Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is one of the largest online brokerage firms in the U.S.
As an account holder, you can trade stocks, bonds, options, foreign currencies, ETFs, and more on IBKR’s online trading platform. You can also open a robo-advising account.
If you’re an online trader or you’re looking to become one, you should be familiar with this company.
We’ve thoroughly reviewed IBKR, evaluating its fees and services and outlining the pros and cons of being a customer.
What is Interactive Brokers?
Interactive Brokers was founded in 1977 by Thomas Petterfly and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Today, Interactive Brokers is a premier securities firm with $14.1 billion in equity capital.
It has 2,900+ employees in its offices in the USA, Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Hungary, India, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Here are some other fun facts to consider about IBKR:
- IBKR (which was known as Timber Hill when it first emerged) was the first company to introduce trading via handheld computers.
- IBKR was one of the first companies to develop trading algorithms.
- Interactive Brokers Group and its affiliates execute approximately 1,907,000 trades per day.
- Rated as the Best Online Broker by Barron’s every year from 2018-2023
Next, let’s take a look at the services IBKR offers.
Trading Accounts for Individual Investors
IBKR Lite
With an IBKR Lite account, you can make an unlimited amount of commission-free trades on domestic stocks and ETFs. What’s more, there’s no minimum balance required to open an account and no monthly maintenance fees.
IBKR Lite might be a good choice if you are new to the investing world and would like a self-service, low-cost platform. It appears that the IBKR Lite product was created as a response to the rapidly growing marketplace of free online trading platforms like Ally Invest, Robinhood, and TD Ameritrade.
That’s not to say that IBKR Lite is a shallow trading platform. On the contrary, IBKR Lite is a robust platform that can help budding traders gain control over their portfolios and start working toward financial independence.
For example, IBKR Lite gives you access to a user-friendly client portal and a mobile app that enables you to make trades on the go.
IBKR Pro
More advanced traders will likely prefer an IBKR Pro account due to the powerful Trader Workstation (TWS) platform that comes with it. At a glance, TWS appears to be more or less the same type of system that professional traders and hedge funds use every day.
Account holders in more than 200 countries and territories can trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds, crypto, and more on 150 global markets from the platform. Clients can also fund their accounts and trade assets in 27 currencies.
IBKR Pro customers can also implement advanced trading algorithms within TWS. For example, the ScaleTrader algorithm, very generally, is designed to help you buy low and sell high. Simple enough!
Let’s say there’s a stock you’ve had your eye on for a while. You can set ScaleTrader to purchase that stock when the market is particularly weak automatically (e.g., when the stock price falls to an all-time low).
Conversely, you can set ScaleTrader to sell your stock when the price reaches an all-time high (which means it might drop back down in the near future).
You don’t need to maintain a minimum balance to open an IBKR Pro account. However, you will get charged a $10 monthly maintenance fee if your monthly commissions are lower than $10. You can avoid that fee by having over $100,000 in your account.
Margin Trading
Investors who want to trade on margin can use IBKR’s Margin Trading service. The company claims to offer the lowest interest rate of any online broker for margin loans.
Integrated Investment Account
With an Integrated Investment Account, you can deposit your paychecks, earn high interest on your cash, and then easily invest that money in the market.
You can also spend your money using your IBKR Debit Card and Bill Pay service or borrow money with a margin loan.
Interactive Advisors
IBKR also offers a robo-advising service called Interactive Advisors. To open an account, you need to deposit at least $1,000. Once your account is set up, you can choose from a variety of portfolios based on your investing preferences.
Keep in mind that IBKR charges a nominal asset management fee of 0.08% to 1.5%. They also charge low commission fees on trades—something that many brokers, including seasoned players like Charles Schwab and Fidelity, are moving away from.
Business to Business Accounts
IBKR offers a wide range of business account services. I imagine this is why the company conducts so many daily transactions.
It seems as though many of their customers are managing funds and investments for other individuals and businesses.
Here are some of the business-focused accounts that IBKR offers:
- Small Business Accounts are designed to help corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLCs) invest their business funds in the market.
- Family Office Accounts are intended to make it easier for family offices to manage complex estate portfolios.
- Friends and Family Advisor Accounts are for those who manage money for a small number of friends and family. By law, you’d have to have under 15 clients to qualify for this type of account.
