ratified deal is likely to display stability and confidence resulting in a strengthening GBP, and possibly a short term boost to British stock prices and indices such as the mid-cap FTSE 250. On the other hand, a rejected deal and an increase in uncertainty could signpost a bearish movement.
We have a live #IGBrexitChat on Wednesday 16th at 13:00 GMT
IG’s Jeremy Naylor will be live in the studio with Alexandra Kellert from Control Risks and Peter Dixon from Commerzbank AG to analyse the possible effects on the markets. Ahead of the chat, he’ll also be speaking with Ben Habib from First Property Group, and the highlights from that interview will be played during the show.
Submit your questions now
A key talking point throughout the #IGBrexitChat will be the effect on the markets and how to uncover any trade ideas. We want your questions! Simply submit your questions using the comments section below, either before the chat or over the live show (we'll monitor IG Community and make sure we put your questions to the panel). Add your questions to some of the key areas we'll be covering such as...
Which markets should you be watching?
What direction is EUR/GBP likely to move in?
What are the possible effects on the FTSE 100?
How can you capitalise on market volatility following the vote?
How will the EU react?
(The video player below will auto configure 5 minutes before the live show at 13:00 on the 16th Jan)
How do I view IGTV live in the platform?
You can watch the broadcast above, however if you would like to watch in your dealing platform so you can watch the markets throughout the show...
Click on the top right hand 'notifications' tab
Click the IGTV prompt which will go live 5 minutes before the show
Move the IGTV player anywhere in your workspace. If you already have the player open the show will start automatically.
The IG web trading platform has several alert functions which can be used to notify you of potential trading opportunities and market volatility.
We have different alerts for all types of traders, from the technical analyst to the long-term investor. Before we get into the different alert types it’s worth making sure your Notification Preferences on MyIG are set up correctly and notifications are turned on within your mobile settings area. The blog article on the right may be of help if you would like a walk through of turning on notifications.
Setting up Price Change alerts
A Price Change alert will notify you of either a percentage move or a points-based movement over a set time frame. These alerts are great for applying to assets in your open positions window, as well as markets you are looking to trade on.
Percentage or points-based movement
Variable time frame of 5 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day
Add a message if you wish
These will continually trigger until you remove them from the ‘Alerts’ fly out on the left-hand side. Therefore, if you set up an alert to be notified if Spot Gold moves by 1% in a day, and there are three days’ worth of 1% movements back to back, you’ll be alerted for each of these moves.
Price Change alert ideas
Set up a Price Change alert for a 2% move in a day for a major index such as the S&P or Wall Street. This sort of move in a single day would probably suggest a key market event has happened.
Set up a Price Change alert for an x% move in a stock you have on your watch list. Maybe a significant move would present a swing trade opportunity.
Setting up Price Level alerts
A Price Level alert will notify you when a specific price point has been breached by the market. You can be notified if either the buy or sell price passes your desired threshold.
Be alerted to a specific price movement, e.g. If the buy price of gold reaches 1290
Add a short message if you wish
These are only triggered once
Price Level alert ideas
Set a Price Level alert on the VIX Volatility Index if the price reaches 17, 20, and 25. A VIX movement above 20 generally suggests market volatility and potentially opportunity to trade. Historically the median of the VIX is around 17, and anything below this suggests markets are likely to be a little flat.
Setting up support and resistance levels but want to re-evaluate the markets when those price points are reached? Use a Price Level alert.
Setting up Indicator alerts
You can set up indicator alerts from the dealing platform under the alerts tab. You need to pick a resolution and price for the alert to look at, and then you can start adding indicators.
Use indicator alerts to be notified of your criteria being hit from your technical analysis
Choose to be alerted once, or multiple times
Add up to 4 indicators from a choice of 11 to the same alert
Add indicators on the charts by right clicking to get a rough idea of when/if your alert will trigger.
Indicator alert ideas
These alerts can be as simple or as complicated as you like. You can find a lot of information on technical analysis on IG.com, YouTube, or by searching for strategies related to ‘x’ indicator. For example;
A crossover strategy: when two moving averages cross, for example the short term 50 MA moving above the 200 MA, it may indicate an upward price trend.
Setting up macroeconomic alerts from the Economic Calendar
You can access IGs Economic Calendar from within the dealing platform down the left hand fly out. Once the calendar has opened in a new tab select the date and use the ‘check’ tick column if you want to be notified about an event. Clicking the cog at the top of the column allows you to set the specific notification preferences for these alerts (for example, notify before or after the event, and how you want to be notified).
Try it out by searching for the next Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) figure and set the alert to be notified 15 minutes before the event, as well as on the event. You should receive a notification with expectations, along with the actual results afterwards.
