LeoTrader

@Tancredi has beaten me to it! 👍 That's all the email says, @Caseynotes. No explanation given. Have you traded knock-outs? Perhaps the email only went out to clients who've traded them. Just a thought. I completely agree with you. I think you'll find much of the same with any broker operating from the EU.

I think so, @Caseynotes. The change is that the minimum 'knock-out level' is much further away; the distance from entry (in percentage) now matching the margin requirement of a spread bet for the given instrument.

Re yesterday's email about the changes to knock-outs, with them now requiring the same margin as a standard spread bet, there's very little reason to trade them. They're now inferior to a standard spread bet (no customiseable/closer stop, market orders only, higher minimum position sizes). I assume IG's hands are tied and have been forced to make these changes to adhere to ESMA regulations. Such a shame. R.I.P. knock-outs.

@joeybageyes, @JamesIG, I view the live shows on the IG website at https://www.ig.com/uk/live-shows, which I have bookmarked. A few minutes before a live broadcast, the video player automatically starts counting down. If you miss a show, you can also view previous shows going back six weeks. Hope this helps.

Great thread, guys. Very interesting discussion. I found it interesting that a Bitcoin whale with a wallet containing nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin suddenly became active last week after being dormant for over four years. In the days before this week's price decline, the owner of this wallet began transferring millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to several exchanges. So I shorted Bitcoin! The position is still open with a very fat, blue P&L figure beside it . Alas, this position is on my demo account . Have a read: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/9bfnff/near_1b_are_currently_on_the_move_from_a_silkroad/

👍

Now all of the major pairs have had their minimum position size reduced from £1/pt to 50p, as well as some of the minors. Indices too; the FTSE 100 from £1/pt to 50p and the US 500 has been slashed from £5/pt to £1. I don't trade much else so not sure about other instruments but I'd assume this is across the board. It's a welcome change that will be beneficial to those with smaller accounts. I wonder why it hasn't been announced though.

Hi, Mine weren't even coming through on the web platform. Since this morning though, they seem to be working again on the web platform and my iPhone. I don't know if there's been any intervention by IG to fix the issue or whether indicator alerts are just temperamental (I've only recently started using them regularly). It would be nice to be able to rely on them with confidence though.

Hi @AP, That's what I plan to do as well, with the help of price alerts. As they are at the moment though, they're great for swing trading. I've opened a few live KO swing trades and must admit, I'm fast becoming a fan of this product. Kudos to IG for bringing it to us as quickly as they have.

Hmmm. Hopefully mine will just start working again when they feel like it then. 😴

Indicator alerts were working for me last week but they've stopped again this week. I've checked my settings and reset them but to no avail. Are they working for you, @Danthmann, @CPC69, @hughcl?

That's a very good point. ESMA should also consider the fact that the harder they push, the more they encourage retail traders to trade outside their jurisdiction too.

You're welcome. I hope for the same too. Loosening their chokehold on retail traders by reducing the leverage restrictions a little is the best we can hope for, and there's plenty of room to do that and still 'justify' their existence (ESMA got these new powers in January and they obviously want to use them - just like a kid with a new water pistol).

The ESMA regulations aren't legally a permanent change to legislation; they have to be reviewed and reimposed every three months if still deemed appropriate. I think they can keep them rolling for as long as they want though, so effectively permanent if they so choose. "MiFIR gives ESMA the power to introduce temporary intervention measures on a three monthly basis. Before the end of the three months, ESMA will review the product intervention measures and consider the need to extend them for a further three months." Source: www.esma.europa.eu

eToro has the lowest percentage of losing clients that I've seen so far. 65% doesn't sound as bad if you think of it as 1 in 3 clients are in profit, especially when compared to the '90% of retail traders are losers' figure so often bandied about. Maybe there actually is some value in automatic copy trading.