JamesIG

The new close out rules will apply to pre-existing positions. This is also for the account as a whole. As you stated, your example would be correct.

I've received a number of queries and PM's relating to our European and Australian offices which I thought I may help clear up here. As previously stated, some of IG's international offices (and by extension accounts opened through those offices) will not be affected by ESMA. The same goes for professional clients. Will I still be able to call the UK office if I open an account in Australia? We have native English speakers in many of our offices, most notably in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and Dubai. This means that if you are a UK resident, but hold an Australian account set up though the IG.com/au website, you would still be able to call the same UK phone dealing number and speak to a UK, London based dealer or client services employee from 7am through to 9.30pm London time. You would receive the same level of service, irrespective of whether you had a UK account and/or an Australian account, and all IG dealers from all our international offices would be able to help on any account type. Do UK spread betting and Australian CFD accounts allow you to trade the same markets? The majority of the markets you trade will be exactly the same irrespective of where you hold an account. If you opened an IG account in Switzerland for example, you would still be able to deal on the FTSE, UK stocks and shares, and all the same future markets which you currently have access to. What are the differences between CFD and Spread betting? Spread betting and CFD trading are both leveraged products – enabling you to open a position while putting up just a percentage of the capital. Though they share many benefits, there are key advantages unique to each. You can check out more using the links below. Comparison https://www.ig.com/uk/spread-betting/spread-betting-vs-cfds What is CFD trading? https://www.ig.com/uk/cfd-trading/what-is-cfd-trading Examples https://www.ig.com/uk/cfd-trading/cfd-trading-examples Benefits https://www.ig.com/uk/cfd-trading/benefits-of-trading-cfds How CFDs work https://www.ig.com/uk/cfd-trading/how-does-cfd-trading-work Can someone give me a CFD trade example relating it to Spread betting? Put simply say you trade $10/pt on oil via a spread bet. If you're looking at trading a CFD, rather than bet a 'per point' value, you would look to buy contracts which have predefined values. Say a contract in oil had a contract size of $10, you would only buy a single contract. In both examples if the market moved a single point you would make/lose $10. If you only wanted to make/lose $5 per point movement you would look to buy half a contract. Check out the examples here: https://www.ig.com/uk/cfd-trading/cfd-trading-examples

thanks - I'll add that to the end of month report.

negative balance protection for retail accounts means you account as a whole can't go negative. For example, imagine you have £1000 in the account and open a position which requires £300 margin. The market moves against you by £700 worth over the course of a few days so you're about to start eating into your margin. If the company released figures overnight and they were bad and the market then gaps down by £400 worth, IG would automatically close your trade at the best available price because you can't maintain the losses, but previously your account would be seeing a £100 debt. Negative balance protection dismisses this and you would just have a zero balance.

