Contents
Introduction
Definition of Online Brokers
An online broker acts as an agent for the buyer and seller in investment transactions for anything from stocks, futures contracts, options, forex, and cryptocurrency. Online agencies offer users brokerage services in exchange for transaction fees, commissions, or both. Before technology-enabled advanced automated trading, such trades were made physically through physical brokers and exchanges. With technology’s support, most of these exchanges also offer transaction services through online brokerages.
Benefits of Investing Through Online Brokers
Online brokers are now a preferred trading option, allowing traders to make sensible and objective investment decisions. Traditionally, brokers and their agents pushed users to invest in investment options that would let them make the highest commissions. This meant that the agents pushed investments on investors with a bias toward their income. This is why most users usually prefer to do their trading online, as they can make trading decisions without undue influence. Online brokers allow investors to oversee their investments and execute transactions regardless of geographic boundaries.
Online trading is also more appropriate for handling assets in unstable markets as it allows for better handling of rapid price changes. As a rule, trades are implemented faster and cheaper in online trading. This is because most online platforms have lower fees than traditional brokerage houses. However, this Interactive Brokers loses points as its website is difficult to navigate compared to other online platforms.
Highlights
- Trading Platform
| Demo Account | Yes |
| Leverage | Leverage starts from 1/10 pips, users with trading volumes of < $1 million a month pay 0.20 basis points |
| Available Assets | Shares, bonds, options, futures, foreign currency, cryptos, and funds in 150 markets |
| Deposit Methods | Bank Wire, Automated Bank Transfer, Direct Link of Brokerage to Bank Account, check, |
| Base Currencies | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, or USD. |
| Min Deposit | $100 |
| Regulation | US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 1934 Exchange Act. And the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (www.sipc.org). |
| Account Type | IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro. |
| Trading Platform | IKBR Trading platform |
Interactive Brokers is a platform for forex, bonds, stocks, options, futures, and cryptocurrency traders. The platforms are available on desktop, online, and in multiple Android and iOS mobile versions. The apps have almost identical functions to the web platform. The Trader Workstation (TWS) is the best of its offerings.
- Fees & commission
Interactive Brokers’ pricing is complicated for pro users. The basic version (Lite) users get to invest in stocks and ETFs fee-free. Pro users can pick between fixed pricing, which is based on a per-share trading basis. There’s also an option to select tiered pricing. This is based on average monthly activity. Higher trading volumes are charged a lower trading rate. Exchange and regulatory fees are charged separately in the tiered rate pricing.
- Leverage
The margin requirements options on Interactive Brokers vary across the different trader platforms. Leverage rates are automatically calculated according to the margins applicable as margin requirements decrease, the maximum leverage increases. Declines. Leverage ranges from 1/10 pips, while those with trading volumes of less than $1 million in a month pay commission at a rate of 0.20 basis points.
- Platforms & tools
Interactive Brokers offers its lite and pro versions for beginners and pro traders. The IBKR Lite offers unlimited trades of shares and ETFs on US exchanges. The IKBR Pro version allows international trading in futures and options. The Interactive Brokers Desktop Trader Workstation is commonly considered to be the best trading platform for advanced traders. The real-time alerts, watchlist, and account dashboard options are highly customizable and allow efficient strategizing.
- Account opening & deposit/withdrawal experience
Interactive Brokers allows its clients to open accounts by filling in an account opening application, verifying their identity, and providing the needed identification, like social security number for the US. This then enables users to fund their trading accounts. For fund withdrawals, the banking details provided at account opening are used to transfer funds to the account provided for account opening.
- Customer service & support
The customer support is adequate as a user can get in touch with customer support by calling region-specific numbers, filling out a contact form for help, or getting online support via chat between 8 am to 8 pm. Chat is live EST time five days a week and between 1 pm to 7 pm on Sundays.
- Education & learning resources
There are multiple educational resources on the Interactive Brokers website under the resources head. There are free trading courses and videos about trading and the market, investment avenues, and how to use the IKBR platforms. The platform is designed to cater to advanced traders, and it is confusing for the average user.
- Research & analysis
The Interactive Brokers website offers an extensive section of feature articles and write-ups that range from essential to advanced and cover fundamental and technical analysis. These resources are available to users with just demo accounts as well. Some video tutorials are also available for trading through the platform.
- Regulatory compliance & security
Interactive Brokers LLC is controlled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 1934 Exchange Act. It is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC or www.sipc.org).
- Mobile trading
The Interactive Brokers has a mobile app for Android and iOS that offers most desktop options, but user ratings are average.
Overview of the Interactive Brokers platform
Fees and Commission
Interactive Brokers’ pricing is complicated for pro users. The basic version (Lite) users get to invest in stocks and ETFs fee-free. Pro users can pick between fixed pricing, which is based on a per-share trading basis. There is also an option to select tiered pricing. This is based on average monthly activity. Higher trading volumes are charged a lower trading rate. Exchange and regulatory fees are charged separately in the tiered rate pricing.
Range of Investment Opportunities
Interactive Brokers is a platform for forex, bonds, stocks, options, futures, and cryptocurrency traders. It supports desktop, online, and multiple Android and iOS mobile versions.
