Are you on the lookout for an award-winning broker which allows you to trade stocks, futures, forex, options, bonds and more? If so, you need to read our in-depth Interactive Brokers review.
We’ll be taking a look at all aspects of Interactive Brokers, from the layout and design of the website to the types of accounts available and all the possible deposit and withdrawal options. We’ll even look into the licensing and regulation details, before reporting on our overall Interactive Brokers experience and rating.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | high | high | very high |
| 5 Stars | | 0% |
| 4 Stars | | 0% |
| 3 Stars | | 0% |
| 2 Stars | | 0% |
| 1 Star | | 0% |
One of the first things we noticed when preparing our Interactive Brokers review is that this is a broker aimed at the more experienced trader. That’s not to say it’s not suitable for beginners, but if you don’t have any prior experience of trading you can expect to discover a steep learning curve.
As a leading and highly respected brokerage, Interactive Brokers doesn’t rely on any gimmicks or sign-up bonus offers. What you can expect is an outstanding service from an award-winning website, which goes that extra mile to give its clients superb value. As an example, you can look forward to low commission fees, outstanding support for best price execution and an impressive stock yield enhancement program that pays you interest on the stocks you hold.
As an added bonus, our Interactive Brokers review discovered that all new signups can benefit from a free trial. You’ll have complete access to all the available platforms, so you can test out strategies, explore the products, order types and exchanges and view the market data with only a short time delay. If you like what you see, it’s easy to upgrade your free trial to a live account, with all your settings conveniently saved for you to begin trading.
As we pointed out right at the beginning of our Interactive Brokers review, this is a brokerage aimed mainly at professional or experienced traders. This is demonstrated throughout the site, although it certainly isn’t inaccessible to new and would-be traders. However, if you don’t have any prior trading experience be sure to also check out our eToro review and our Forex.com review, as they may be more suitable for newbie traders, at least in the short term.
Our Interactive Brokers review highlights the fact that there are numerous accounts available to suit every type of trader. From individual and joint accounts through to family accounts, SIPP accounts and a range of business accounts, it’s possible to tailor your trading experience at Interactive Brokers to suit your circumstances.
You can trade in 23 currencies across 135 markets in 33 countries, so you certainly won’t be short of trading opportunities when you create an Interactive Brokers trading account.
The next section of our Interactive Brokers review investigates the trading platforms on offer – and there’s certainly plenty of options.
The Interactive Brokers Client Portal gives instant access to your account, metrics, trading opportunities and much more, with no downloads required. It’s accessible by all connected devices, making it a firm favourite with all kinds of traders.
The site’s proprietary trading platform requires a download, and is designed to allow traders, institutions and investors to conduct trades across more than 135 markets, including currencies, bonds, stocks, futures, options and funds.
As part of our Interactive Brokers review, we were pleased to discover that the site has a dedicated trading app, available for iOS and Android smartphones. Designed to give you all the trading benefits of the Trader Workstation in a format that you can carry around in your pocket, the app lets you manage your account wherever you have an internet connection.
A key finding of our Interactive Brokers review is the trading APIs that allow you to customise your trading experience, no matter which trading platform you opt to use.
Making a deposit into your Interactive Brokers account requires an advance notification. The customer support team will then let you know exactly how to make the deposit, according to where you’re based. Choose your country from the drop-down menu, then select your preferred currency to be presented with your available options.
Our Interactive Brokers review uncovered the fact that just one free withdrawal can be made per month, with any additional withdrawals incurring a fee. The preferred option seems to be bank wire transfer, but check from your own region to see what other deposit and withdrawal methods are available.
If you’re looking for a wider range of payment methods, including bank cards and eWallets, be sure to check out our FP Markets review and our Plus500 review.
According to the findings of our Interactive Brokers review, prices are either tiered or fixed for traders. The site offers volume-tiered pricing at transparent rates, with low commission fees, decreasing according to volumes traded. The site passes on savings where exchanges issue rebates.
Fixed rate pricing is also available, charged at low commission per share, or at a set percentage of the value of the trade. Where ETFs warrants and US stocks are involved, transaction fees are issued against all stock sales.
Our Interactive Brokers review discovered that help is always available if you run into difficulties during the course of your trading experience. Your first port of call should be the Help section of the site, which is arranged according to topics. There are also video tutorials, user guides and a knowledge base of articles.
If you need more personalised support, you have a number of options available to you, including live chat, email and phone contact details. There’s also a community forum where you can reach out to other traders for help and advice.
A major aspect of any Interactive Brokers review requires a close inspection of the broker’s security regarding client funds. We expect all bona fide brokers to hold client funds in a completely separate account, with effective security protocols to keep them safe at all times.
All client securities at Interactive Brokers are covered by the SIPC up to a cash limit of $250,000. Moreover, the broker’s bank deposit sweep program offers an extra $2.5 million of FDIC insurance on all eligible cash balances.
