Interactive Brokers Review

Low pricing and a large selection of securities

Interactive Brokers is best known for offering low per-share pricing and incredibly low margin rates while at the same time providing access to an enormous selec-tion of securities. Interactive Brokers also allows you to complete most types of trades through one integrated account. You will also be able to fund your ac-count in one of 24 different currencies and then trade products in a different cur-rency, all through the same account.

Advanced trading platform

Another top feature is Interactive Brokers’ trading platform which includes every-thing from real-time monitoring, alerts and watchlists to a customizable dash-board. Additional features on the dashboard include charting options and cus-tomizations. Experienced traders can use the Options Strategy Lab, Volatility Lab, Risk Navigator, Market Scanner and Portfolio Builder. The Strategy Lab lets you build complex, multi-stage orders and compare up to five execution strate-gies at simultaneously.

Themed portfolios

Finally, in addition to self-managed accounts for savvy investors, Interactive Bro-kers offers dozens of themed portfolios focused on everything from social justice and a better planet to undervalued companies and leading institutions.

Very low margin rates are one of the features that make Interactive Brokers appealing to active and advanced investors. Commissions for Interactive Brokers offer tiered pricing based on volume, fixed pricing per share or as a percentage of trade value. For example, on Canadian stock exchanges, the brokerage charges a rate of 0.008 on volumes of less than 300,000 shares of Canadian stocks, ETFs and warrants. That pricing drops to 0.005 for volumes of up to three million. There are several tiers beyond that, and trade volume is measured monthly. The fixed rates are set at CAD 0.01 per share for Canadian stocks and USD 0.008 per share for U.S. stocks. However, there are minimum commission rates, so it’s worth knowing these before you invest.

Interactive Brokers allows for one free withdrawal request per calendar month but will charge substantial fees for withdrawals beyond that, including wires, checks and electronic fund transfers (ETFs). For example, you will pay CAD 12.00 for a wire transfer and CDN 2.00 for an EFT. Prices are dependent on the currency you trade in. There are also additional fees for specific corporate actions, such as a request to exercise appraisal rights, as well as some dividend processing, futures and bond trading. Finally, there are specific fees related to trading in foreign markets and charges for inactive accounts.

You can take advantage of multiple trading platforms at Interactive Brokers. These include its client portal, Trader Workstation, IBKR mobile apps, and IBKR APIs for institutional clients. The client portal is a web application that allows you to check quotes, place trades and view account balances, metrics, funding and reporting.

The Trader Workstation is a desktop platform designed for active traders and investors who work with multiple products. IBKR Mobile allows you to trade and monitor on the go through your iOS or Android devices. Finally, IBKR APIs will enable you to build custom trading applications and integrate trading into other programs. The options include a Trader Workstation API, Client Portal API, Excel API and FIX connections that allow institutions to take advantage of Interactive Brokers’ high-speed order routing.

If you would prefer to test drive the program, you can sign up for a free trial of Interactive Brokers, which gives you free access to all trading platforms, including Desktop TWS and IBKR Mobile. You will get USD 1,000,000 in a simulated account and the ability to explore and use all of the company’s tools and services.

Since Interactive Brokers is intended for experienced and active traders,  it has limited offerings for the new or novice investor. This is not the place to go to learn how to trade. However, the company does boast a wealth of educational opportunities and insight tools. Trader’s Academy is designed to help improve understanding of all the products, markets and tools available in each of the various platforms.

Regular IBKR Webinars provide critical information about current market topics and IBKR tools. There are live webinars listed, and the company also provides most of these webinars on-demand. Trader’s Insight provides market commentary and analysis via a network of more than 70 industry professionals. Interactive Brokers also hosts a blog on transformative technologies and programming and a Student Trading Lab that teachers can access to teach both finance and computer science.

IBKR customers also receive free access to AltaVista Research, Edison Investment Research, EventShares Research, ETF Guide, Morningstar Equity Ownership, Reuters StockReport+, ValuEngine and Zachs.

The Interactive Brokers’ website is a little challenging to navigate unless you know exactly what you are looking for. However, customer support is provided via 24- hour phone, email, and chat available six days a week. Their IBot leverages AI and will answer questions in plain English, but you can also chat with a live agent. There are no physical branches, however, to allow for in-person meetings.

The Better Business Bureau has given Interactive Brokers an A+ rating for its customer interactions in the United States, much higher than most investment apps on the market.

Unlike many brokerages, Interactive Brokers is available to customers in 218 countries and territories in multiple languages. Both live, and recorded webinars are available in ten different languages.

For beginner or less active investors, there are less options like Questrade and Wealthsimple that provide a large selection of investment types at low or no commission fees.

Questrade

Questrade is a Canadian online brokerage for advanced investors with over $25 billion in assets under management. With Questrade, you can open a variety of registered account (RRSPs, TFSAs, etc.) and purchase commission free ETFs. There are no inactivity fees, annual fees or registered account fees. They also offer a robo-advisor service.

New investors can now get $50 in free trades when they open an account and invest $1000.

Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple is Canada’s only no-commissions trading platform that started out as a robo-advisor. Their easy-to-navigate platform and uncomplicated pricing structure makes them ideal for beginners.  Wealthsimple offers a large selection of registered and unregistered accounts. There is no minimum investment required to open an account.

New investors can get a $50 cash bonus when they trade a minimum of $150.

Interactive Brokers is the best option for savvy, active investors who want to avoid paying higher fees to preserve as much of their investment as possible and want access to high-level trading tools and platforms. It offers a wide range of investment opportunities in foreign and domestic markets, making it an excellent and affordable option for investors hoping to expand into global markets. Extremely low margin rates also make it a good choice for advanced investors who know how to play the markets.

While it is not the best choice for beginners, Interactive Brokers is expanding its educational opportunities and making its platforms more user friendly. And, of course, the low rates are available to all investors, regardless of experience.