European shares seen opening slightly higher Interest rates and details of asset purchases by the ECB remain unchanged after yesterdays meeting. No mention of protectionist policy or further details on the supposed resolution of aluminium and steel tariffs were given by Draghi. Prescription cannabis for medical use is now legal in the UK after a reclassification of the drug. Amazon smash forecasts of $2.54 EPS with a healthy $5.07 for their end of years. Sky broadcaster and broadband provider profits are soaring amidst the Comcast and 21st Century Fox bidding war. Copper is looking to gain this week for the first time in seven. After three days worth of gains oil slipped on a quieter trading day, however the black gold remains supported by Saudi transport disruption. Asian overnight: A somewhat steady, if indecisive session overnight saw moderate gains across the Japanese and Australian indices, while Chinese and Hong Kong markets drifted lower throughout the session. Asian markets are trading marginally lower this morning although the Australian All Ordinaries is up nearly 1%. Yesterday’s Facebook driven losses on the Nasdaq had a limited impact on tech shares in Asia, with Hong Kong the only market to see downside for their tech sector. On the data front, Japanese Tokyo core CPI rose to 0.8% (from 0.7%), in a welcome continuation of the rare rise seen last month. UK, US and Europe: US Index Futures are staging a partial rebound this morning after yesterday's Nasdaq led decline following worse than expected results from Facebook. The dollar has softened overnight and in turn we have seen some marginal gains in commodity prices. Looking ahead, a quiet day from Europe means the focus will be firmly fixed on the US GDP figure, which is expected to rise sharply to over 4%. Trump’s excitement at the ‘best financial numbers on the planet’ could possibly be another lead on the potential release, given his announcement about “looking forward to the jobs numbers” on the day of a massive NFP outperformance back in June. The corporate calendar remains busy, with Twitter earnings maintaining the focus on tech stocks today. Meanwhile, we also have the likes of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Colgate, Merck, and American Airlines numbers to look out for. South Africa: The rand is slightly firmer against the majors. BHP Billiton is up 2.2% in Australia, suggestive of a positive start for local diversified miners. Tencent Holdings is down 0.75% in Asia, suggestive of a similar start for major holding company Naspers. Markets are expected to trade cautiously into this afternoons US GDP data release where consensus estimates predict an economic expansion of more than 4% q/q in the worlds largest economy. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) 1.30pm – US GDP (Q2, first reading): growth forecast to be 2.1% QoQ. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses 3pm – US Michigan confidence index (July, final): forecast to fall to 97.1 from 98.2. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Reckitt Benckiser saw an outperformance in its infant formula business, with a 7% rise in sales for that segment helping drive a 4% increase in like-for-like sales for the business as a whole over the second quarter. It was that bullish development in their infant formula business, particularly in China, which helped raise their full-year sales outlook. Pearson are on track to return the business to profitability this year, after a rise in demand in US and online helped deliver an outperformance for what is traditionally a quiet first half of the year. The second half of the year is usually where the company makes the bulk of its profits, and with first-half adjusted operating profit of £107m, this was well ahead of the £85m expected. BT Group saw a 1% rise in core earnings for the first quarter, thanks largely to cost savings, and strong business in its EE mobile unit. However, the firm also saw underlying revenue down 2%, which fell in line with market expectations. Rightmove saw pre-tax profit rise 12% in the six months to June, with revenue up 10% as their revenue per advertiser rose to £987, from £911. The number of agents using the platform remained largely flat despite housing market struggles, helping enable a 14% rise in their interim dividend, to 25p a share. Oando Plc Interim results showed turnover increased by 11%, N297.3 billion compared to N267.0 billion (H1 2017). Gross Profit increased by 53%, N51.0 billion compared to N33.4 billion (H1 2017). Royal Bafokeng Platinum anticipates a loss per share ("LPS") for the six months ended 30 June 2018, of between 13.5 cents and 10.5 cents (representing an improvement of between 10% and 30%), compared to a LPS of 15 cents for the previous corresponding period (the six months ended (30 June 2017). A headline loss per share (“HLPS”) of between 7.5 cents and 4.5 cents (representing an improvement of between 51% and 70.6%) is anticipated, compared to a HLPS of 15.3 cents for the previous corresponding period. William Hill Upgraded to Hold at Peel Hunt Tekmar Group Rated New Buy at Berenberg NCC Upgraded to Buy at Berenberg Rosneft GDRs Upgraded to Buy at Goldman Amerisur Resources Cut to Sector Perform at RBC Inchcape Downgraded to Hold at HSBC SSE Downgraded to Hold at HSBC Ebro Foods Downgraded to Neutral at Haitong Featured Video Please note: This 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.

