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Investment platform IG will match a deposit of up to £200 provided you stash the money in your account and make a first trade before 13 February.

This deal is one of a trio that IG is running* at the same time and in our view has the least hoops to jump through to qualify for hard cash.

You must be a new customer and an 'active' investor to qualify for the deal, but in practice this includes simply holding your first investment until 30 June.

Opening or closing a position each month also counts as maintaining an active investment portfolio. If you meet the terms and conditions, IG will then credit your account with the cash by 30 July.

This offer is the latest in a string of deals that the provider has been running to encourage new customers to sign up.

You can also get up to £1,000 in free shares and £3,000 when transferring your investments, though you can only choose to take up one of the three deals.

Be sure to use the right promo code when signing up – we examine each deal below.

> Open an IG account and take up a deal*

Which of the three deals is right for you?

This is Money says: IG removed its quarterly custody fee recently. Previously, it charged £24 a quarter if you placed less than three trades over the period – effectively requiring you to trade every month.

This makes its regular deals for new customers far more attractive.

Out of the trio running at the moment*, the £200 deposit match offer is most eye–catching, because it requires a relatively low level of funding from you.

IG is also paying 1 per cent cashback on transfers, capped at £3,000 – but to get £200 through this offer you’d need to transfer £20,000.

The final offer is a free share bundle worth up to £1,000 when you invest £300, but the value of shares you’ll receive is based on chance. You’re most likely to receive shares worth between just £50 and £75.

You must use the right promotional code for the deal you want when signing up for your account, which you can find at IG’s website.

Here's how each deal stacks up: 

• Deposit matched up to £200: Deposit your money and invest by 13 February to take part, making sure you meet the terms described above.
• Up to £1,000 in free shares: Invest £300 by 27 February and hold the investment until 31 March – shares paid out by 30 April, with the value of the shares you receive dictated by chance.
• Up to £3,000 when you transfer your investments: IG will pay 1 per cent cashback when you transfer your investments, capped at £3,000. This deal has the longest shelf life, closing on 5 April – you must maintain an open position until 31 October to qualify.

> Find out more about the IG deals*

Watch out for: IG also allows you to trade complex, risky financial instruments such as contracts for difference (CFDs) and spread bets. We believe investors are better off leaving these alone - IG itself says that 68 per cent of its accounts lose money when trading these types of investments.

And you shouldn’t decide on which investment platform to use based on offers and cashback alone.

Check that the platform meets your needs before going ahead. There’s also usually a bunch of hoops to jump through to qualify, so scour the terms and conditions and get in touch with the platform if you’re not sure about anything.

You can read our guide to the best investment platforms for more analysis of the top providers for different needs.

With the tax year end fast approaching, platforms should start introducing more deals to encourage investors to switch. Keep an eye out for these. 

For example, you can currently get between £100 and £3,000 cashback when transferring a pension to Interactive Investor*.

Freetrade is offering 1 per cent cashback capped at £5,000* when transferring an Isa or pension – there's a separate deal for each type of account, meaning the maximum available is £10,000.