Alerts are great for keeping you up to date with broad market movements and macroeconomic news events. To make sure you receive the alert on mobile or via email requires an opt-in setting within MyIG, along with settings on your mobile (Push only).
Turning on notifications in MyIG
When you’re logged in to your IG account go to your Communication Preferences in MyIG. On the 'Prices & Dealings' tab make sure you have turned on your Email and Push notification options. You can also look through other areas of the Communication Preferences section to make sure you're signed up to Newsletters and other notification areas.
Turning on notifications on iOS (Apple iPhone / iPad etc)
In your iOS settings, navigate to the Notifications section and make sure you have ‘allowed’ notifications. If you don’t turn on notifications, then you won’t be able to receive push Alerts.
Turning on notifications on Android
In the Android settings section of your mobile device click on ‘Notifications’ and scroll to the ‘IG Trading’ application. You can turn notifications on here along with other more granular notification options.
...and that's it!
You should now be ready to receive Price, Indicator and Economic alerts which you have signed up for.
Please be aware that due to year end market factors we are seeing significant moves in the funding rates for most FX pairs. This has been observed across the market, although some pairs are looking to be worse affected than others (most notably if you are short US dollars). These factors include financial institutions balancing their books before the end of the year, putting a strain on certain currencies.
You can see overnight funding charges on FX pairs by using the link to the right. This is currently only available in desktop/web trading platform for leverage accounts.
What does this mean for you
Funding rates for FX pairs can be extremely volatile, resulting in your daily funding adjustments being much higher than normal. To the best of our knowledge this will affect JPY crosses held past 10pm on the 26th December, CAD crosses and USDTRY positions held past 10pm on the 28th December, and most other pairs including gold and silver held past 10pm on the 27th December.
As an example, for a normal 2-day roll charge on EURUSD you would receive 1.7pts for a short position and pay 1.79pts for a long position (+/- IG’s admin charge). Current rates are indicating receiving/paying 6 times these amounts should you hold your positions through year end snapshot dates, but these rates can change.
All things being equal, the FX tradeable price should adjust to reflect these rates but this is out of our control.
Where can I see expected overnight funding rates on FX positions?
The funding rates shown on the platform are indicative and subject to change. 'Swap Bid' / 'Swap Offer' rates as shown below can be toggled on/off and show the expected rate for that day. I.e, to view what the expected rates you'll pay or receive on a currency pair at 10pm (GMT) would require you to check the specific currency row at any point on that same day (prior to 10pm). You can read more about that here.
Exploring base metal markets
Join us on Thursday 6th December at 1pm for the final #IGCommodityChat, when we will be talking to economist Daniel Lacalle and mining analyst John Meyer about base metal markets. Put your questions to the experts as part of the live Q&A by using #IGCommodityChat using the comments section below.
Submit your questions now
There will be a live Q&A during the session, so you can put forward any topics you want answered. Post your questions to the #IGCommodityChat using the comments section below, and check out one of the latest #IGChats we recently posted on oil and gold to get a flavour of what to expect. The show will be broadcast live from within the dealing platform as well as via a special YouTube link and on various social channels.
How political unrest impacts base metal supply
What the effect of the US-China trade war has been on base metal prices
How global growth (or a lack thereof) is impacting global demand
The base metal mining stocks to watch
Continuing our #IGCommodityChat and following our previous chat on gold, join us on Thursday the 29 November at 1pm (UK time) to discuss the future of the oil market with industry advisor Malcolm Graham-Wood and Spencer Welch, director of oil markets at IHS Markit.
Submit your questions now or during the live show
Use the comments section at the bottom of the blog (even if you're not an IG client or not logged in) and we'll put them to the panel. If there are any questions which we don't get to in the live show our senior sales traders will look to get you an answer and continue the discussion. We'll also look to answer questions posted here.
UPDATE at 13.01: minor technical issues will cause a delay with the start of the stream. I will update when we're live.
UPDATE at 13.07: This is now live on the platform only. We'll push to Community afterwards.
UPDATE at 14.10: The live show is now accessible above.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the oil market, we’ll be taking a look at how the industry changes might influence the price of oil. You can watch the live stream at 1pm (UK time) via the trading platform.
What is the murky future of Oil?
Continuing our #IGCommodityChat and following this week's chat on gold, join us on Thursday the 29 November at 1pm (UK time) to discuss the future of the oil market with industry advisor Malcolm Graham-Wood and Spencer Welch, director of oil markets at IHS Markit.
The demand for oil has increased over the last few decades due to the rise of emerging economies and the requirements of the transport industry. However, in recent years, concerns have been raised about how sustainable oil supply and demand actually are. In fact, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers, mainly Russia, have restricted oil production in order to provide support for oil prices.