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

Asian equity markets mixed overnight on better than expected Trump trade talks, but poor US futures - notably Facebook results. Saudi Arabia is suspending the shipment of oil via the Red Sea following an attack from Yemeni Houthi. Gold steady as dollar eases after US and EU trade talks. Big results day for the European market with Shell, Diageo, Nestle, Daimler, and AB InBev set to give trading updates. The corporate focus remains crucial for US markets of late, with Amazon, Intel, McDonald’s, and Starbucks all reporting their latest figures today. Asian overnight: Overnight markets traded in somewhat indecisive fashion, with weakness in Chinese and Hong Kong indices coming amid strength in the Japanese Topix index. The Nikkei traded marginally lower, while the ASX 200 was flat on the session. This comes amid a session of mixed messages over in the US, with disappointing Facebook earnings driving a sharp decline in tech stocks. However, with the US and EU striking a truce and promise to bring down tariffs across the board, there is also a bullish theme to be seen. UK, US and Europe: The move in the US is led by the Nasdaq following a poor reception to Facebook results. The ongoing trade war narrative remains in the market place as Donald Trump meets with EU leaders. European data has kicked off with the release of the German Gfk consumer climate number, which ticked moderately lower from 10.7 to 10.6. The eurozone focus will be maintained through the day, with today’s monetary policy decision from the ECB bringing heightened volatility and focus on the euro. We are unlikely to see any move from Draghi & co, yet this may not necessarily mean that we see the meeting pass without any fireworks. The US focus will be upon the impact of the EU-US trade deal, with many hoping this would become a blueprint for future dealings with China. On the calendar front, look out for core durable goods unemployment claims, and crucially the US trade balance data. South Africa: Markets are expected to trade cautiously ahead of this afternoons ECB meeting and tomorrows Advance GDP data out of the US. Metal prices are trading flat to lower this morning. The rand is slightly weaker this morning although, trades near its best levels of the last few weeks. BHP Billiton is 0.3% lower in Australia, suggestive of a softer start for local diversified resource counters. Tencent Holdings is 2% lower in Asia, suggestive of a similar start for local holding company Naspers which has a 20% weighting in the Top40 Index. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Tullow Oil reported a pre-tax profit of $55 million for the first half of the year, from a $348 million loss a year earlier. Revenue was up 15% to $905 million and net debt fell to $3.08 billion. The firm said that it did not yet believe a dividend was appropriate. Vodafone reported a 4.9% fall in revenue for the first quarter, but annual organic adjusted earnings guidance was left unchanged at 1-5%. ITV said that first-half adjusted pre-tax profit fell 7% to £354 million, but revenue was 8% higher at £1.85 billion. Royal Bafokeng Platinum (SA) anticipates a loss per share ("LPS") for the six months ended 30 June 2018, of between 13.5 cents and 10.5 cents (representing an improvement of between 10% and 30%), compared to a LPS of 15 cents for the previous corresponding period (the six months ended 30 June 2017). A headline loss per share (“HLPS”) of between 7.5 cents and 4.5 cents (representing an improvement of between 51% and 70.6%) is anticipated, compared to a HLPS of 15.3 cents for the previous corresponding period. Anglo American Plc (SA) a half year financial update showed earnings per share to have decreased by 6%. Please note: This 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.

Hi @cate - unfortunately if you were to open a new account through a different office you would only have access to the new web trading platform. The classic platform isn't an available option for new accounts.

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

Hi guys. I'll answer a couple of the above questions, but please can I just remind everyone to login to community before they post? This makes it easier for me to follow up on account specific questions. @ Guest TG12 - Please send me a private message or login to your IG account and Community so I can double check who it was you spoke to so I can double check what was discussed. To reconfirm - you don't need to be an Aus resident to have an Australian IG Account (you can read more info about our offering at https://www.ig.com/au or compare out offices here). @ Guest Em89 - this shouldn't have any negative effect on your client services experience. Although there are a number of important difference between the offices and IG accounts it’s important to remember that there are a few things which remain the same across the board. 24 hours a day English trading support. We have native English speakers in many of our offices, most notably in the UK, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and Dubai. This means that if you are a UK resident, but hold an Australian account set up though the IG.com/au website, you would still be able to call the same UK phone dealing number and speak to a UK, London based dealer or client services employee from 7am through to 9.30pm London time. You would receive the same level of service, irrespective of whether you had a UK account and/or an Australian account, and all IG dealers from all our international offices would be able to help on any account type. The same award winning IG platform. The IG web trading platform offers nearly the same functionalities irrespective of which account type you have opened. There are a few nuances, for example the release schedule or roll out of new features, but put simply you wouldn’t have to figure out how to use the platform again. The same markets across all accounts. The majority of the markets you trade will be the same irrespective of where you hold an account. If you opened an IG account in Switzerland for example, you would still be able to deal on the FTSE, UK stocks and shares, and all the same future markets which you currently have access to. A notable difference is that the UK is the only country where we can offer spread betting, but we have this useful page which discusses the similarities and differences between the two here. If you have never trader CFD’s before you can also watch the below video which gives an overview of the trading tool, and you should see how similar it is to a spread bet. If you have any questions on the above, please just ask and I’d be happy to discuss the differences between our offices and product offices. As always IG doesn’t provide an advisory service, but I can provide you the correct information so you can make a choice on which offering works best for you based on your trading needs.

