Interactive Brokers (also known as IBKR) is a global leading online broker, owned and operated by Interactive Brokers Group; a publicly-traded company, listed on the NASDAQ index.
It offers a wide array of financial products, all from a single integrated trading account, including forex (spot currencies), stocks, fractional shares, bonds, mutual funds, hedge funds, ETFs, options, futures, cryptocurrencies, and metals.
IBKR provides trading solutions suitable for retail and institutional clients (including registered investment advisors, prop traders, hedge funds, money managers, family offices, introducing brokers, compliance officers, small businesses, fund administrators, hedge fund managers allocators, and hedge managers educators).
Also, it offers two brokerage plans, which are the IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro. While the IBKR Lite plan serves less active traders with a simplified trading experience via Client Portal, IBKR Mobile and Trader Workstation, the IBKR Pro plan is designed to serve active traders and sophisticated investors with a more advanced trading experience, via a full suite of premier trading technology.
In addition, all clients can enjoy the broker’s extensive list of great trading services, some of which include deep liquidity, superior order execution, low trading fee, low financing rate, quality educational materials suitable for beginners, intermediate & advanced level traders, sophisticated multi-functional trading platforms, an extensive list of powerful trading & research tools and much more.
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Interactive Brokers Details
| Broker | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|
| Established | 1978 |
| Head Office | One Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830 USA |
| Regulations | CFTC (United States), IIROC (Canada), FCA (United Kingdom), CSSF (Luxembourg), Central Bank of Ireland (Ireland), Central Bank Hungary (Europe), ASIC (Australia), HKFS (Hong Kong), KLFB (Japan) and Mas (Singapore). |
| Publicly Listed | Yes |
| Broker Type | ECN, MM |
| Product Offering | CFDs ( on Forex, Shares, Index and Metals ), Stocks/ ETFs, Spot Currencies, Fractional Shares, bonds, mutual funds, hedge funds, options, Futures/ FOPs, cryptocurrencies and metals. |
| Trading Platforms | Trader Workstation, IBKR Mobile, IBKR APIs |
| Minimum Deposit | $0 |
| Account Currencies | USD, AUD, GBP, CAD, CNH, CZK, DKK, EUR, HKD, HUF, ISL, JPY, KRW, MXN, NZD, NOK, PLN, RUB, SGD, ZAR, SEK, CHF and TRY. |
| Maximum Leverage | International Traders – 1:200 |
| Pricing Model | Spreads and Commissions |
| Account Funding & Withdrawal Methods | Bank Wire Transfer, US Automated Clearing House (ACH), Check, Online Bill Payment, BPay, Direct Deposit, Canadian Bill Payment, Canadian Electronic Fund Transfer (ETF), Direct Rollover (Trustee-To-Trustee, Late Rollover, Employee/ Employer SEP Contribution, Recharacterization, Roth IRA conversion). |
| Demo Account | Yes |
| Scalping | Yes |
| Hedging | Yes |
Pros
- Strong regulatory framework.
- Over 40+ years of experience in the industry.
- Listed on the stock exchange.
- Accepts U.S clients.
- Wide range of product offerings.
- Wide range of asset classes.
- Large selection of investment products.
- Low margin rates.
- Low per-share pricing.
- Professional grade proprietary trading platforms for desktop and mobile devices.
- Superior order executiion.
- Provides support for expert advisors.
- Top tier liquidity and no requotes.
- Negative balance protection for EU clients.
- Ultra-low spreads and commissions.
- Secure deposit and withdrawal methods.
- Offers over 23 account base currencies.
- Offers a volume-tiered pricing structure (tiers are based on the combined monthly trade value of the underlying asset).
- Wide range of quality educational materials suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced traders (including videos, courses, and webinars).
- Wide range of vital trading services.
Cons
- Can be overwhelming for beginners.
- Not suitable for low-volume traders.
- Offers no third-party trading platform.
- The demo account is available only after the regular trading account has been approved and funded.
- Offers limited deposit and withdrawal methods.
- Card payments and electronic payments are not available.
- The customer support service can be improved.