- Investment Advisor Accounts are available for registered financial advisors and commodities traders who have more than 16 clients and manage over $25 million in assets.
- Hedge Fund, Introducing Broker, Proprietary Trading Group, and Money Manager Accounts offer more advanced solutions for high-volume trading businesses. Companies can access financial products across 125 markets, with competitive pricing and advanced reporting tools designed to meet the needs of larger investment firms.
- Employee Incentive Plans enable companies to administer stock options and equity plans to employees through an easy-to-use cloud-based access portal.
Interactive Brokers Pricing
Interactive Brokers offers straightforward pricing on its individual account services.
As I mentioned earlier, there are no fees or minimum balances required for an IBKR Lite account, and there’s a $10 monthly fee for IBKR Pro account if certain conditions are not met.
For IBKR’s robo-advising service—Intelligent Advisors—you’ll pay an asset management fee of 0.08% to 1.5%.
When it comes to IBKR’s more advanced products, there are thousands of different investment options available and various fees associated.
Getting Started
It’s super easy to sign up for an IBKR account. Visit the website and click “Open Account” on the top right-hand corner of the page.
From there, you’ll have to answer a few simple questions about the type of account you want to open.
Next, enter your personal details, and you’re good to go. Then, if you like, you can access your account easily via their mobile investing app.
Security
As you might expect from a company that processes so many trades each day, security is essential to IBKR. For example, customers can enroll in a secure login system, which requires two-factor authentication for account access.
There’s also a secure login feature on IBKR’s mobile apps designed to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing your account. What’s more, accounts with over $500,000 in equity can opt for the IBKR Digital Security Card+ for an even higher level of account security.
Customer Support
Phone support is available to account holders 24/7. You can also chat with customer service or email them at any time. If you have an issue with your IBKR Debit card, help is available 24/7, seven days per week, at the following numbers:
- US: 1 (866) 532-4654
- International: 1 (801) 559-2140
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Advanced trading platform with sophisticated tools for active traders
- Award-winning robo-advising service available for passive investors
- Unlimited, commission-free trades available on IBKR Lite
Cons
- $1,000 minimum deposit required for robo-advising, which is higher than some competitors
- Might be too advanced for some investors
- No traditional high-yield savings account available
FAQs
How Much Does Interactive Brokers Charge Per Trade?
With an IBKR Lite account, trades involving U.S.-based stocks and ETFs are free. With an IBKR Pro account, fees depend on what’s being traded, how much is being traded, and where the trade is taking place. For a full overview of the commissions and fees that IBKR charges, visit their website.
Is Interactive Brokers Safe?
Yes, it’s safe to invest your money with Interactive Brokers. The company is in its 47th year and is regulated by the SEC, FINRA, NYSE, FCA, and other regulatory agencies around the world.
Keep in mind that investing in the market always carries risk, and your funds are not FDIC-insured as they would be in a high-yield savings account.
How do I contact Interactive Brokers?
Interactive Brokers has customer support agents available 24/7. The contact number for the U.S. is 1 (877) 442-2757. Account holders can also access live chat and email support. See above for more details on IBKR’s contact information.
Why is Interactive Brokers so cheap?
This is just a hunch, but I would guess that Interactive Brokers is able to charge relatively low fees because they are processing a huge volume of trades on a daily basis.
Their strategy might be keeping commission and asset management fees low in order to attract more customers.
As for the IBKR Lite account being free to trade US-based stocks and ETFs with, this is an entry-level account with limited offerings compared to the IBKR Pro account.
Alternatives to Interactive Brokers
When it comes to online trading platforms, some of the main alternatives to Interactive Brokers include:
Robo-advisor alternatives include:
Is Interactive Brokers a Good Brokerage?
If you’re a serious trader and want access to the most advanced trading tools and market research, Interactive Brokers is worth considering. I haven’t seen any other companies offer advanced trading tools that are available in IBKR’s Trader Workstation.
What’s more, their robo-advising service also offers a robust investment option for those who prefer to take a more hands-off approach to investment.
Trading stocks is not an easy game to win. That’s why I generally recommend a long-term investment strategy. (If you’d like to learn my advice about long-term investing, check out my Best Investing Strategies post.)
If you think you have what it takes to succeed at day trading, Interactive Brokers is a solid choice of brokerage to get there.
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