During the course of our Interactive Brokers review, we unearthed several interesting facts about the brokerage, that help to raise it well above the ordinary. The company was founded back in the late ‘70s, starting life as Timber Hill before becoming Interactive Brokers in the early ‘90s, with the name inspired by the radio-controlled handheld devices used by traders in the trading pit.
To date, the organisation has been the recipient of numerous awards, regularly topping the Best Broker charts according to a number of leading industry publications, including Investopedia. The site consistently scores five stars for its range of products, innovative use of technology and low-cost trading and investing opportunities.
In addition to providing a full range of educational resources for honing your trading skills, Interactive Brokers is also committed to helping the next generation of traders to get started. Our Interactive Brokers review found that the site has a Student Trading Lab that’s completely free to sign up to, giving young people the chance to learn about trading in a safe environment, using real-time data.
Interactive Brokers offers up a range of award-winning trading platforms designed to make the most of your ETF and stock trading opportunities. You can manage your trades using desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile, choosing from over 100 order types. Whether you’re chasing limit orders, or you prefer more complex algorithm-inspired trading, the on-site tools have been developed to help you make the most of your opportunities.
One of the findings of our Interactive Brokers review is that the brokerage charges very low commissions on stocks and ETFs. In fact, commission ranges from $0.0005 up to $0.0035 per share. The innovative IB SmartRoutingSM system is the organisation’s own trademarked software for tracking the best options and combination prices at the exact time of each order, with immediate electronic execution.
One of the findings of our Interactive Brokers review is that the brokerage charges very low commissions on stocks and ETFs. In fact, commission ranges from $0.0005 up to $0.0035 per share. The innovative IB SmartRoutingSM system is the organisation’s own trademarked software for tracking the best options and combination prices at the exact time of each order, with immediate electronic execution.
With a huge choice of ETFs and stocks to trade in, Interactive Brokers puts you firmly in control of your trades and investments, thanks to some highly sophisticated tools. There’s even an Impact Dashboard that lets you seek out the companies that align with your personal values, so you can consider more than just the financial aspects when considering how and where to trade.
Our Interactive Brokers review discovered that the brokerage offers over 1 million bonds, including all US government securities. You can trade over 25,000 corporate bonds, more than one million municipal securities and over 19,000 CDs and non-US sovereign bonds.
Interactive Brokers boasts no markup or built-in spreads across its bonds offerings, with completely transparent, low commissions. Treasury bills, bonds and notes are charged at 0.3bps for the first $1million, and an extra 0.01bps for face value of more than $1million. This increases to 10bps for corporate bonds with a face value of $10,000 or less, plus 2.5bps above that figure. Municipal bonds attract 5bps for a face value of up to $10,000, with a further 1.25bps for a face value of more than $10,000.
Interactive Brokers offers a highly sophisticated search tool that allows users to compare all available yields against those from other brokers. The tool lets you search by a number of options, including yield, maturity, availability and quality, as well as comparing the price from Interactive Brokers with other brokers.
The findings of our Interactive Brokers review show that the brokerage has a lot to offer in terms of bonds, with an innovative search tool that adds real value for every type of trader.
Come and read our comprehensive Interactive Brokers review to find out all about this exciting and innovative brokerage. We’ll tell you whether you can trade in Interactive Brokers crypto, forex, bonds, ETFs and more, as well as giving our opinion on the organisation’s range of trading platforms. If you’re in search of an online broker, you definitely need to come and read what we have to say!
When you sign up to an online broker you need to have complete confidence that the company is fair, safe and legitimate. Come and read our complete Interactive Brokers review to find out everything you could possibly need to know. We’ve got detailed comparisons of all the best online broker sites, so be sure to come and take a look!
When you sign up to an online brokerage you need to be confident that you’ll have a safe and fair experience. Make sure you avoid any potential Interactive Brokers scams by checking out our broker review before signing up. We’ll tell you everything you need to know, so you can make informed decisions about where to make your online trades.
Sign up to an online brokerage and you’ll be inputting personal information and depositing funds into your trading account. Make sure you trade safely by reading through our Interactive Brokers reviews, which give you all the information you need to help you come to a decision. We’ve got details of all the top brokers, so be sure to check us out before signing up and making any trades!
Now that we’re coming to the end of our Interactive Brokers review, we’re ready to deliver our overall verdict. And it’s clear that this is a brokerage aimed at the serious trader or investor, rather than those looking to dabble in the world of online trading.
With a choice of trading platforms, a wide range of account options and some outstanding educational resources, Interactive Brokers has a lot to offer, but it might not be the best option for complete newcomers. This is certainly an outstanding operation, but if you’re looking for something a little more low-key to get started, be sure to take a look at our FXTM review.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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