Online Trading

Interactive Brokers Review

4.5/5

Interactive Brokers LLC is anelectronic broker based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Owned and operated by Interactive Brokers Group and listed on the NASDAQ index, this world-renowned broker handles over 948,000 active client accounts. Echoing its global prowess, in the company is traditionally a league leader in trades, executing 1,749 thousand in August 2020 alone. In addition to its large client base, Interactive Brokers is highly regulated in several key markets such as the US, the UK, Canada, Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, and Japan.

 

The broker offers an impressive range of financial instruments including stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds all of which can be traded from a single integrated account worldwide. The broker’s mutual funds offerings are the largest in the world, and least expensive outside the US. Interactive Brokers connects to 135 markets in 33 countries and clients can fund their account and trade in 23 currencies. Interactive Brokers accepts deposits using a wide range of channels, including debit cards, credit cards, wire transfers, BPAY, and checks. There is no minimum threshold with regard to the deposit.

 

In addition, Interactive Brokers was the first major broker to announce commission-free trades on US stocks and ETFs and the first big broker to offer fractional share trading. The broker allows its users to save money by deploying its IB SmartRouting technology. Moreover, it offers other unique tools such as bond search. All customer accounts are segregated and insured, thereby ensuring ample dependability and security for client funds.

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Interactive Brokers Pros & Cons
Pros
  • Extensive range of instruments
  • Excellent trading platform
  • Highly regulated
  • Solideducational offerings
  • Technology-driven proprietaryplatform
  • Compatible with MT4 and MT5
  • No minimum deposit
Cons
  • Limited funding methods
  • Limited support for cryptocurrency trading
Who Is Interactive Brokers Recommended For?

Interactive Brokers is recommended for active traders who wish to track market movements before making informed investment decisions. This is all thanks to the advanced Trader Workstation trading platform which empowers users to chart assets, monitor news,and review investment researchalong with analyst ratings. Additionally, the broker hosts a wide range of educational material.

 

Advanced traders who wish to leverage technology in order to optimize their investments will welcomeInteractive Brokers’ use of SmartRouting technology that helps its users save an average of $4.70 per 100 share order. Even better, the brokerconsistently provides the lowest margin borrowing rates and pays high interest on excess cash held in customer accounts with $10,000 or more. These features make Interactive Brokers one of the top players in the market in terms of its technological capabilities and value-added features.

Regulated By
  • CFTC - Commodity Futures Trading Commission (United States)
  • NFA - National Futures Association (United States)
  • FINRA - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (United States)
  • SEC - Securities and Exchange Commission (United States)
Top Interactive Brokers Features
  • Highly Regulated Broker: Interactive Brokers is regulated in all major markets around the world. These include the US, the UK, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Luxembourg, making it an attractive investing destination for tradersacross the globe.

 

  • Advanced Trading Platform: The broker's Trader Workstation (TWS) platform offers advanced features such as technical charting, the ability to view commissions and spreads in an instant, as well as excellent educational materials. TWS is fully compatible with desktops, mobile web, and mobile apps.

 

  • Extensive Range of Instruments: Interactive Brokers offers a sizable range of financial instruments. The broker connects investors to 135 markets in 33 countries and 23 currencies. Instruments offered by the broker include stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, and robo advisor portfolios. The broker's mutual funds marketplace offers access to over34,600 no-load funds from more than 285 fund families.

 