The most significant force influencing oil demand is the rise of renewable energy. As investment in alternative energy grows, the future of the oil industry is starting to look like one of decline. Oil and gas companies might be forced to rethink their long-term strategies in order to secure a role for themselves in the new energy economy. Although it will likely be a number of decades before the oil market sees the full consequences of these changes, OPEC has lowered its predictions for world oil demand for the rest of 2018 and 2019.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the future of the oil market, we’ll be taking a look at how the industry changes might influence the price of oil. You can watch the live stream at 1pm (UK time) on Thursday 29 November via the trading platform, or our YouTube , Facebook and Twitter pages.
Submit your questions now
There will be a live Q&A during the session, so you can put forward any topics you’d like Malcolm or Spencer to discuss, or any questions you want answered. Post your questions to the #IGCommodityChat using the comments section below, and check out one of the latest #IGChats we recently posted on gold to get a flavour of what to expect. The show will be broadcast live from within the dealing platform as well as via a special YouTube link and on various social channels.
Oil discussion topics
The discussion will cover a wide range of topics that relate to oil, including:
How the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries will influence supply
The impact of political sanctions on oil producing countries
How the emergence of alternative energy sources has impacted the oil market
How the flotation of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) will impact the oil market
What is the future of gold?
After the recent success of the #IGCryptoChat and #IGForexChat we'd love you to join us on Thursday 22 November at 1pm (UK time) to discuss the future of gold on our first in a three part series on commodities for our #IGCommodityChat.
We’re sitting down with professional investor Simon Popple and Ross Normal, CEO of Sharps Pixley, to discuss what the future might be for gold markets, and giving you the chance to ask him questions as part of a live Q&A.
Gold discussion topics
The discussion will cover a wide range of topics that relate to gold, including:
Could companies halt operations if the cost of gold falls too low?
How does a lack of new deposit discoveries impact the price of gold?
Where is the demand for gold coming from?
Why does the price of gold respond to market volatility?
What is the relationship between gold and the US dollar?
What are the gold stocks to watch at the moment?
USD reaches its highest level this year as it breaches the 97.00 level it tested earlier this year, a level it hasn't seen since June 2017
Asian markets have shown signs of recovery heading towards the end of October which saw significant losses globally. The Shanghai Composite rose just over 1% despite the manufacturing growth rate missing forecasts
The Dow Jones also saw strong gains yesterday following a consumer confidence report which beat expectations, reaching its highest level since 2000. As a result Wall Street is no longer in the negative since the beginning of the year.
US oil inventories to be announced today may see the price fall further. The price is already down over 13% from its peak this year which was at the beginning of this month. Reports suggest the outlook may be bearish as reports suggest stockpiles may be higher than expected and BP have reported their refinery output has increased at the fastest rate for 15 years.
Gold is at its lowest price in over 2 weeks but October is set to be the first month of gains following 6 straight months of losses, the longest streak since 1997.
Facebook beat earnings expectations yesterday with an EPS of $1.76 compared to $1.47 expected, providing relief for the company that has had negative press over the past year .
Samsung saw a 21% increase in operating profit for Q3 YoY, in line with guidance.
Reports of a new Boeing aircraft crash in Indonesia have sparked inquiries into what could cause problems with such a new aircraft. Airlines and their suppliers are likely to be under scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Eurozone YoY CPI is set to be released at 10am and Canadian GDP will be announced at 12:30pm, both could provide volatility with their indices and currency prices.
Asian overnight: An impressive session overnight saw Asian markets follow their US counterparts higher, despite a raft of somewhat disappointing data points from Japan and China. Weaker industrial production, housing starts, and consumer confidence in Japan saw USDJPY push higher over the session. We also saw the BoJ keep rates unchanged, while trimming their inflation forecasts. Meanwhile, the Yuan fell further amid a disappointing set of PMI surveys, with both manufacturing and non-manufacturing expansion slowing down.
The Australian ASX 200 also saw gains yesterday, led by strong performance in the energy sector specifically. The finance sector also also saw gains of almost 1%. This comes in spite of a 5% reduction in profit from one of the banks (ANZ) that is heavily weighted in this sector which still saw share price increases of 1.05%.
Nickel is down almost 30% from its highest point this year and has returned to the price last seen in December 2017 following the lower than expected Chinese manufacturing data. As with many markets, the commodity will have had sell-side pressure over concerns with the US-China trade war which will have intensified recently with Trump considering further tariffs. The metal has seen increasing demand as it is used in the batteries of electric vehicles which have seen an increase in production. However Tsingshan Holding Group have also announced their intention to implement a more effective supply chain for nickel which will further reduce its price.
UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, the European session sees markets focus on the latest eurozone inflation data, with both core and headline CPI expected to rise for October. US ADP non-farm payrolls should shift us into a jobs mindset ahead of Friday’s big release, while Canadian GDP and US crude inventories round off a busy afternoon.
Today marks the 10-year anniversary of Bitcoin, the world’s first and most notorious cryptocurrency. As it reaches its milestone for its first decade, the price is set to fall below last years for the first time this year which will only be the second time since its inception that the coin has been worth less on its birthday. It may not be all doom and gloom for the currency though as further financial integration may occur soon as the SEC are reviewing their decision to allow a Bitcoin based ETF. You can read more on the potential effect of this decision on the current price of bitcoin here.
Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST)
Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar
10am – eurozone CPI (October, flash)< unemployment rate (September): CPI to rise 2.1% YoY and core CPI to rise 1.2% YoY from 0.9%. Unemployment rate to hold at 8.1%. Markets to watch: EUR crosses
12.15pm – US ADP employment report (October): 195K jobs expected to have been created, from 230K a month earlier. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
1.45pm – US Chicago PMI (October): index to rise to 60.5 from 60.4. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses
3.30pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 26 October): stockpiles to rise by 2.5 million barrels, from a 6.3 million barrel increase a week earlier. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI
Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades
Next reported a 2% rise in sales in Q2, and it left guidance unchanged for full-price sales growth of 3% over the full year.
Smurfit Kappa reported a 27% rise in EBITDA for the first nine months of the year, while revenue was up 7%. The firm has also acquired a plant and paper mill in Belgrade for €133 million.
Randgold Resources will pay a record full-year dividend of $2.69 per share, up from the original $2.
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and Tata, the owners of Jaguar Land Rover are set to release earnings
Mike Ashley has bought Evans Cycles which was in administration. The owner of Sports Direct also recently bought House of Fraser which was also in administration.
Santander Q3 profits have increased 36%, making almost €2bn in the 3 months up to September.
Engie upgraded to hold at HSBC
Inchcape raised to overweight at Barclays
Intertek upgraded to buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
Spire Healthcare upgraded to hold at Berenberg
BNP Paribas downgraded to hold at DZ Bank
Fiat Chrysler downgraded to neutral at Mediobanca SpA
Pets at Home downgraded to sell at Goldman
Intu downgraded to reduce at AlphaValue
IGTV featured video
Information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.
We are hosting our third live IG Forex Chat on Thursday 1 November at 6.30pm (UK time), where we will be exploring what the year ahead could hold for emerging market (EM) currencies. You can watch the discussion live in the IGTV player within the web trading platform, or using the YouTube link below. The whole purpose of these talks is to give you direct access to our panel and provide a platform for you to ask any question you wish about the subject in hand. Submit your questions below now!
With emerging market currencies having been exceptionally volatile in 2018, we take a look at what the next 12 months could hold for related forex markets. Our discussion will cover a broad range of topics, including:
The emerging market currencies to watch over the next 12 months
How the dollar’s valuation will affect EM currencies
The effects of changing commodity prices
How the value of the US dollar, Chinese renminbi and Russian ruble will change
Who are the experts?
Paul Bratby is a self-employed trader who specialises in Elliott wave analysis. As well as trading via his personal account, he runs My Trading Buddy (MTB) and Wave5trade (W5T), which provide a wealth of trading tools and information about the forex markets.
Raj Dhall is a market analyst, whose content has appeared on TradingView, FX Daily, the Society of Technical Analysts, London South East, Interactive Investor and Zero Hedge. His writing focuses on the influence of macroeconomic and political events on the markets.
IG is hosting the first #IGForexChat on Thursday 4th October at 6.30pm
You can watch the live broadcast using the video player below (with the broadcast starting just before the above time), or from within the dealing platform. We want to hear your questions so we can put them to the panel, opening up a two way channel between you and a group of experts which you may not usually have access to. The first two guests will be Raj Dhall at tradingview.com and Samuel Morton at lovethepips and forexcfdsignals.com. You can read more about the #IGForexChat here, or simply submit your questions below!
Submit your questions now! In October we will be hosting a number of live chats and discussion dedicated to the world of currency trading and the foreign exchange market. Each #IGForexChat will focus on a unique topic, relevant to the macroeconomic landscape today.
These topics will include; the ongoing US - Sino trade war, Trump's protectionist tariffs, and the renminbi; the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and any ongoing EU negotiations; and finally the recent sell side pressure affecting emerging market currencies and their local economies.
Submit your #IGFXChat questions now...
