Class action looms against IG Markets on high-leverage CFDs

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

11 October 2022

A class action is in the process of being mounted against contracts for difference (CFD) firm, IG Markets Limited.

Law firm Piper Alderman and litigation funder, Omni Bridgeway have announced they are preparing a class action on behalf of up to 20,000 investors who they claim have collectively lost hundreds of millions of dollars trading CFDs.

It said it would be alleged that IG Markets Limited, a UK-backed financial services firm, had consistently marketed complex CFDs to inexperienced investors and facilitated those investors to trade in CFDs, without applying adequate checks and balances.

The firm said that the proposed class action would be registered with the Federal Court, following further investigation by Piper Alderman and Omni Bridgeway.

Commenting on the move, Piper Alderman partner, Martin del Gallego said there was now overwhelming evidence that high-leverage CFDs should never have been marketed to everyday Australian investors who had little or no experience in trading in such complex products.

“CFDs are little more than a form of gambling which has left tens of thousands of Australians out of pocket,” del Gallego said “Our proposed class action will seek to recover these losses for investors who should never have been exposed to trading in such complex, high-risk products.”