  • Excellent Technological Capabilities: Interactive Brokers makes full use of technology in order to improve the trading experience. Its PortfolioAnalyst feature allows you to consolidate, track, and analyze your complete financial performance. Moreover, understand your current financial status by linking your investment, checking, savings, annuity, incentive plan, and credit card accounts.
Interactive Brokers Overview
  • Type of Broker Non-Advisory/Executionary Broker
  • Regulation & Licensing The Financial Conduct Authority (UK), Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (Luxembourg), Commodity Futures Trading Commission (US), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (US), National Futures Association (US), Securities Investor Protection Corporation (US), Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (Canada), Securities and Exchange Commission (US), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Australia), Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore), The Securities and Futures Commission (Hong Kong), Securities and Exchange Board of India (India), The Financial Commission (Hong Kong), Kanto Local Finance Bureau (Japan), The Financial Futures Association of Japan (Japan)
  • Clients Accepted from 220+ countries and territories
  • Assets Offered Stocks, Options, Futures, Currencies, Foreign Exchange, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds
  • Platforms Available Trader Workstation, Client Portal, IBKR Mobile, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5
  • Mobile Compatibility Android and iOS
  • Payment Types Accepted Credit Card, Debit Card, Wire Transfer, ACH, Checks, Direct Deposit, IBKR Mobile Check Deposit, Online Bill Payment, Canadian Bill Payment, Canadian Electronic Fund Transfer, BPAY
Trading and Investment Tools Trading Platforms
  • TWS By Interactive Brokers
  • 24hr Trading: No
  • Charting Package: Yes
  • Streaming News Feed: Yes
Interactive Brokers Compliance & Regulation

The broker is fully regulated in almost all major markets around the world, helping it accept clients from more than 220 countries and territories while demonstrating the ecosystem’s reliability and dependability. Interactive Brokers is available in all countries with the exception of nations prohibited under OFAC or other regulations. Accordingly, it is among the most well-regulated brokers operating in today’s online brokerageindustry.

 

Additionally, customer funds are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) and Lloyd’s of London. Client accounts registered with Interactive Brokers are covered under a protection program worth up to $500,000 (with a cash sub-limit of $250,000).

 

Furthermore, accounts are covered for up to an additional $30 million (with a cash sublimit of $900,000) subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million. This added coverage is provided as part of the SIPC plan. It is important to note that futures and options traded on the platform are not covered under the protection plans.

Fees & Commissions
  • Rollover Fee: $50
  • Margin Interest: 0.75%-1.59%
Interactive Brokers Pricing

Interactive Brokers offers a unique pricing and fee schedule. The broker's users in the US may choose from two pricing mechanisms. The first one is IBKR Lite, which enables them to pay no commissions on their US stock and ETF trades, the firm’s low commission on its full product range, plus there are no inactivity fees. The second pricing option is to opt for IBKR Pro, under which the commissions vary per trade. Besides the commissions, with IBKR Pro there are inactivity fees, however, these can be avoided with frequent and regular trade volume or by maintaining at least $100,000 in the account.


Overall, the pricing and fee schedule offered by Interactive Brokers is highly competitive. The spreads offered by the broker are also among the best in the business. Moreover, Interactive Brokers makes use of its SmartRouting technology that enables its clients to maximize the potential savings on each trade that they execute.

Service Details
  • Supported Languages: English, Chinese
  • Customer Service Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm (Weekdays, EST)
  • Email Response Time: Within 24 Hours
  • Telephone Orders: Yes
  • Personal Account Manager: Yes
Interactive Brokers Reliability & Security

Interactive Brokers offers several trading platforms, including its professional-grade  trading platform Trader Workstation, or TWS, simple-to-use Client Portal, and on IBKR Mobile for trading and account management. The broker's flagship TWS platform offers a wide range of features, includes advanced technology-based offerings such as trading tools, assessment tools, and automated programs.


Client Portal enables you to check quotes and place trades, review account balances along with P&L and key performance metrics, manage account funding, and handle reporting. IBKR Mobile, the mobile platform, is fully compatible with both Android and iOS, thereby allowing traders to make investments on-the-go.

 

Overall, the broker'strading platform is highly reliable. It can be used to access the latest information about the market to make informed investment decisions The broker's platform also includes its SmartRouting technology that allows users to save on each trade.