Each #IGForexChat discussion will be hosted by our own IGTV presenters along with an elite group of influencers, analysts, traders, and market commentators. We will broadcast LIVE within the IG dealing platform, on IG Community, and via our broader social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
Our first #IGForexChat will focus on...
What effect will the trade war have on forex markets?
Possible effects of Trump’s policies
Possible effects of Chinese, EU, G7 reactions, etc
Chinese renminbi – how will its valuation develop, will China continue to exert control over its value, etc?
Key pairs to watch over next 12 months
The most important part of the #IGForexChat will be you! We want to hear your questions so we can put them to the panel, opening up a two way channel between you and a group of experts which you may not usually access. The first two guests will be Raj Dhall at tradingview.com and Samuel Morton at lovethepips and forexcfdsignals.com.
Submit your questions now!Throughout the live broadcast you can use the #IGForexChat hashtag to submit your questions via any form of social media, but you can also submit any question you may have right now, simply by commenting on this post. If you're an IG client (both live and demo) make sure that you are logged into Community before you post.
We've done this type of broadcast before with our #IGCryptoChat discussions we had back in March 2018. You can check out an example of what we have instore for you below.
Submit your #IGFXChat questions now...
If you're a 'guest' to this page and don't have an account with IG, you can still leave a comment below (however it will need to be approved by a moderator).
The London Metal Exchange: LME
The LME is one of the last pit traded venues in the world which has escaped the computerisation and digitalisation of the modern world. The iconic image of the 80's with men in brightly coloured suits has all but gone, however the live 'ring' as it's known is still the number one place in the world to trade a number of ferrous, non-ferrous, precious and minor metals. LME participants can trade and take or make delivery of aluminium, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, lead, aluminium alloy and NASAAC, as well as steel and scrap contracts, LME silver and LME gold, and other lesser known metals such as cobalt and molybdenum futures.
We recently spent an afternoon at the venue and I managed to take the following video which I thought I would share with Community members. The LME is used for dealers and institutional trading houses who sometimes work on behalf of real world companies such as car manufacturers who need aluminium for delivery. A staggering 80% of the worlds industrial metal prices are set in this room. Everyone tends to wait until the end of the session, so the final few moments can be very exciting! It's only a minute or so long, but you can see the excitement as people can't even stay on their seats around the 30 second mark!
Trade LME metals with IG
As as exciting as this can be, I still think it's quite good that you can get exposure to all these same assets on the IG dealing dealing platform. Simply check out the Commodities section on the left hand fly out, and scroll to 'Base Metals'. You can also use the 'news' section on the left to search for specific news relating to these markets which may be lesser known to yourself.
A trading forum and help and support network for IG clients
The new IG Community has been live for a few weeks now and I just wanted to update all Community members on a couple of things, including a showcase of a brand new promotional video. This should be useful for those who haven't used Community before but what to know more - it's well worth a watch.
If you have any comments or questions regarding the new forum please let us know in the Comments section below. We're always looking to improve our offering based on what traders want - so give us a shout!
New features this month
Guests can now post without necessarily needing to be logged into Community. We want to make sure that all content is still relevant and interesting, so all guest posts will have to be approved by a moderator before being publicly visible. We want to make sure that quality over quantity remains, however the recent trial seems to have gone well and the Community is getting more relevant posts to add to discussion. If anyone has any opinion on this we'd love to hear from you so please feel free to add a comment below.
We recently had a trial of the new 'poll' feature on a post relating to new cryptocurrencies. You can read that article on which crypto your most interested in here. Currently only moderators can post polls, however if you as a client would like to have this function, let us know! We're interested in who would use it.
We're now in the top navigation bar on IG.com - it may not sound like a big change, but it allows you to get to the forum very quickly from anywhere on the IG.com environment (look for the global black navigation bar at the top). We're also looking at inclusion in MyIG - that should be live shortly.
Finally, we have some stats for you which you may find interesting.
What is IG Community?
This purpose of this forum is for like-minded clients to share trade ideas and discuss market opportunities, ask questions, and provide help and support to others.
Learn strategies and trade ideas from experienced traders
Give tips to the Community and share your market knowledge
Perfect your trading by discussing ideas with others
Get the most out of IG and ask the Community anything regarding trading or IG
Anyone can browse the trading forum, but you will need to have an IG account to post or interact on Community and have your content published immediately. If you're new to the forumand looking for a first step maybe check out the forum, or have a once over of our Community tutorials.
We migrated the old forum (and added some new features)
We have migrated over all the posts, likes, 'kudos' and private messages from the previous version of the forum, as well as integrated the Community login with the wider IG eco system so you can enjoy a seamless digital experience between the trading platform and forum. You should be able to see all your previously posted content under the same Community username as you originally had on the previous iteration.
New content areas...