The Turkish lira crashes yesterday as the central bank decided to keep rates unchanged despite soaring inflation. The UK housing market looks to remain stagnant as figures released by HMRC showed housing transactions slipped last month by as much as 3%. House sales were down nearly 6% YoY. Housing market data in the US set to release today, so keep an eye out at 12 midday and 3pm for mortgage apps and new home sales figures. Banking shares continue to gain globally. Metro bank has said profits have quadrupled YoY in the first half, driven by continued strong growth in deposits, whilst UBS gave better than expected results yesterday. There are a number of prominent European banks set to release results this week, so keep an eye out for trade opportunities. Oil gained yesterday as traders factored in an expected Chinese stimulus package, as well as concerns on the US/Iran tensions which could significantly disrupt oil supplies. For energy traders this would be a story to keep an eye on, along with weekly inventories at 3.30pm. Bitcoin jumps to its highest level since May on reports the SEC is set to approve a crypto ETF. Asian overnight: A mixed affair overnight saw gains in Japan and Hong Kong counterbalanced by losses throughout Chinese and Australian indices. Asian Markets are trading mostly firmer this morning although gains on the Shanghai Composite are modest and the Australian All Ordinaries Index is slightly lower on the day. Considering the gains seen in US markets off the back of Alphabet earnings-fuelled tech stocks, the underlying momentum for global markets should be positive. The announcement from Chinese authorities that they would raise spending and bring some projects forward certainly provided a boost earlier in the week, yet the effects seems to be waning today. Data-wise, Australian CPI came in as expected, remaining at 0.4%. UK, US and Europe: US Index Futures are trading lower this morning to partially offset gains on major US Indices last night. Looking ahead, we look set for a somewhat quiet economic calendar, with German business climate representing the only event of note through the European session. The US session will likely focus on the latest US crude inventories numbers, while new home sales could also figure for some traders. Instead we see a significant impact from earnings, with Facebook, GM, Ford, Boeing, and Qualcomm ensuring that the corporate influence remains elevated. South Africa: Asian Markets trading mostly firmer this morning leads to the suggestion that the South Africa Top 40 Index is set to have a relatively flat open today, in what is a relatively quite day of economic news flow. Base metal prices have continued to rebound on optimism that the Chinese government will pursue stimulus measure to help offset the trade war risks to the market place. Precious metal prices are flat on the day. BHP Billiton is up over 2% on the Australian All Ordinaries, suggestive of a positive start for local diversified resource counters, although a firmer rand could temper these gains somewhat. Local banking and retail counters should find the strengthening domestic currency a partial catalyst for gains this morning. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) 9am – German IFO index (July): business climate index to rise to 102.2 from 101.8. Market to watch: EUR crosses 3pm – US new home sales (June): forecast to fall 2.8% MoM from a 6.7% rise. Market to watch: USD crosses 3.30pm – US EIA crude inventories (w/e 20 July): stockpiles forecast to fall by 2.7 million barrels, from a 5.8 million increase a week earlier. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Tullow Oil reported a pre-tax profit of $55 million for the first half of the year, from a $348 million loss a year earlier. Revenue was up 15% to $905 million and net debt fell to $3.08 billion. The firm said that it did not yet believe a dividend was appropriate. Vodafone reported a 4.9% fall in revenue for the first quarter, but annual organic adjusted earnings guidance was left unchanged at 1-5%. ITV said that first-half adjusted pre-tax profit fell 7% to £354 million, but revenue was 8% higher at £1.85 billion. AECI Ltd Interim results showed headline earnings per share to have increased by 19% from the prior year's comparative interim period. Applus Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan UBS Upgraded to Buy at SocGen B&M European Upgraded to Buy at Citi Kingfisher Upgraded to Neutral at Citi boohoo Downgraded to Neutral at Citi BT Downgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Peugeot Upgraded to Hold at DZ Bank Ryanair Downgraded to Reduce at AlphaValue Featured Video from IGTV Please note: This 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.

Please note that you would not need to be an Australian resident to have an account in Australia. For more information please check out https://www.ig.com/uk/compare-our-leveraged-trading

ESMA rules and regulations are specifically for IG accounts which have been opened via the relevant European office. If you are holding an account which has been opened in say, Australia, then ESMA regulations would not apply. You would then be regulated by the relevant body in that country. You may maintain your current UK based account at the same time if you wish. You should be able to transfer the balances between the two accounts, however you wouldn't be able to do this online as they wouldn't be linked. Please give us a call to transfer funds.