 

Interactive Brokers has been awarded many industry accolades over the years, echoing the company’shighly-respected offering in the industry. Some of the key titles awarded to the broker are as follows:

  • Best Online Broker by Barron's 2020
  • Best Commissions and Fees by Stockbrokers.com 2020
  • Best Broker for Low-Cost Investing by NerdWallet Awards 2020
  • Best Online Broker for International Trading by Investopedia 2020
  • 5-Star Rating for Outstanding Value, Online Share Trading – Trader at the Canstar Awards 2020
  • Rated "Very Good" at the 2020 Handelsblatt Awards in Germany
  • Best Broker Dealer Client Service at the Fund Intelligence Technology & WSL Awards 2019
  • Best Futures Trading at the Fund Intelligence Technology & WSL Awards 2019
Interactive Brokers User Experience

Interactive Brokers delivers a superb user experience. The broker's advanced trading platform and excellent educational materials help to train newcomers who are less familiar with investing along with advanced investors seeking additional knowledge. In addition to this, the broker provides robo advisor portfolios that allow users to invest seamlessly without any hassles. The overall user experience is fairly smooth, and we did not encounter any issues with Interactive Brokers services.

 

Beyond the straightforward platform and onboarding processes, the broker also provides extensive support to users. Clients can contact its customer service team via a range of mediums including email, calls, and chat. Moreover, clients can readily provide general feedback or report any issues on the website. The FAQ section on the broker's website is extremely useful for traders seeking to discover key features or uncover answers to common questions that may arise. Finally, the broker offers an innovative IBot, which can provide responses to a multitude of questions entered in plain language text instantly.

Final Thoughts on Interactive Brokers

Overall, Interactive Brokers ranks among the top brokers in the market thanks to its breadth of tradable assets and superior technology offerings. Regulation in almost all major markets around the world is another major benefit that has attracted positive acclaim from industry publications and clients alike. Best of all, Interactive Brokers applies technology to expressly improve the trading experience of users. A highly intuitive, smart, and user-friendly trading platform only adds to other embedded value-added offerings.

 

In addition, the broker provides excellent account security and ample support for users. There are no minimum deposits, thereby ensuring that anyone can register and start trading. Although there are limited funding methods available, the overall trading experience punches well above industry standards. Accordingly, Interactive Brokers is a one-stop trading shop suited for investors of all levels seeking a rich package of investing tools and services complete with affordable pricing and a diverse array of assets.

Trading Platform Screenshots
  • Image of the key markets that are covered by Interactive Brokers’ asset offerings. In total, the broker covers 33 countries and 23 currencies.
  • Image of the different account types offered by Interactive Brokers. The broker offers six account types to its customers.
  • Image showing Interactive Brokers' platform and its key features. The platform is fully compatible with both Android and iOS mobile devices.
  • Image of the Interactive Brokers interfacedisplaying useful information about one of the key features offered by the broker.
  • Image of the Interactive Brokers website highlighting the key benefits that clients are invited to enjoy after joining the ecosystem.
Contact Info
laptop Website: www.interactivebrokers.com
call Telephone: 1 (866) 694-2757
location_on Company Address:
One Pickwick Plaza
Greenwich, CT 06830
United States
Interactive Brokers FAQs

Q: Can I register for a demo account?

A: Yes, the broker allows its customers to register for a demo account. This demo account enables you to access the broker's platform and test out the key features. The demo account is available for all six account types offered by the broker.

 

Q: Are US citizens permitted to register for Interactive Brokers?

A: Yes, the broker is formally regulated and authorized to operate in the US market. This means that users from the US are allowed to trade on Interactive Brokers without any hurdles. In fact, the broker accepts customers from almost all parts of the world, with the exception of a few countriesprohibited by OFAC and other regulations.

 

Q: What are the different account types available from Interactive Brokers?

A: As of now, Interactive Brokers offers six major account types. These include the individual account, the joint account, the trust account, the IRA account, the UGMA account, as well as the friends and family account. Each of these account types has different rules related to trading and eligibility.

 

Q: Does Interactive Brokers offer mobile trading?

A: Interactive Brokers allows traders to invest using their internet-connected mobile phones and devices. The broker's platforms are fully compatible with both Android and iOS operating systems.

 

Q: Will my funds be secure with Interactive Brokers?

A: Interactive Brokers ensures that all customer funds are kept in segregated accounts. Furthermore, all customer accounts are fully insured, providing users with an extra layer of security in case of any mishaps.

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