IG is one of the largest providers of leveraged trading services (such as spreadbetting and CFDs) globally. In September 2014, it launched stockbroking services covering the UK and a handful of other countries, with more international markets likely to be added in the future.
The UK service is notable for offering execution via Direct Market Access (DMA) as well as the more common Retail Service Provider (RSP) model. DMA can be useful to more active traders and the firm is one of only four UK platforms to provide this for retail investors – the others are iDealing, Interactive Brokers, and Saxo Bank.
For international investors, perhaps the most significant aspect of the service is the low FX conversion charge of 0.3% – this compares very well with almost all rivals at present. In addition, the firm also offers an ISA with no annual fee, which should make it a particularly competitive choice for holding international stocks in a tax-efficient account.