Blogs: We have three blogs which we will be updated periodically.
Market News - Daily morning briefings, index dividend adjustments, and one off articles
IG Product Updates - A place to let you know about all the things we roll out
IG Community Blog - Competitions, 'Ask the Expert' series, and Community updates
...and a few new features.
Activity streams: If you're logged in you'll notice you can easily browse things such as 'unread' or 'followed' content. You can save individual search streams so they're available for the next time you log in
Advanced search: An updated and intuitive search functionality
Leaderboard: The Leaderboard keeps track of the hottest content and best users each day based on reputation received. You'll increase your chances of getting on here if you post more, receive more likes, and help others
Community Profile: Your space in Community. Check yours out by clicking on your username in the top right hand corner (logged in users only).
Access IG Community - anytime, anywhere
IG Community will be up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The easiest way to access IG Community is using the top right hand 'Help' drop down in the dealing platform, but you can also access via our mobile apps (look under the help and support section - try it now), or by simply going to community.ig.com. What do you like? What would you change if you had the chance? What new areas would you like to see? Let us know using the comments section below.
Happy chatting
IG Community Moderator Team
New ESMA regulations coming into force for the EU region are set to standardise the way margin close out rules work for retail traders. On the IG trading platform the new margin close-out rules will come into effect from 1pm on Monday 30 July. Please find an overview of the new regulation and how this may effect your account. We've included a useful video and a worked example which may also help.
Please remember that these changes only affect retail clients of EU firms (that are subject to ESMA regulation), and do not apply to professional clients. Please add any query, question, or request for clarification in the comments box.
What is the new ESMA margin close out rule?
Put simply, for all ESMA regions we will need to include running losses for limited risk positions when looking at the equity calculation. Let's look at a worked example.
Say you have £1200 cash on your IG account.
You place a FTSE trade with a guaranteed stop and it requires a margin of £1000.
If the market moves against you £200's worth you would then start to eat into your margin.
If the market continues to move against you by a further £500 (i.e. 50% of the margin required to open your trade) your position would be closed.
This is because 50% of your margin was used up, and your equity value was therefore £500 (half of the margin).
The new ESMA rules require us to close the position.
You would be left with £500 in your account.
Please remember if the market gaps over this level then there is no guarantee to close your trade at this exact 50% level. There is a 'negative balance protection' rule which will be in place from July 28th, however this applies to the account as a whole.
There are a couple of other important things to note
We will not be implementing 24 hour or weekend close out rules for ESMA retail clients. This change will be made on July 30 from 1pm and will be apply on an account level (both existing and new positions).
You can still use running profits to cover margin on new positions.
Positions which have guaranteed stops will be margined at the higher value; max risk on the trade or the underlying market margin rate.
What does this mean for me?
"I currently have a limited risk account" - If you currently have a limited risk account (i.e. every time you open a new trade you have to have a guaranteed stop attached to your trade) then you may be at risk of having your positions closed out automatically. This will be the first time that previously 'limited risk' accounts could get closed out automatically.
"I currently have a regular account" - If you currently have a regular account (i.e. you don't need to apply a guaranteed stop to every position, however it is an option if you wish) then you may be at risk of having your positions closed due to the above change in close out rules. When we calculate account equity today, we do not currently include running losses on positions with guaranteed stops. Under the new ESMA requirements, such positions will need to include running losses as part of the deposit ratio calculation. This means that your positions will be closed out when your cash, including all profit and loss, reaches 50% of your margin requirement.
What is 'margin'?
In trading, margin is the funds required to open and maintain a leveraged position. You can read more about margin via our glossary definition of what margin means on the IG platform. You can also have a once over of the below video.
If you have any queries or questions regarding the new ESMA regulations please add a comment below.
Once again, please remember that these changes only affect retail clients of EU firms (that are subject to ESMA regulation), and do not apply to professional clients. Please add any query, question, or request for clarification below.
You may also find the following links useful.
Compare our leverage offering
Professional trading
Best
James
If you have any questions regarding the information below please add a comment. To get the best experience on Community please make sure you LOGIN. Notifications, private messages (if required), and tagging are only possible if you are logged in.
In January, ESMA proposed a number of changes for leveraged retail traders within the EU region and kicked off a consultation period to open up the discussion. Over 14,600 people had their say via the #ReplyToESMA website, with an overwhelming majority opposing the regulatory changes.
On the back of the proposal and trader feedback, ESMA drew up new regulations which are set to go live on August 1. To comply with these new regulations you may notice some changes on your IG account from the week commencing Monday July 23, 2018. Although not all the regulatory changes will affect all clients (for example some regulatory changes only affect specific instruments or account types), you can find a roadmap for these changes below.