Overall Ratings
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a popular choice as a top broker for advanced day trading and international trading. It is ranked high because of its diverse range of global assets and its high capacity and technically advanced analytical tools and calculators. Investing funds through the Interactive Brokers platform is preferred by advanced traders as the platform offers global assets and strong research into their investment pros and cons.
In-Depth Review of Interactive Brokers
Trading Platform
Interactive Brokers offers trading in forex, indices, futures, stocks, cryptocurrencies, and commodities like energy and metals. Users can trade in their selected financial market on the desktop, online and mobile versions and the Interactive Brokers’ IKBR mobile or GlobalTrader apps. The TWS version is popularly considered to be the best design for trading. All versions offer fundamental and technical analysis, social evaluation, financial calculations, and tools that allow users to identify and encash pricing inefficiencies and earn well.
Platforms and Tools
Interactive Brokers offers its lite and pro versions for beginners and pro traders. The IBKR Lite offers unlimited trades of shares and ETFs on US exchanges. The IKBR Pro allows international trading in futures and options through its advanced platform. The Interactive Brokers Desktop Trader Workstation is commonly voted as the best trading platform for advanced traders.
The prime features of the Interactive Brokers website are its multiple trading platforms and a wide variety of trading options. For example, the platform offers access to more than 4000 no transaction fee mutual funds to pick from in the US alone. The selection grows to 14,000 for offshore funds. People can trade in forex pairs, indices, metals, futures, options, and cryptocurrencies.
Most of these assets are tradable in both browser and mobile versions. The platforms are complicated trading systems, but they offer technical support, trading assistance, and guides to help traders make their trades. The interfaces are universally considered unnecessarily complicated, and many traders complain that the interface is problematic. The trading platform has features like customizable technical indicators, automated trading, live price monitoring, and charting options. The real-time alerts, watchlist, and account dashboard options are highly customizable and allow for efficient strategizing
Account opening & deposit/withdrawal experience
Interactive Brokers allows its clients to open accounts by filling in an account opening application, verifying their identity, and providing the needed identification, like social security number for the US. This then enables users to fund their trading accounts. For fund withdrawals, the banking details provided at account opening are used to transfer funds to the account provided for account opening.
Customer service & support
The customer support is adequate as a user can get in touch with customer support by calling region-specific numbers. They can also fill out a contact form for help or get online support via chat between 8 am to 8 pm EST five days a week and 1 pm to 7 pm on Sundays.
Education & learning resources
There are multiple educational resources on the Interactive Brokers website under the resources head. There are free trading courses and videos about trading and the market, investment avenues, and how to use the IKBR platforms. The platform is designed to cater to advanced traders, and it is confusing for the average user.
Research & Analysis
The Interactive Brokers website offers an extensive section of feature articles and write-ups that range from essential to advanced and cover fundamental and technical analysis. These resources are available to users with just demo accounts as well. Some video tutorials are also available for trading through the platform.
Regulatory Compliance & Security
Interactive Brokers LLC is controlled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 1934 Exchange Act. It is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC or www.sipc.org).
Mobile trading
The Interactive Brokers has a mobile app for Android and iOS that offers most desktop and trading platform features. However, the apps have average ratings on the OS pages compared to the rave reviews the platforms receive.
Wrap-up
Summary of Key Features
Interactive Brokers LLC is controlled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 1934 Exchange Act. It is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC or www.sipc.org).
Pros and Cons of Interactive Brokers
Interactive Brokers is a top trading platform for experienced and international traders because it offers a vast range of global assets to invest in. Its range of assets, refined trading options, and robust research offerings make IKBR an attractive platform to join. It is one of the few publicly traded trading platforms and is a stable platform for experienced traders. The pricing is also appealing; however, the platform is less attractive for newer and inexperienced traders as its complex trading offerings can confuse the new user.
Final Considerations
Interactive Brokers is a platform offering forex, bonds, stocks, options, futures, and cryptocurrency for traders. It supports desktop, online, and multiple Android and iOS mobile versions. The apps have almost identical functions to the web platform. The Trader Workstation (TWS) is the best of its offerings, its strongest trading platform. It offers attractive pricing and is amongst the better-priced trading options available.
The platform loses out on the newer or smaller investors due to its complex interface and is poorly reviewed just because of its complicated trading platform.
Conclusion
International Traders offers users access to all major international financial markets and the option to trade all these assets on its desktop, web-based, and mobile versions. Its TWS is well-designed and offers users technical and fundamental research and sentiment analysis. There are financial calculators as well that allows users to act on earning potential better than other platforms.
The platform is run under the regulatory control and oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 1934 Exchange Act. It is also a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC or www.sipc.org).
The company offers customer support through specified numbers. Users can fill out a contact form for help or get online support via chat between 8 am to 8 pm EST, five days a week. Users also have email addresses if they need support using the platform and its services.
Fintech-Insight is dedicated to delivering unbiased and dependable insights into cryptocurrency, finance, trading, and stocks. However, we must clarify that we don't offer financial advice, and we strongly recommend users to perform their own research and due diligence.