arvin, i appreciate your very supportive reply. ive done some stocks portfolio filling on IB now with their live account but im a bit bruised and battered as a result
i dont give up easily so the more i learn from wherever, the more likely it is that i could do something at IG with the share dealing account despite lack of a demo option beforehand. good to know IG protects new users - they are very busy like that at IB but do not stop to think that using language that a newbie can understand might just be the smartest way to help.. they have a glossary for general terminology but even with google searching the site its difficult to get help with what site specific stuff means.. is IG thinking about what it actually is like for beginners to navigate the site too? best way to get this kind of perspective is to sit beside someone trying to do just that and see what kind of questions they ask at each step of the way. it seem like the only aim at IB is to make sure the help especially their videos makes sense to those that already know the answers. if IG can do better than that it might boost your ratings in reviews, etc. but i already rather think it is doing better.. heres an example of trouble with IB; in their (my) client portal, column header names like 'avg price' and 'cost basis' do not have any direct way (like a windows ? icon) to get an 'in a nutshell' explanation of what the header means. also there is no way to sort columns of numbers/ names according to different criteria. i cannot sort positions (stocks held) by exchange bought at, so all the nyse and lse and nasdaq are grouped together so its easy at a glance to see which figures are in gbp and which are usd. how does this compare with IG layout? (if i had tried CFDs on here i would know more on this, sure..).
sorry if this rant is a bit heavy going i will go and try to repeat some of it at IB next.. if i can get to the right site map link to reach community there.. if we want a good example of how to do it right then simplywallstreet is it for me - albeit not a broker platform, but the resources on there are huge and very thoughtfully put together and they treat free trial users with respect. subscription cost is not insanely high either, like many other similar sites. hope ive contributed something here that will in some way or other help others in the long run. thanks again for your help. will stick around as long as my CFD demo account login doesnt expire. but in any event i have not closed my mind to the IG share dealing account for alternative portfolio use, in due course