The reason you haven't received a share certificate is because IG operates a nominee account to reduce costs of trading which are passed directly onto our client base and allow us to offer dealing as low as A$8 or 0.1% on Australian trades if you're an Australian client. You can read more about that here https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nominee.asp In regards to your second question regarding your statement, I'll point @JasmineC who works in our Aus office who should be able to comment on that.

Hi muddy - please let me know if you can any specific questions or anything we can assist on.

Asian market gain whilst Chinese shares hit a 1 month high on hopes of a government stimulus package. Hedge funds bet on higher government bond yields extending the USD gains, and prompting a gold sell off. Oversupply worries continue with oil causing a drop in prices. Despite Google's Alphabet multibillion dollar fine, shares jump on results to a record breaking all time high. Crypto markets currently up but generally trading in a range. Asian overnight: A positive session overnight saw gains across Japanese, Chinese, Hong Kong and Australian indices. Government bonds added to a sense of stability, with yesterday’s BoJ-fuelled volatility easing to give way to a move stable session. However, that Japanese theme continued on the data-front, with a weak manufacturing PMI (51.6 from 53.0) and BoJ core CPI (0.4% from 0.5%) adding to the difficulty for Japanese central bankers. It is clear that despite a whole raft of loose monetary policies, strong growth and high inflation remains elusive. UK, US and Europe: The PMI theme looks set to continue into the European session, with a whole raft of eurozone PMI surveys due out throughout the morning. Particular attention is likely to be paid to the manufacturing sector (particularly German) amid the trade war with the US. Once again, PMI surveys will be key in the US session, with both manufacturing and services PMI surveys providing the main economic releases of the day. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) 8am – 9am – French, German, eurozone PMIs (July, flash): eurozone services PMI to fall to 53.7 from 55.2, and mfg PMI to rise to 55 from 54.9. Markets to watch: eurozone indices, EUR crosses 2.45pm – US mfg & services PMI (July, flash): mfg expected to rise to 55.5 from 55.4, and services to fall to 56.3 from 56.5. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Hammerson said that full-year profits had fallen 81% to £55.7 million, although adjusted profit was up 0.5% to £120 million. Net rental income was down 3% to £178.5 million. The firm plans to sell £1.1 billion of property by the end of 2019. PZ Cussons said that pre-tax profit slipped 23% to £66.6 million, while the annual dividend was left unchanged at 8.28p per share. Tough conditions in Nigeria hurt performance. Fevertree said that it expects full-year results to be ‘comfortably ahead’ of forecasts, as earnings rose 35% to £34 million for the first half. Revenue was up 45% at £104.2 million. Featured Video from IGTV Please note: This 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.

@JohnWoottonUK I believe this was the post @PandaFace was referring to.

For other community members who are unaware (and to provide context), a custodial account as defined by investopedia is an account type "accessible through a financial institution, mutual fund company or brokerage firm that an adult controls for a minor under the age of 18, depending on state laws." Unfortunately IG does not currently offer this account type.

