Interactive Brokers Review 2023: Pros, Cons, Fees & More!

Any estimates based on past performance do not a guarantee future performance, and prior to making any investment you should discuss your specific investment needs or seek advice from a qualified professional. When I try to transfer my stock to other company, they reject me 10 times for different reasons. I end up deposit more and more money into their account, just to get my kidnapped stock back. Unlike other places, when you use ACH to directly withdraw from Your bank, it’s instant or holding 3 days only. They told me they hold the fund 44 days and during that time, I can’t touch my money and stock! Maybe after 44 days, they will come up with any other excuse and won’t let me transfer my stock and money, be careful, it may take you years to get your money back once you deposit it into their account.

Users can create order presets, which prefill order tickets for fast entry. Presets set up on Trader Workstation are also available from the mobile app. However, the app gets fairly low ratings from both Android and iOS users.

• This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.
• The Bond Marketplace offers a broad range of global fixed-income securities.
• The firm provides a simplified approach to brokerage services that focuses on broad market access, low prices, and outstanding transaction execution.
• Interactive Brokers has not only been around since 1978, but it’s also a fully licensed and regulated brokerage.

Charles Schwab was a close contender for first place in several of our categories. Ultimately, its reliable and competent representatives earned it the top spot for customer service. For example, it is the only broker in our survey that does not charge an outgoing wire fee—a small detail indicative of its overall approach. News and insights via live streaming video from the TD Ameritrade Network and CNBC are available via mobile. The app even has chat rooms built into it, so you can talk trading with your peers. A forex industry expert and an active fintech and crypto researcher, Steven advises blockchain companies at the board level and holds a Series III license in the U.S. as a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA).

Pros: Where Interactive Brokers stands out

To understand which platform is the best for you, we had a look at all of them in this review. Making this a user-friendly site for beginners to visit is something Interactive Brokers does very well. It is one of the key factors we looked at when we started to compile our review. However, Interactive Brokers does have one of the market’s most detailed education portals, which also makes it inviting for beginners. You’ll be able to quickly scan for companies that score highly and then compare them against one another with easy-to-use graphical representations. For those looking to evaluate their investments on these dimensions, this schema brings a usable way to put it into practice.

Client accounts at Interactive Brokers LLC are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) for up to $500,000, with a cash sublimit of $250,000. Excess SIPC coverage provides up to an additional $30 million, with a cash sublimit of $900,000, subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million. Numerous calculators are available throughout the platforms, including options-related calculators, margin, order quantity, interest, and financing.

Besides the various account types, you can choose between the IBKR PRO and IBKR LITE service plans if you are a US resident. Similarly to options, you pay a commission based on the number of contracts you trade. You pay options fees depending on the number of contracts you traded in any given month.

In 2019, we tested the chat, email and phone support, three times each. The wait time for a representative in a live chatroom was rather long (e.g.  more than three minutes), but after they came online, the experience was smooth and we received relevant answers. Upon entering the platform, you can read daily market summaries through the ‘Daily Lineup’. This feature helps you keep up to date with the latest news and analyst recommendations.

Pros & Cons

Expert traders have access to more than 100 order types including algorithmic trading. You can define hotkeys to place orders quickly, and you have the option to stage orders for later execution—either one at a time or in a batch. You can set a date and time for an order to be transmitted or submit a conditional order that becomes active after specific conditions are met, such as when an existing order executes. Once on the Client Portal, users can monitor and manage all aspects of an IB account. IBKR is suitable for most intermediate through advanced investors to check on positions, get a real-time view of their accounts, and place basic trades.

Interactive Brokers also offers a comprehensive mutual fund screener to rule out investments based on family, type, and commission. Interactive Brokers is currently 1 of the largest mutual fund brokers in the United States — its massive range of funds can all be accessed from a single, integrated account. We found the Interactive Broker website and its trading platforms relatively hard to use. The site is particularly clumsy with lots of pages that we feel could be trimmed and added to the drop-down menus. First time traders would also have a hard time understanding their pricing mechanisms and bypassing the advanced financial jargon used in their trade platforms. In its claim of being the leading and most innovative electronic broker in the market, Interactive Brokers has gone all-in when it comes to the adoption of technology.

