Interactive Brokers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Interactive Brokers LLC | |
| Type | Private company, IPO pending |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, USA |
| Key people | Thomas Peterffy (Chairman, CEO, and Founder) |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Services | Online Brokerage Services, Direct Access Trading |
| Revenue | 1.6 billion USD |
| Website | http://www.interactivebrokers.com |
Interactive Brokers LLC (official abbrev IB) is a United States-based discount online brokerage firm, operating on most major worldwide stock, futures, bonds, forex, and options exchanges. For 30 years IB has been building direct access trading technology that delivers to professionals worldwide. With consolidated equity capital that exceeds US $2.8 billion, IB and its affiliates average 500,000 trades/day and trade 18.7% of the world's equity options volumes in locations where IBG actively trades[1].
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[edit] History
As of 2004, the firm's clients were making some 500,000 trades per year on various international markets and accounted for 21.4% of the trading volume of North America. They maintain offices in Chicago, Switzerland, Montreal, Hong Kong, London and Sydney. IB is regulated by the SEC, NASD, NYSE, SFA, and IDA and the regulatory policies of all other nations in which it trades. [2] The company had revenues of $1.6 billion USD and income of $734 million USD in the twelve month period ending in August, 2006. [3]
Recently Interactive Brokers filed paperwork with the SEC for an Initial Public Offering on the Nasdaq exchange. The proposed ticker symbol is NASDAQ: IBKR.[citation needed]
[edit] Commissions & Fees
Most US Equity purchases or sales, 200 shares or less, can be accomplished through Interactive Brokers for a commission of $1. [4] A minimum commission of $10/month is charged ($3/month if the account holder is under 25)[5], and strict account eligibility criteria are enforced[6].
Margin lending rates are amongst the most competitive in the industry, with typical accounts charged the Federal funds (or LIBOR) rate plus 150 basis points on outstanding debit balances with progressive discounts for larger balances. Unlike many other brokers, interest credit is also made for cash pledged as collateral for short selling. [7]
[edit] Margin Lending & Short-selling Rates
Margin lending rates are lower on outstanding debit balances, with discounts for large balance holders. Unlike most brokers who do not pay interest for cash pledged as collateral for short selling, interest credit is given on a pro-rata basis. However, it will not be awarded on short sale amounts less than $100,000 USD.
[edit] Trading Platforms & Software
[edit] Trader Workstation
Trader Workstation (abbreviated TWS) is a cross-platform Java desktop application. It is primarily designed for experienced and active day-traders. Inexperienced users/investors will be faced with a significant learning curve. Free demo accounts are available for non-customers, but the demo accounts are buggy and unstable. Charting is simple and not feature-rich.
- PaperTrader, a slightly simplified version of Traders Workstation targeted developers and papertraders. Papertraders can use it to experiment with trading for free in a virtual marketplace, while developers use it to test programs written around for the Traders Workstation API.
- MobileTrader allows certain personal digital assistants and smartphones to manage your accounts and execute orders.
- WebTrader, the web application trading platform.
