In major departures from its norm, IG Group is rebranding as IG.com, focusing on Forex traders, and adding a third party platform.
IG Group is not exactly sitting on its laurels, despite recent stellar financial results, and the IG share price sitting at an all time high.
In a piece about a month ago we wrote (exclusively) that IG Group had paid several million dollars for the IG.com domain name, as part of its rebranding as just ‘IG’, and as it looked to expand its powerful UK brand abroad, and into mainstream Forex trading. IG still earns more than half of its revenues in its UK home market, and the vast majority of that is spreadbetting business.
We then wrote, about two weeks ago, that the IG.com website has gone live, and it included a surprise piece of information — IG would be launching MT4 trading. Until now, IG has been very religious about its in-house, proprietary platform as a major differentiating factor.
So, it should come as no real surprise to our readers that IG has formally made an announcement (full text below), introducing IG’s MT4 offering, which will be live later this summer.
The IG press release reads as follows:
IG, the UK’s largest retail forex provider*, is adding MetaTrader 4 (MT4), the popular electronic trading platform, to its wide portfolio of services
Trading contracts for difference (CFDs) on forex using MT4 will be available to IG clients across mobile, desktop and tablet from late summer this year.
For the first time IG clients will be able to use MT4 to create their own automated trading strategies and algorithms, while still benefitting from the fast and efficient execution they expect from IG. They will also be able to take advantage of MT4’s advanced suite of analytical and charting functions, including the ability to backtest strategies.
Current MT4 users in turn will be able to connect directly to IG’s servers from within MT4, once they have created an IG account. This will enable them to trade on MT4, backed by the number one forex provider in the market.
Tim Howkins, Chief Executive, IG said “This partnership between two dominant players in the forex market gives clients the best of both worlds – access to all the tools that make MT4 so popular, coupled with IG’s fast and secure execution model. MT4 users will benefit from IG’s superior execution speeds and a direct connection between the systems. With IG and MT4 there won’t be any third-party bridges that can slow trades down.”
IG has been working closely with MetaQuotes, the company behind MT4, to ensure the platform’s trading functionality integrates seamlessly with IG’s systems. There will be over 30 currency pairs supported at launch with more to follow.
The launch is part of IG’s ongoing strategy to offer a range of market-leading platforms providing a best-in-class trading experience across all asset classes and trading styles.
* Based on number of active accounts, Investment Trends UK Leveraged Trading Report November 2012
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.