Stocks
Consider the following advantages of trading stocks at Interactive Brokers:
- Commissions as low as $0.005 per US share all-in.
- Customers with Portfolio Margin accounts can use the Stock Borrow/Loan feature in Trader Workstation to borrow and lend US stocks electronically via the AQS®, the first automated, centrally-cleared electronic marketplace for Stock Borrow and Loan transactions.
- Use IB's Short Stock Availability Tool, a fully electronic, self-service utility, to search for real-time availability of shortable stocks.
- Earn extra income on the fully-paid shares of stock held in your account by joining IB's Stock Yield Enhancement Program.
- Use a variety of specialized stock trading tools in Trader Workstation, such as the Accumulate/Distribute algo and ISW (Integrated Stock Window), to help achieve best execution on large volume orders, and provide quick access and comprehensive stock order management.
- Trade large or complex orders with the help of an experienced broker at our Stocks and Options Trade Desk. Each broker on our trade desk has over 15 years trading experience, and will strive to get the best possible execution for your trades.
Options
Interactive Brokers has its roots in options trading going back 36 years.
Our sophisticated trading technology is built by professionals for professionals, and offers significant
benefits to options traders who are serious about their results.
- Based on independent measurements, the Transaction Auditing Group, Inc., (TAG), a third-party provider of transaction analysis, has determined that Interactive Brokers' US stock and options price executions were significantly better than the industry 2 during the second half of 2012.
- Use Trader Workstation's advanced options tools, including:
- OptionTrader, which provides streaming option chains, quick-click order transmission and the Greeks;
- SpreadTrader, which lets you easily create combo orders and spreads from among 18 predefined strategies, or create your own leg-by-leg positions;
- Write Options tool, which lets you efficiently write calls or puts against your existing long or short stock positions; and
- Our delta neutral feature, which lets you automatically hedge your position based on a system-calculated delta.
- Commissions as low as $0.15 - $0.70 per US options contract.
- Take advantage of Trader Workstation's real-time technical, fundamental and price/risk analysis tools.
- Download our free Options Pricing Calculator and Options Strategies widgets to help with everyday trading tasks.
- Trade large or complex orders with the help of an experienced broker at our Stocks and Options Trade Desk. Each broker on our trade desk has over 15 years trading experience, and will strive to get the best possible execution for your trades.
Options involve risk and are not suitable for all investors. For more
information read the "Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options".
For a copy click here.
Futures and FOPs
Trade futures, commodities and futures options on 36 market centers worldwide at Interactive Brokers:
- Trade Agriculture, Currency, Energy, Equity Index, Fixed Income, Metals, and Volatility Futures from a single platform. 3
- Commissions as low as USD 0.85 per contract plus exchange and regulatory fees.
- A Volume Tiered pricing structure is available to save members and volume traders additional cost. USD 0.25 - 0.85 per contract based on monthly trading volume, plus exchange, regulatory and carrying fees.
- Take advantage of Trader Workstation’s real-time technical, fundamental and price/risk analysis tools.
- Use Trader Workstation’s advanced trading tools, including:
- SpreadTrader, which lets you easily create combo orders and spreads from among 18 predefined strategies, or create your own leg-by-leg positions;
- ComboTrader, which lets you create unique combination orders manually leg by leg, or create complex combination orders using named strategy templates; and
- Index Arbitrage Meter, which shows you the extent of the premium (or discount) of the lead month futures price above (or below) its fair future value with respect to the index price.
Options and Futures are not suitable for all investors. The amount you may
lose may be greater than your initial investment. Before trading options
read the "Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options". Before trading
futures, please read the CFTC Risk Disclosure.
For a copy click here.
No hidden price spreads, no markups, just transparent low commissions.
Trading Forex at IB offers the following benefits:
- Direct access to interbank quotes.
- Commissions as low as 0.10 to 0.20 basis points * Trade Size.
- ECN-like market structure.
- Forex-conversion and forex-leverage allows you to convert currencies and/or trade currencies with leverage.
- Multi-asset display.
- Automatic overnight position rolls.
- 19 trading currencies.
- Trade forex markets in our optimized FXTrader.
We offer electronic access to US corporate bonds, US government securities, US Municipal bonds,
fixed income futures and fixed income options, all from a single account:
- Multiple fixed income instruments.
- Customer bond quotes for trading in TWS.
- Comparable bonds all in one place.
- US corporate bonds scanner.
- Smartest routing with multiple bond market centers.
- Submit corporate and municipal bond RFQs.
Contracts for Difference (CFDs) more info
We offer two kinds of CFDs: IB Share CFDs and IB Index CFDs:
IB Share CFDs
In addition to the potential tax benefits inherent in trading CFDs, trading CFDs through IB offers the following benefits:
- Transparent, low commissions & financing rates.
- Trade CFDs alongside the underlying shares.
- Margin efficiency.
- Efficient CFD reference pricing.
IB Index CFDs
IB Index CFDs present an opportunity to gain broad market exposure more flexibly than with many other instruments.
