The Forex industry is filled with a long list of FX brokers scrambling to get their share of the growing number of traders around the world. Because of this, it has become a daunting task to choose the right broker for you.
What about a broker in the US?
If you are a resident of the U.S, we understand how hard it is to engage in trading Forex given the strict rules imposed by the government. For sure, you find yourself with limited options. Fear not though, because in this article, we'll make the work easier for you. We’re going to compare two leading U.S. brokers: TD Ameritrade and IG. You may find other brokers, accepting US Forex traders, but we won’t talk about them further.
Both brokers have been in business for over three decades. If a business stays for that long, it only means one thing - they’re reliable and credible. TD Ameritrade started in 1975, while IG was established in 1974.
Let’s start with the detailed comparison of the two.
Investment Offerings
Both brokers allow traders to speculate in the Forex market. Although IG offers more currency pairs with 93 versus Ameritrade’s 75 pairs. While IG provides CFD trading, TD Ameritrade doesn’t. Meanwhile, social trading is available in both brokers.
Now if you are looking to trade CFDs, you may do so with IG which offers a total of 17535 CFDs.
Deposit Requirement
In order to start trading Forex in the U.S, of course, you need capital. Brokers have made it easier for anyone to begin trading by offering lower deposit requirements.
TD Ameritrade and IG offer a deposit requirement of $2,000 and $300, respectively. If you are a beginner, it may be hard to shell out $2,000 from your pocket, so it would make sense to choose IG over TD Ameritrade. However, take note that a higher capital also means more trading flexibility and higher possible returns.
Trading Platforms
When it comes to trading platforms, IG offers the widely-used MT4 trading platform, while TD Ameritrade doesn’t. Now this might seem put IG at a clear advantage considering that MT4 is the default trading platform used by traders. But TD Ameritrade is also known for its thinkorswim trading platform, a platform suitable for professional and advanced traders. Both FX brokers offer web-based and mobile trading platforms
The trading platform you’d use depends on your preference and needs. If you are a beginner, using the MT4 platform may be ideal because of its clean, smooth and easy-to-use interface. But if you are a professional trader, TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim platform may be the better choice because of its advanced and useful features.
Research
Both brokers provide top-notch research tools and resources to clients. IG owns DailyFx, a blog site dedicated to providing Forex-related articles such as how to articles, news features, and comprehensive research-based content. IG also provides tools like an economic calendar to keep traders stay on the loop on market forecast and releases.
Meanwhile, TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim is not only platform for trading. It also offers powerful research tools such as live coverage from CNBC. Furthermore, it offers data from third parties like Morningstar, Thomson Reuters, and Dow Jones.
Spread
TD Ameritrade and IG have made sure to offer competitive pricing to traders. Both offer pretty low spreads. TD Ameritrade partners with Gain Capital to work on its execution. For EUR/USD currency pair, the company offers an average of 1.06 pips. IG’s spread for the said pair, meanwhile, is lower at 0.6 pips.
Final Thoughts about the best choice for a US client
If you are looking to engage in different financial instruments like Forex, stocks, indices and cryptocurrencies, IG would be a fantastic choice as TD Ameritrade lacks CFD trading. Also, if you are a newcomer, the MT4 trading platform offered by IG will be more suitable because the platform is easy and smooth to use. Additionally, it offers a lower deposit requirement to get started with $300 compared to TD Ameritrade’s $2,000.
However, TD Ameritrade is also a good choice because of its comprehensive platform thinkorswim which is not only a trading platform, but also great source of useful market content.
Now, the decision is yours to make. Considering both brokers have been offering trading services for quite some time now, both are worth a try. Nevertheless, take your time in making a decision to make sure your trading needs will be met.
