LONDON, September 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- PureDeal Dealing Platform Proves Resilient Even in Highly Volatile Markets

IG Index, the UK's leading financial spread betting firm, has concluded its busiest ever month in terms of client transactions. Ongoing concerns over the outlook for economies on both sides of the Atlantic has lead to unprecedented periods of volatility for financial markets, encouraging a surge in account openings and clients placing more spread bets with the firm than ever before.

David Jones, Chief Market Strategist at IG Index, commented:

'August saw the FTSE 100 move in a range of more than 100 points on 18 out of the 22 trading days  - something that in more normal market conditions would only happen three or four times a month. As a direct result of the volatility, the number of orders placed by clients jumped significantly, with the PureDeal platform processing almost 900,000 transactions on 9 August alone.'

In a survey conducted by Investment Trends in late 2010, spread bettors across the UK repeatedly cited the importance of having a reliable dealing platform as one of the most critical factors in choosing a spread betting provider. The same survey showed that almost 60% of the country's active financial spread betting population have an account with IG Index and 88% of all respondents rated the PureDeal platform as 'good' or 'very good'.

Tim Hughes, Managing Director of IG Index, added:

'In a typical month we will handle in the region of six million transactions. The resilience and robust performance we've seen from the PureDeal platform during the peak periods of demand in August underlines the stability and reliability of our software - something that we know continues to be a key driver in attracting more people to spread bet with IG Index.'

With low transaction fees and tax-free profits, financial spread betting is ideally suited to shorter-term dealing strategies. Clients can access a wide range of instruments from a single account, while the ability to go long or short on a position offers the opportunity to profit regardless of the direction in which prices are moving.

About IG Index

IG Index is the world's leading financial spread betting provider, offering clients the ability to spread bet on over 7000 shares listed on markets worldwide, along with indices, forex, commodities and treasuries. Established in 1974, IG Index is part of IG Group (IGG.L), which employs in excess of 900 people and has offices in 14 countries worldwide. For further information please visit http://www.igindex.co.uk, or call +44(0)20-7896-0011

Media Contact:

Tony Cross, IG Group. +44(0)207-573-0245

SOURCE IG Index Plc