- Flexible exposure to global markets.
- Low commissions & financing rates.
- Transparent quotes.
- Margin efficiency.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Diversify your IB portfolio with ETFs, which offer these benefits:
- Take advantage of short-term fluctuations in the market by trading ETFs in Trader Workstation (TWS) just like stocks.
- Invest in a wide range of equity and bond indices on 28 exchanges in 14 countries, including short ETFs and leveraged ETFs.
- Enjoy greater liquidity through hands-on trading like a stock.
- Use Trader Workstation’s advanced technology, including its multi-product spreadsheet interface, real-time streaming quotes, wide variety of order types and specialized trading and analysis tools.
- ETF’s are supported in options trading and short selling.
- Greater financial transparency through daily reporting of the ETF's holdings.
ETFs vs Mutual Funds
| Diversification |
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| Active fund management |
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| Lower expense ratios |
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| Hands-on intraday trading |
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| Financial transparency |
Portfolio Holding
Reported Daily |
Portfolio Holding Reported
Semiannually or Quarterly |
| Options trading |
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| Stagnant index |
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| Sell short |
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| Time control |
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| Dividends reinvested automatically |
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Mutual Funds
IB provides a selection of no-load mutual funds. Because of our direct, low-cost policy,
we do not offer any funds that include a front-end load, a back-end load, or early withdrawal penalties.
Mutual Funds at IB offer the following benefits:
- Your funds value will be included as equity with loan value.
- Invest in over 1,800 funds from 30 families of mutual funds.
- All mutual funds are no-load with no early redemption fees.
- Active, professional fund management.
- Electronic-only prospectus delivery.
- Automatic dividend reinvestment.
- Unlike other market offered products, orders for mutual funds are submitted and collected during the trading day, and then submitted to the fund company at the close of New York trading. The fund companies then collect all orders from all brokers and determine a price for the day which is communicated back to the brokers. For customers seeking a transparent market environment with real-time price updates, we suggest the trading of ETFs as an alternative.
Trading IB Spot Gold and IB Spot Silver gives you access to the London bullion market,
which is the center for the international over-the-counter (OTC) market for gold and silver.
IB Spot Gold and IB Spot Silver provide the following benefits:
- Low, transparent commissions & financing rates.
- Efficient pricing in accessible quantities.
- Trade IB spot gold and IB spot silver alongside gold futures.
- Leveraged exposure.
Spreads and Combinations
Whether you’re trading pairs (stock-stock), option and stock combinations, straight option
combinations, ETF and future combinations, or futures spreads, IB makes it easy:
- IB ComboTrader lets you choose from a selection of predefined combinations or to create any customized combination of unlimited legs.
- IB SpreadTrader lets you instantly view and trade futures calendar spreads.
- Delta Neutral combinations are automatically computed.
- IB Risk Navigator displays real-time value at risk (VAR) on all positions across asset classes.
- IB ScaleTrader lets you set up and monitor large volume scale trades for stock-stock pairs and multi-leg combos.
For more information on these and other Trader Workstation features, see our Desktop Trading page.
Hedge Fund Investing more info
Interactive Brokers customers who are Accredited Investors or Qualified Purchasers under SEC rules
can view information about independent Hedge Funds available through IB's online
Hedge Fund Investor Site. The Hedge Fund Investor Site offers these benefits:
- Browse and invest in participating Hedge Funds from qualified third-party managers through a secure, password-protected area on our website.
- View and download basic information about participating Funds, including documentation, private placement memoranda and subscription information.
- Contact the Fund management company or request that the Fund contact you.
Exchange for Physicals (EFPs) more info
An Exchange for Physical (EFP) is a transaction in which you sell stock and buy it back for
future delivery by buying a Single Stock Future (SSF), or you buy the stock and sell the SSF.
EFPs provide a cheap and efficient financing vehicle and offer the following benefits:
- Swap a long or short stock position for a Single Stock Future (SSF), combining the two legs into one EFP transaction.
- Increased leverage; SSFs have only a 20% margin requirement.
- Sell SSFs short on a downtick.
- Interactive Brokers earned a 4.5 star ranking in the March 11, 2013 Barron's Annual Best Online Brokers - Back Online. Criteria included Trade Experience and Technology, Usability, Mobile, Range of Offerings, Research Amenities, Portfolio Analysis & Report, Customer Service & Education, and Costs. Barron's is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Co. Inc.
- Source: The Transaction Auditing Group (TAG). Industry as a whole for the referenced periods according to TAG. For additional information, click here.
- Security futures trading involve the risk of loss, including the possibility of loss greater than your initial investment. Security futures may not be suitable for all investors. Consult your broker or financial advisor before trading. All investors will be required to review risk disclosure materials and meet suitability requirements established by their brokers. You should carefully review all disclosure statements and ensure you understand the risks of trading security futures.
Any trading symbols displayed are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to portray a recommendation.
Interactive Brokers LLC is a member of NYSE, FINRA, SIPC
