InvestinGoal Methodology
The InvestinGoal Method in numbers
- 4 macro-areas evaluated
- 24 sections for detailed analysis
- 187 manually inserted data
- 30 hours on average spent on the analysis of each broker
- 4 brokers comparable at the same time
How we rate brokers: the IG Rank calculation
Each broker is evaluated according to 4 Macro-Categories: Security, Costs, Trading and Support.
Each Macro is assigned a specific rating, and the four ratings together form the final rating of the Broker, which is our IG Rank.
Each Macro is again divided into Sections, and each Section contains individual Data or Labels, which are entered and verified by us manually.
Macros, Sections and Labels all have a different and specific weight within the overall calculation.
Security
Impact on the final grade: 35%
Intro: the Macro has greater incidence than all the others. Here we have included everything concerning the information to verify the reliability and solidity of the broker. We believe that measuring the security of the broker and therefore the security of our investments is a crucial factor.
Sections:
- Company info
- Financial leverage
- Regulations
- Brand Power
A broker with even one Tier 1 regulation has a higher rating than a broker with multiple Tier 2 and Tier 3 regulations.
Costs
Impact on the final grade: 20%
Intro: here we evaluate everything about the costs and savings options the broker offers to the customer, whether as trading spreads, costs and commissions to get started, or special account types.
Sections:
- Deposits and Withdrawals
- Fees and Commissions
- Account Types
- Commodities Commissions
- Forex fixed spreads
- Variable spreads
- Stock Commissions
- Indices Commissions
- Cryptocurrency Commissions
60% of the weight is divided equally between 2 sections: Costs and Commissions (which identifies all passive costs that are not really related to trading, such as deposit and withdrawal fees, overnight commissions, etc.) and Forex Spreads (we have chosen Forex as a common market for all brokers to allow a homogeneous evaluation of the quality of their spreads).
The remaining 40% is equally divided between Deposits and Withdrawals (both figures and accepted payment methods) and Account Types (e.g. Cent or Micro Accounts, Zero Spreads, Islamic, etc.).
Trading
Impact on the final grade: 35%
Intro: In this macro we have collected all the data referring to the operational side, that is trading. In here you can understand how many trading possibilities the broker really provides.
Sections:
- Available Platforms
- Mobile Trading
- Available Markets
- Order Execution Mode
- Risk Management Tools
- Special Trading Modes
- Allowed Trading Techniques
- Trading Tools
The section with the highest relative weight is the “Available Markets”, which represents about 23.33% of the total. We believe it is important for a broker to allow access to multiple markets.
Another 26% is divided equally between Mobile Trading (which evaluates the possibilities and functionality of trading from smartphones) and Order Execution Mode (if the broker operates as a Market Maker or ECN, etc.).
The other 50% is represented by the Available Platforms, Allowed Trading Techniques (e.g. Scalping or EAs), Special Trading Modes (e.g. PAMM or Copy Trading), Trading Tools (One click trading, signal alert, price alert, etc.) and Risk Management Tools (Trailing Stop, OCO Orders, etc.).
Support
Impact on the final grade: 10%
Intro: this is a measure of how much the broker is committed to support its clients, both directly in case the user needs it, and indirectly with Training or Analysis tools.
Sections:
- Support Tools
- Client Support
- Market Analysis
80% of this macro is divided between Customer Support (which evaluates the different communication methods made available to the client, such as email, phone, live chat, etc.) and Support Tools (which evaluates the quality, quantity and type of training material on trading that is made available).
The remaining 20% is dedicated to the Market Analysis section (which evaluates the research tools, news, and analysis tools available to the trader).
Our Broker Analysis Method
- It takes approximately 30 hours per broker to verify all data and enter it into our database. From this, we generate the automatic calculation of the IG Rank.
- Then we move on to the manual and specific evaluation of the broker for writing the review.
- When it comes to the Security macro, especially for newer brokers, we verify all the data with every single regulatory body, making sure that the legal information shown by the broker is truthful.
- We use Demo and Live Accounts to verify the functionality of the broker and how the services change from Demo to Live. Each service is tested for effectiveness.
- Part of the information research process is done in direct contact with the broker’s Support departments, and this allows us to evaluate this aspect directly.
- Finally, since users can access different services with different features depending to the country they are based in, we use VPN systems to test how the broker advertises its trading offering according to specific geographic locations.
How we pick the brokers to be included in our rankings
We select the brokers to be included in the rankings and in our Awards using both the IG Rank, the automatic rating system we have developed, and our personal experience.
When we work on a ranking we start first of all by identifying all the brokers that could be part of that particular list because they possess those particular characteristics to which the ranking refers.
Then we use both the IG Rank and our personal experience and knowledge of the industry to further narrow down the list of candidates and eventually define a list of 10 brokers.
The order in which we list the brokers is not necessarily from best to worst. Since we are only dealing with high quality and reputable major brokers, all those we mention are good choices.
However, based on experience, we tend to give more prominence to certain brokers that stand out for overall quality.