Fear of an increase in protectionism from the United States causes Asian equity markets to dip. Profit warnings rise 29% quarter on quarter to 58 FTSE listed companies. Retail sector leads the way, and its expected the earnings shall continue due to uncertainty in the future. Brexit secretary Raab says that the ‘no deal’ option is still on the table. GBP opened marginally down, but came back and has now gained from the Friday close. G20 central bank leaders have warned that global economic growth risks have increased on the back of geopolitical tensions and trade war fears. Oil falls on the back of concerns on reduced fuel demand and a knock on to manufacturing. Thursdays ECB meeting is likely to be the primary event in the spotlight this week, however even then it’s likely to be a low key release. Current data suggests that things are performing as expected, so at best we’re likely to see Draghi express his satisfaction at his staffs predictions. Asian overnight: Market jitters have continued into this week, with a strong selloff in the Nikkei 225 highlighting the strengthening Yen coming thanks to its role as a haven. The session was largely mixed, with gains in China and Hong Kong offsetting some of the losses from the Japanese and Australian regions. The weekend’s G20 meeting of finance ministers and central governors saw continued worries over the impact of current trade tensions on the global growth picture. UK, US and Europe: Looking ahead, a somewhat quiet start to the week on the economic calendar sees eyes turn to eurozone concerns, with the Bundesbank monthly report and consumer confidence from the eurozone. The US markets will be looking towards US existing home sales figure, following on last week’s disappointing building permits and housing starts figures. The earnings season ramps up, with today’s earnings from Alphabet representing the first heavy hitter to keep an eye out for. South Africa: Global markets are trading mixed this morning, with US futures marginally lower, Australia and Japanese Indices trading firmly lower, while China and Hong Kong indices trade positive on the day. The Jse Top 40 Index is expected to trade marginally lower on open as it tempers strong gains from the end of last week. Miners in Australia are trading lower this morning with BHP Billiton down 1.4%, expectant of a similar start for locally listed resource counters today. Tencent Holdings is down 1.75% on the Hang Seng, suggestive of a similarly weak start for major holding company Naspers, which has a 20% weighting on the Top 40 Index. Today's economic calendar is relatively empty although markets will find guidance from earnings reports. South African banks are expected to release earnings updates in the week. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) 1.30pm – US Chicago Fed nat’l activity index (June): forecast to rise to 0.4 from -0.15. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses 3pm – eurozone consumer confidence (July, flash): forecast to fall to -2.3 from -0.5. Market to watch: EUR crosses 3pm – US existing home sales (June): expected to rise 1.5% MoM from -0.4%. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are looking to join forces to provide a shared streaming service with all content in one place. This comes as Ofcom recently reported a decline in people watching traditional broadcasts, as well as a decline in spending on original content, over on demand paid services such as Netflix. Ryanair said that net profit fell to €319 million for Q1, although revenue was up 9% to €2.08 billion. Net margins dropped 6 percentage points to 15%. Lower fares, the lack of an Easter half, and higher oil and pilot costs all hit performance. Full-year guidance was left unchanged. BHP Billiton said that it intended to defend a claim against the group in Australia relating to the Samarco dam failure. Hammerson has exchanged contracts for the sale of two retail parks for a total consideration of £164 million. The total sale price is at a 10% discount to the 2017 book value. Anglo American Platinum (SA) Interim results showed headline earnings per share of 1282c, a significant increase from the 285c achieved in the comparable interim period last year. Harmony Gold (SA) has announced that it has exceeded annual FY18 production. Featured Video from IGTV Please note: This 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.

Hey - I have had a look at your account and I can't see any recent dividends from US stock (within the last quarter at least). Also, because this is an account specific question I wouldn't be able to discuss this further on a public forum. Please drop me a private message with the details of your query (stock name, date of dividend etc) and I will investigate.

Expected index adjustments Please see the expected dividend adjustment figures for a number of our major indices for the week commencing 23rd July 2018. If you have any queries or questions on this please let us know in the comments section below. For further information regarding dividend adjustments, and how they affect your positions, please take a look at the video. NB: Special Divs are highlighted in orange Special Dividends Index Bloomberg Code Effective Date Summary Dividend Amount HSI 151 HK 27/07/2018 Special Div 1.25 STI KEP SP 25/07/2018 Special Div 5 SIMSCI KEP SP 25/07/2018 Special Div 5 How do dividend adjustments work? As you know, constituent stocks of an index will periodically pay dividends to shareholders. When they do, the overall value of the index is effected, causing it to drop by a certain amount. Each week, we receive the forecast for the number of points any index is due to drop by, and we publish this for you. As dividends are scheduled, public events, it is important to remember that leveraged index traders can neither profit nor lose from such price movements. This 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.

Assuming you are referring to the VEU Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF traded on the NYSE ARCA exchange, you would be looking at 30% withholding tax, unless you have filled in a W8-Ben form (W8-Ben in MyIG) in which case you would only have 15% withheld. I believe the latest Div on this ETF was 27th June which was 0.613. Please also remember for CFD's (and spread bets if you are in the UK), the adjustment is also calculated with the tax included, however if you are short you pay 100% of the divy.