Wednesday, July 25
Collateral - Linked collateral accounts were available for clients who had both a leveraged trading account (CFD or spread bet) and a stockbroking account. As of Wednesday, July 25 linked collateral accounts will no longer be an option. If you have insufficient funds at this time your leveraged trading account will be at risk of position closures.
Thursday, July 26
Credit limits for retail clients (formerly known as ‘Select Accounts’) - Some clients used to have ‘Select Accounts’, which allowed for certain types of credit limits or margin rates. On Thursday these account types will be switched to ‘closing only’ (i.e. the account type and agreed terms will remain, but you can only close your positions at your convenience and no new positions can be opened under this account type). Any new position would need to be opened under a newly set up, regular IG retail account.
Friday, July 27
CFD options - At 15:00 (3pm) UK time all UK and European retail CFD clients will have any open options position closed basis the IG mid-price and all option marks will be set for ‘professional only’.
IG has recently taken a business decision to no longer be supporting options trading for CFD accounts contracted through our European offices. While we appreciate that this decision will cause frustration to those who enjoy the product, regrettably, options have become a market that no longer fits with IG’s European offering. We are currently looking into alternative products to offer to meet a similar requirement and further information will be published when available.
Closing at the mid-price means that IG will also not be charging any dealing costs to close your positions which remain open at 3pm UK time on 27th June. If you have access to a Spread Betting account (UK clients only), we will also be happy to “bed and breakfast” your trade across at the relevant, current prices, so please let us know if that is something you wish for us to do. This will need to be done over the phone as it would constitute a deal, so please give one of our trading services members a call at a time convenient, but before the above cut off date and time.
If you have a Spread Betting account, only available to UK residents, then you can continue to speculate with options. If you are a UK resident but don’t have a spread betting account you can add one in My IG by clicking on My IG > Dashboard > Add an account.
Saturday, July 28
A number of changes will be applied over the weekend
Margin Changes - Margin requirements to open and maintain leveraged positions was one of the more prominent aspects of the ESMA regulations. On the Saturday, July 28 new margin floors will be implemented across all ESMA retail accounts for all new positions. Existing positions will keep current margin rates. You can find more information regarding retail margin requirements here.
Negative balance protection - All retail clients contracting to ESMA regulated entities will have negative balance protection applied to their account.
Offsetting long and short positions - If a client is currently long and short a particular market then they will currently pay 10% of either leg. From July 28, clients will have to pay 100% of the ESMA margin on each position. This change will only apply on new positions, therefore if you are currently long and short the same market then you will continue to receive the concession.
Rollovers - When Retail clients futures contracts rollover and a position is opened after the July 28, then the new position will be margined basis the ESMA minimums.
Concessions - Some retail clients may receive concessions based on trade activity. ESMA regulations mean that retail clients will no longer receive any form or rebate or concession (funding concession/currency conversion concession).
Monday, July 30
Automatic COM (close out monitor if you have insufficient funds to cover the open trades in your account) - Retail clients will be subject to different COM ratio/available to deal calculations that will vary depending on what region you are in. You can read an overview of the ESMA margin rules from July 30th here.
If you have any queries or questions regarding the new ESMA regulations please add a comment below. You may also find the following links useful.
Compare our leverage offering Professional trading
Once again, please remember that these changes only affect retail clients of EU firms (that are subject to ESMA regulation), and do not apply to professional clients. Please add any query, question, or request for clarification below.
Best
James
A look at our in-person seminars
Earlier this summer we arranged our largest ever event in Scandinavia, with John Bollinger the creator of the technical Bollinger Bands indicator as a keynote speaker. Other speakers included Lee Sandford, an IG client and the founder of Trading College, and our local market analyst, Erik Hansén.
The events, attended by about 450 prospective and live IG clients, were held in Oslo and Stockholm and followed a very similar ‘roadshow’ pattern which some of our other offices in Europe have put on for our client base. It’s always great to meet clients face to face and discuss trade ideas and market opportunity, as well as receive feedback and suggestions about our products.
Have a look at a couple of the links posted at the end of this article to see if there are any live events, seminars, or webinars you can sign up to. Also make sure you’ve opted in to our emails so you can stay up to date and informed on any one off events we want to let you know about! You can find this in My IG Dashboard > Settings > Communication Preferences.
When preparing for this event we listened to feedback from our client base who were keen on us bringing in successful traders and prominent people within the industry to talk about their experiences and share their trading insights.
Trading strategies
The evening started with IG’s own Erik Hansen welcoming everyone and introducing the presenters, as well as giving a quick overview of IG and our trading platform for those who hadn’t used it before. Erik also spoke about a few trading strategies and tools that help clients find interesting buy/sell opportunities, such as our market insights news and analysis, trading signals, and IG’s charting packages. We have a few strategy articles on IG.com which may be worth checking out to get a feel of the things discussed.
