Interactive Brokers Review
Canadian Online Brokerage Review
Pricing Fees
With a heavy focus on active traders and on trading, this discount broker has platforms and pricing that cater to very active investor or trader. They have two pricing options for traders: the “flat rate” or the “cost plus”. The “flat rate” option charges $0.01/share with a minimum charge of $1.00 per trade for commissions + exchange, ECN and specialist fees (typically a few more cents); with the flat rate option the maximum charge you pay is actually 0.5% of the trade value (plus exchange, ECN & specialist fees). The “tiered pricing” option is pricing based on the volume of shares you trade per month. For example, the “lowest” threshold of volume they have is 300 000 shares or less in which they charge, on a per share basis, $0.0035 for US stocks, ETFs & Warrants (min: $0.35, max: 1% of trade value) or $0.008 for Canadian stocks (min: $1.00, max: 0.5% of trade value). For the “cost plus” some extra charges are levied that approximate the ECN and exchange fees, so you will have to do some math to figure out the exact final charge you will pay if you decide to go this route.
One of the biggest drivers of your cost using this option is whether your orders add liquidity or remove it from the market. A handy way to think of this is using market orders vs limit orders. More precisely buying/selling at the best market price (which removes liquidity) or placing an order outside of best market price (which adds liquidity). When approximating the cost, it’s best to use the “remove” liquidity function for your calculations. With this approximation in mind, the extra fees associated with the “cost plus” work out to $0.006 per share for US traded stocks at the lowest level of share volume.
Account Types
As of December 2014, Interactive Brokers Canada offers Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) accounts and Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). This is a significant development for Interactive Brokers Canada as these account types have been long sought after by many Canadian clients. The RRSP and TFSA accounts are available in Canadian and US dollars; however direct cash deposits to registered accounts are only available in Canadian funds. Transfers from an existing brokerage account funded in US dollars to a registered account are accepted and will be held in US dollars (i.e. no forced currency conversion). Additionally, there is a quarterly maintenance fee of $12.50 for RRSP accounts. There are certain restrictions on the RRSP accounts that are not common at other providers, such as no support for the HBP or LLP. Be sure to read the full list of restrictions on their website for the most up-to-date details.
Platform
Interactive Brokers has a robust trading platform that can handle simple to very complex order entries and strategies. Their primary platform is called ‘Trader Workstation’ or “TWS” and is available only to Interactive Brokers clients. Most notably, TWS is able to house both a practice (paper trading) account and live account in the same platform, so it is easy for users who wish to practice to do so in the full TWS environment. Another notable feature of the TWS is that it enable algorithmic trading so that users can create their own ‘automated’ trading rules to interface with the platform. In terms of features, the TWS is fully loaded with screeners, alerts, news and charting. The TWS is a desktop based system however Interactive Brokers also has a web browser-based interface, and a mobile trading platform. Finally, Interactive Brokers offers a demo version of the TWS for users to ‘test drive’ for free.Interactive Brokers Brokerage Experience
Interactive Brokers main appeal is the commission free trading, Interactive Brokers provides an easy to use website which appeals to low volume traders. Interactive Brokers therefore provides a great trading experience to both new and experienced traders as a result of having an easy to use website, app and low cost day trading fees.
Can I use Interactive Brokers Brokerage to buy Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies?
Trade Crypto for Less Coin
IBKR ADVANTAGE
- Low commissions – 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value1 with no added spreads, markups or custody fees
- Seamlessly access crypto markets through IBKR’s professional grade desktop platform and intuitive mobile and web platforms
- Cryptocurrency trade execution and custody are provided by Paxos Trust Company
- Trade stocks, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, funds and more from a single integrated platform at IBKR
- Cryptocurrency futures also available on the same platform
- IBKR Rated #1 Best Online Broker – 5 out of 5 stars by Barron’s 20212
Can I use Interactive Brokers Brokerage to buy Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies? Yes, Currently you can trade Cryptocurrency with Interactive Brokers.
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How does Interactive Brokers Brokerage compare to other Brokerages?
Interactive Brokers provides a great experience for young investors, the ability to trade cryptocurrency, commission-free trading and a superb app are all hallmarks of a strong brokerage as seen in the American market. For these reasons, Interactive Brokers is considered among one of the best brokerages to trade with.
Who is Interactive Brokers Brokerage Best For?
Interactive Brokers provides $0 in fees which allows users to execute small transactional trades, this is appealing to small time investors. Interactive Brokers also provides commission-free trading on ETFs, so commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs. Interactive Brokers appeal of providing unlimited free trading for US stocks allows users to day trade without the fear of cutting into profits just in transactional fees.
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage Have an app? Full review!
Interactive Brokers currently does have an app for iPhone,
Interactive Brokers also has an app for iPad. Interactive Brokers also provides a mobile web browser interface if you don’t wish to install the app.
Interactive Brokers currently does have an app for Android, Google, and Samsung.
Therefore, Interactive Brokers fully supports mobile based trading.
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What is Interactive Brokers Brokerage Fees?
0.08 Basis Point × Trade Value per order
Price quotes in 1/10 of a PIP
View Details
Lesser of 3% × Trade Value
or
USD 14.95
per transaction
View Details
What account types does Interactive Brokers Brokerage offer?
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage have TFSA accounts?
Interactive Brokers Brokerage offers TFSA accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the TFSA accounts? No, there is no fee to use the TFSA accounts.
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage have RRSP accounts?
Interactive Brokers Brokerage offers RRSP accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the RRSP accounts? No, there is no fee to use the RRSP accounts.
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage have RESP accounts?
Interactive Brokers Brokerage does not offer RESP accounts in either Canadian or US Dollar.
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage have Cash accounts?
Interactive Brokers Brokerage offers Cash accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the Cash accounts? No, there is no fee to use the Cash accounts.
Does Interactive Brokers Brokerage have Margin accounts?
Interactive Brokers Brokerage offers Margin accounts in both Canadian and US Dollar. Is there a fee to use the Margin accounts? No, there is no fee to use the Margin accounts.
How to switch to Interactive Brokers Brokerage?
Customers can transfer US stocks, options and cash held at another brokerage firm to IB through the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s (NSCC) Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS). Requests for ACATs are made through Account Management.
IB accepts full and partial transfers of assets. Please note that IB only accepts products that are available for trading. Certain products such as Limited Partnership units cannot be held in your Interactive Brokers account. For initial account funding, your transfer must meet our Minimum Initial Deposit requirements or the transfer will be rejected. Under normal circumstances, the transfer will take between four and eight business days. Please note that you will not be able to withdraw any funds or transfer any assets to another broker for ten business days after an account transfer is received. To transfer assets, go to Account Management and select Deposits and Transfers.
If you would like to transfer cash only, Interactive Brokers encourage you to electronically transfer funds from your current broker in order to expedite transfer.
Please note that according to ACATS protocol, standard transfers are always initiated on the receiving end, and therefore Interactive Brokers does not initiate transfers out from IB to another broker. View FAQs on ACATS.
As is industry practice, Interactive Brokers will not transfer options during their week of expiration.
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How to switch from Interactive Brokers Brokerage?
To switch from Interactive Brokers Brokerage, please refer to the guide for the brokerage you are looking to transfer from. SparxTrading takes pride in providing up to date information, please see the brokerage review you are looking to transfer to for assistance on how to transfer to that brokerage.