Asian equity markets are mixed, however some pushed higher overnight over a volatile trading session as the Chinese yuan bounced off a one year low. Trump showed displeasure towards the Fed's hikes, criticising policy and highlighting concerns on the potential impact of rising interest rates on the US economy causing the Dollar to sag. The Comcast / Disney bidding war for 21st Century Fox ended yesterday with the former pulling out of the race. Comcast still plan on pursuing Sky. 70% of Royal Mail shareholders opposed a pay package deal for their new incoming CEO. Airbus and Boeing have seen combined orders of nearly 1000 aircraft as this years Farnborough Air Show. This week has shown strength in the aviation industry with the UK government also unveiling plans for its 6th gen fighter jet, the ‘Tempest’. A new test network has been launched for Raiden, an Ethereum payments channel project introduced as a potential solution for the cryptocurrencies scalability issues. Have your say on which new cryptocurrency IG offer in our community poll. Asian overnight: Markets in Hong Kong struck a ten-month low yesterday, as Asian shares continued to suffer thanks to concerns about global trade wars. Australia was the sole point of light, rising 0.3%, with only materials stocks lower. China’s currency continued to weaken as well, crossing the Rmb6.8 mark against the dollar for the first time in a year. Markets are speculating that the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) will look to intervene in currency markets in lieu of the Yuan's recent decline. The yuan against the dollar, down to 6.8211 after sliding as much as 0.7 percent, is currently at its weakest level in a year. It is now trading above the 6.7 mark, which historically has proved to be a strong support level for the yuan. UK, US and Europe: UK monthly retail figures disappointed yesterday forcing GBP lower and the chance of an August rate hike continuing to slide. High street retail is facing serious problems at the moment with Poundworld closing the last 190 of its stores as early as August 10th, and Goucho Groups ‘Cau’ chain set to go as the group heads into administration. Online competition, high rents, and a shifting discretionary consumer spending habit are the primary factors as Brexit and potential rising interest rates (and therefore larger mortgage repayments) weigh on many spenders minds. Premium ‘restaurant style’ deals at supermarkets, which really came into their own after the 2008 debacle, continue to be a cost efficient, easy alternative for many, whilst large online retailers such as Amazon (which saw its market cap nudge past $900bn a couple of days back) continue to thrive. The International Monetary Fund warns that a "no deal" Brexit would also be economically harmful to Eurozone countries, not just the UK. All goods and services would have to undergo stricter checks by the EU at its borders, complicating the systems currently in place. Estimates say that a "no deal" Brexit would cost the EU 1.5% of its GDP, or 250 billion euros. Looking forwards, the losses seen in the Asian market are expected to continue in Europe, with small drops for indices expected. Canadian CPI is the sole macro point of interest, while on the earnings front General Electric and Schlumberger report figures. The US dollar will also be in focus after President Trump commented that further rate increases could derail the economic boom in the US. South Africa: The rand slid even further than its emerging market currency peers yesterday after the South African Reserve Bank lowered its forecast for economic growth in 2018 to 1.2% from 1.7% previously. The rand has however posted a modest recovery this morning, although the longer term trend appears to remain that of weakening. Precious metal prices remain subdued , although palladium looks to have bucked the trend posting a near 2% gain. Crude prices are slightly firmer this morning. BHP Billiton is 2% lower in Asia this morning suggestive of a softer start for local diversified miners. Tencent is flat on the day, suggestive of a flat start for major holding company Naspers, which accounts for around a 20% weighting in the JSE Top40 index. Economic calendar - key events and forecast (times in BST) 1.30pm – Canada CPI (June): forecast to be 2.5% YoY from 2.2%, and 0.3% MoM from 0.1%. Core CPI to be 1.5% from 1.3% YoY. Markets to watch: CAD crosses Source: Daily FX Economic Calendar Corporate News, Upgrades and Downgrades Beazley reported pre-tax profit of $57.5 million for the first half, down from $158.7 million a year earlier. Gross premiums were up 25% to $1.32 billion. Homeserve said that growth prospects for FY 2019 are good, thanks to in-line performance for the 1 April to 19 July period. Unilever has commenced the second half of its €6 billion share buyback, which is expected to finish prior to the year-end. Corem Property Upgraded to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux NP3 Fastigheter Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux Recordati Upgraded to Buy at Goldman Orion Upgraded to Hold at Jefferies Deoleo Downgraded to Underperform at BBVA EON Cut to Equal-weight at Morgan Stanley Kone Downgraded to Hold at DNB Markets Outokumpu Downgraded to Hold at SEB Equities Featured Video from IGTV Please note: This 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.

interesting set of charts, and a great name for a blog ?

Thanks all for your feedback - any additional suggestions I will add to the end of month report which i send to product owners and developers. No word on OCO orders at the moment I'm afraid but I shall pass this on as well.