Charting the value of technical analysis
16 candlestick patterns every trader should know
How to trade a head and shoulders pattern
Pivot point trading strategies
Ichimoku Cloud trading strategies explained
Next up was Lee Sandford who told us how he uses Fibonacci in his trading and how he combines it with MACD and stochastics. Lee also showed how he finds business opportunities with good risk reward by identifying interesting turning points in the market. There are a couple of videos posted below which may be interesting for some when we had Lee in the London office with IGTV, and an article on using the Fibonacci tool to trade.
Last up was John Bollinger himself, who gave us a practical view on Bollinger Bands and trading techniques like "Pattern recognition", as well as setups like "W bottoms" and "squeeze". Bollinger Bands can be a great trading tool for the technical analysts amongst you and there are countless strategies and videos online which are worth having a look over. We have a special Bolling Bands article written by IG's own Joshua Mahony on the IG.com website to get you started.
Something of interest
Each speaker was strong in their own right, but what really made the event a success was the breadth of the spectrum we were able to cover – ensuring there was something of interest to both beginners and advanced traders.
We saw a good amount of 'chatter' across social media, both beforehand and during the event itself, and we received some great feedback from those who came and chatted afterwards.
We really want to hear from people if they would like a similar event in their city. We are constantly working with our clients and listening to feedback to improve our offering, and seminars and events like this are no different.
Drop us a message below if this is something you’d be interested in, and let us know the sort of event, or guest speakers, you would be keen on hearing from.
Live events, seminars and online webinars near you
Online webinars and courses can be found on IG Academy with live trading sessions available too.
Make sure your email notifications are on if you want to keep up to date with one off events.
Our South African offices have weekly in-person seminars in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Singaporean clients can check out in-person trading seminars (scroll down the page).
Lee Sandford IGTV videos
Hope you enjoyed this insight
Happy trading
James
A trading forum and help and support network for IG clients
Over the last few months we have been working on a new layout for your Community, as well as adding greater functionality and new content areas. Today is the 'go live' date and we hope you like what you see. Have a browse, and if you have any feedback or suggestions please add a comment below. Maybe take this opportunity to make your first Community post if you haven't already?
This purpose of this forum is for like-minded clients to share trade ideas and discuss market opportunities, ask questions, and provide help and support to others.
Learn strategies and trade ideas from experienced traders
Give tips to the Community and share your market knowledge
Perfect your trading by discussing ideas with others
Get the most out of IG and ask the Community anything regarding trading or IG
Anyone can browse the trading forum, but you will need a live IG account to post or interact on Community. If you're new to Community and looking for a first step maybe check out the forum, or have a once over of our Community tutorials. We're also curious for any feedback you may have, so add a comment below to have your voice heard. We're always looking to improve our offering based on what traders want - so let us know!
We migrated the old forum (and added some new features)
We have migrated over all the posts, likes, 'kudos' and private messages from the previous version of the forum, as well as integrated the Community login with the wider IG eco system so you can enjoy a seamless digital experience between the platform and forum. You should be able to see all your previously posted content under the same Community username as you currently use.
New content areas...
Blogs: We have three blogs which we will be updated periodically.
Market News - Daily morning briefings, index dividend adjustments, and one off articles
IG Product Updates - A place to let you know about all the things we roll out
IG Community Blog - Competitions, 'Ask the Expert' series, and Community updates
Calendar: A way for discussion to be relevant and anchored to a specific date / time / macro event
Our Picks: A hand picked showcase of the best IG Community has to offer. If individual client forum posts or comments get a significant number of upvotes then they may also be featured
More to be rolled out shortly!
...and a few new features.
Activity streams: If you're logged in you'll notice you can easily browse things such as 'unread' or 'followed' content. You can save individual search streams so they're available for the next time you log in
Advanced search: An updated and intuitive search functionality
Leaderboard: The Leaderboard keeps track of the hottest content and best users each day based on reputation received. You'll increase your chances of getting on here if you post more, receive more likes, and help others
Community Profile: Your space in Community. Check yours out by clicking on your username in the top right hand corner
Access IG Community - anytime, anywhere
IG Community will be up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The easiest way to access IG Community is using the top right hand 'Help' drop down in the dealing platform, but you can also access via our mobile apps (look under the help and support section - try it now), or by simply going to community.ig.com
This initial rollout is only phase one of 'the big Community plan', and we'd love to hear your feedback. What do you like? What would you change if you had the chance? What new areas would you like to see? Let us know using the comments section below.
Happy chatting
IG Community Moderator Team
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