Molibar

I'm live on both, and CS has consistently lower spreads for spread betting. DAX 1 vs 1.2 FTSE 0.4 vs 1 Dow 2 vs 3.6 (DOW is closed at the moment, during opening hours both are cheaper, but CS still wins) Regards, Molibar

CoreSpreads are dirt cheap. I've moved back to IG now though, since they lowered their DAX and YM spreads to more sensible levels. The DAX spreads are still lower at CS, and same thing with the YM spreads. On CS they are both fixed to 1 point. As I said previously, the platform is quite horrible to trade with compared to ProRealTime, and the drawing tools are even worse, so it feels ok to pay a little bit extra in spreads for ProRealTime, but not the previous 8-12 times as much as it was a month ago. I'm still hoping that IG will honour their marketing material promise and return to the spreads they brag about. Regards, Molibar

I think you are talking about the pattern daytrading limitations, that only applies to US traders. The margin requirements has been higher lately, but that's a discussion to be had with AMP. Regards, Molibar

I would suggest you sign up for an US AMP account instead of a Europe one instead. If you want to use a separate trading platform, for instance like Sierra Chart, you can then get the CME data for free, or discounted via your broker. As a European trader it costs a lot if you don't get it through your broker. With this setup you get access to crude and gold futures data too. Regards, Molibar

Slippage is given on CoreSpread's demo platform, and they are following FCA's rules, so the money is protected just as on the IG platform. Haven't got trades rejected though, so I don't know how requoting will affect me. I guess it's not more common there than on IG's platform though. Given how rare it is when live trading I don't think it will affect my demo trading much. Thanks for the explanation of how IG sets their spreads, makes me less upset with them. Regards, Molibar

CoreSpreads trading interface is horrible, but I've opened up an account and have been demo trading today. It took me less than an hour to get into their order flow, which is really simple, which for me means absolute garbage. With IG's offer on ProRealTime you get a really good trading platform with a lot of power. I've been using Sierra Charts for futures trading, and that blows everything else straight out of the water. The types of orders you can put on is mind blowing. I totally disagree with what you and BigDeal is saying about understanding IG when it comes to their insane spreads. Their marketing material is lying, you don't get even close to the spreads they boast about. They have been willingly taking the majority of their clients money since they started, and now when volatility comes in they decide they want a bigger piece of the pie. Unacceptable.. Their increased risk, if they were actually hedging their clients trades, would be zero, and with the increased trading they should even be able to tighten the spreads. Tomorrow I will continue demo trading, and on Monday I will probably vote my way out of IG with my feet.. ..if I can get over CoreSpread's impotent trading interface:).. Regards, Molibar

Wow Guest, you're right, just checked out their real-time spreads, and they have tight spreads.. ..well, the same spreads as IG used to have. Now IG is 4-10 times more expensive on DAX, depending on what day you compare with. I'm going to create an account on Core Spreads now, and see how long it will take before I can move over there. I like IG's free ProRealTime platform, but I can move over to MT4 if push comes to shove! --- Caseynotes - Yes, I could trade the monthly time frame too, but I'd rather do that on Core Spreads with a 5th the spread:).. I think IG just lost me as a client. Regards, Molibar

What time frames do you trade on? Regards, Molibar

That's not really true, it's quite choppy now. Smaller time frames are terrible to trade with 6 points on the DAX. But glad that it's working out for you. Regards, Molibar

The new increased spreads have taken trading out of spread betting, now it's only betting. Virtually impossible to day trade. Examples during normal trading hours; DAX (DY) has 6-7 points, Wall Street (YM) has 12 points. This has been the case the last week, and when contacting IG for clarification and further information the person in the call centre didn't see why those spreads are unacceptable. My friends who are trading futures contracts are just laughing at me.. This is copied from their online spread information, and doesn't even vaguely correspond to the actual spreads. https://www.ig.com/ie/markets/indices/indices-spread-bet-product-details Anyone heard anything from IG on this? Anyone noticing this, or is it just me? Regards, Molibar

Yes, lower the interest rates below zero, and refinance loans. That man makes me laugh.. ..out loud sometimes. The bank refused me when I asked for that deal.

Hey dmedin, sounds like you're in a rough patch. Take it easy for a couple of days, go back to demo, and try to find your own trading strategy. Don't listen so much to experts, and find something that works for you by cherry picking things from others. If this was easy everyone would be doing it. It takes 3-5 years to become consistently profitable for most retail traders.. ..something experts tend to forget to tell you. But you're right, at that time one is a "professional" and has the right to sit at the big boys table. Don't feel bad about not hacking this **** at this moment, if you keep on doing it you will become good at it. Take care!