I know some of this has already been posted on other threads but thought it would be useful to repost for those that have missed it or didn't receive an email from IG. Surely this kind of information should be visible on the IG website or in the blog posts. Really frustrating as a lot of these restricted securities are actually liquid ETFs, I've closed my affected positions (at a loss) to avoid the 100% margin change this Friday. Really disappointing that these changes are communicated at such short notice. Part of the appeal of the IG spread betting account for me is access to small caps which others don't offer.
List of securities: https://www.ig.com/content/dam/publicsites/igcom/uk/210219_IGM_UK_Affected Markets - Non TT.pdf
From email:
"We constantly review the products we offer in line with client demand. We have reviewed associated returns across our 12,000 leveraged share markets and decided to withdraw around 900 small-cap shares for spread betting and CFD accounts. These markets will continue to be available for share dealing – find out how to open a share dealing account below.The list of affected shares that will be withdrawn from spread betting and CFD accounts are listed in this PDF. Please read on for details about the process, but in summary:
1.
We are increasing margins so that all positions on these shares will have a margin requirement of 100% at 3pm on Friday 26 February
2.
Please close positions by Monday 29 March 2021, from which point we will start to close any remaining open positions
3.
You will still be able to buy the majority of shares outright using our share dealing service
What happens next?For a small subset of the affected markets (listed as ‘set 1’ in the PDF), margin requirements are already at 100%. For the remaining markets (listed as ‘set 2’ in the PDF), margin requirements will increase to 100% from 3pm (UK time) on Friday 26 February.You have until Monday 29 March 2021 to close your open positions on affected markets, from which point we will start to close any positions still open. Positions will be closed as soon as practical from this point, while ensuring that all reasonable steps are taken to obtain the best results for our clients. This action is taken in accordance with Term 28(3) of the latest version of the applicable customer agreement governing your account(s) with IG.We encourage you to review your exposure and consider how best to manage your position(s). Should you wish to maintain your existing position(s) with IG in the short term, please ensure that you have enough money on your account(s) to cover the new margin requirements.We understand that you may need time to decide what to do, or to seek alternative exposure. Nonetheless, we urge you to close your position(s) before Monday 29 March to ensure that you have discretion over the closure.Can I invest in these markets via share dealing?Yes, most of them will remain available via share dealing. While you won’t be able to transfer existing leveraged position(s) from a spread betting or CFD account to an IG share dealing account, you can use an IG share dealing account to buy the majority of affected shares outright."