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Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are index funds or trusts that are listed and traded intraday on an exchange. ETFs are constructed like Mutual Funds, but trade like stocks. ETFs allow investors to buy or sell an entire portfolio of stocks as a single security. The benefits of ETFs vs. Mutual Funds are listed below.

ETFs are available for equities and fixed income. There are a number of different ETFs on the market, including iShares, Diamonds, HOLDRs, SPDRs, Qubes and streetTRACKS managed by different issuers. Investors can trade ETFs on an exchange in any sized lots, except for HOLDRs, which are traded in 100 share lots. HOLDRs are unlike other exchange traded funds, in that any shareholder can exchange 100 shares of a HOLDR for the underlying stocks at any time. All other ETFs can only be created and redeemed by institutional investors.

Premier Technology

• Specialized Book, Basket, Combination, Portfolio, Market Depth and Chart trading modules.
• Integrated technical, fundamental and price/risk analysis tools.
• Over 40 different order types that limit risk, speed execution, improve price, use discretion (Iceberg and Hidden Orders), time the market and simplify trading.
• Stocks available for shorting electronically posted.
• Stocks offered on 27 market centers worldwide.
• Trade stocks in combination with ETFs, options and futures worldwide from a single screen.
• Wide availability of ETFs for shorting.

Lower Cost

• ETFs offered on 15 market centers worldwide.
• $0.005 per US share all-in. No ticket charge, $1 minimum per order. Non-US commissions at comparable rates.
• An alternative “cost plus” pricing structure is also available to save volume traders additional cost.
• IB SmartRouting^SM searches for the best price available at the time of your order, and unlike other routers, dynamically routes and re-routes all or parts of your order to achieve optimal execution.
• IB independently routes US stock, option and futures spread order legs to the best possible venue seeking price improvement, with IB undertaking the risk of partially executed orders.
• Higher interest paid on balances.
• Lower margin financing costs.