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Option Tools

IBKR Pro is for larger trades and higher volume traders and also charges lower margin rates. Most individuals are likely to be better off choosing IBKR Lite, but it’s easy to switch between them as your needs evolve. Founded by Thomas Petterfy, Interactive Brokers has grown to become a huge securities firm with over $11.6 billion in equity capital. As of March 2023, Interactive Brokers works with over two million active clients.

They offer educational resources that can help investors make informed decisions. These tools include market analysis, financial news and training articles that can help you research and select investments that align with your financial goals and risk tolerance. It stands out as an excellent, well-rounded platform that’s a great choice for active traders, long-term investors or people who are new to investing. The user experience of the Tastytrade platform is superb on desktop and mobile devices. The trading platform offers conveniences such as the quick roll feature, which allows you to roll your option position into the next expiration cycle with a simple right click. Tastytrade (formerly known as Tastyworks) was created by options trading professionals, and it shows in the creative innovations in the platform.

Tips, news and updates for your location

You can open a Paxos account and trade a variety of currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). With their Paxos account, users can trade crypto 24/7, hold both cash (in USD) and interactive brokers review crypto, and access additional order types. Commission fees operate on a tiered scale based on your monthly trade value. Interactive Brokers may be built for active stock traders, but it doesn’t leave fund investors behind.

Interactive Brokers has recently increased its offerings even further with a unique ESG screener and comprehensive mutual fund and bond screening tools. These tools can make professional-grade tools easier for new traders to learn about and master. If you’re looking for a wide range of securities, rock-bottom fees and top-of-the-line technology, few brokers are able to match Interactive Brokers. Though IBKR’s desktop platform may be a dream to professional traders or those with market experience, there’s a steep learning curve for new traders to conquer. The platform includes very few in-app directions on how to operate it or use any of the wide range of charting tools.

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Considering the fact that you can trade multiple different assets from a single integrated account is something that many brokers don’t offer.

The Client Portal platform is particularly user-friendly and intuitive. You will easily find every feature even if you have just started trading. The fee for subsequent withdrawals after the first free one depends on the currency and the method used for withdrawal. Interactive Brokers is present on every continent, so you can most likely open an account. Only countries with highly unstable political or economic backgrounds are excluded such as North Korea.

Interactive Brokers’ margin rates are some of the lowest we’ve come across. Before we get into a discussion of Interactive Brokers’ pricing, it’s important to mention that there are two pricing plans from which customers can choose. Another example is the Options Wizard tool, which helps users understand how options work and how to trade them. It’s a welcome change from the prior layout and may now be the easiest-to-use account site among the major online brokers. Other top-scoring brokers in Bankrate’s reviews include Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments, both solid picks for virtually any investor.

To open an Interactive Brokers account, the required minimum deposit is $0. Interactive Brokers does not charge any recurring fees such as account maintenance fees or inactivity fees. If you have experience navigating complex platforms and enjoy transparent, low-cost trading, Interactive Brokers is a great fit for you. During the last more four decades, https://trading-market.org/ IB managed to remain a leading force in the global brokerage market, despite multiple economic crises, which is a good sign for the broker’s safety. Currently, the level of customer service is back to its baseline level, which is a bit below the industry average. Another new addition available from June 2020 is the Investors’ Marketplace.

Firstrade is a solid brokerage offering that may particularly appeal to options traders because of its commission-free options trades. You’ll also get access to quality research and its mobile app, but mutual fund investors may be disappointed by the small number of no-transaction fee funds available. Interactive Brokers has always been a great option for active traders. The recent introduction of its IBKR Lite plan now makes it a strong choice among casual traders as well. IBKR Lite customers have the advantage of $0 commission on stocks and EFTs and no account minimums or inactivity fees.