The Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Recurring Investment feature allows the investor to choose an amount and a frequency to invest in a stock over a scheduled repeating basis. The Interactive Brokers Recurring Investment feature is available for clients who have fractional shares enabled.
It is important to note that open recurring investment instructions are not visible on the Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) or the IBKR Mobile order screens.
How to set up a Recurring Investment?
An investor can initiate the Interactive Brokers Recurring investment feature from their Client Portal. In the Client Portal, the investor should click on the Trade menu and select Recurring Investment.
Once selected, the investor will see the Recurring Investment screen displaying a grid of the active recurring investments if any are set up. The investor will see the amount, intervals, start date, next occurrence, last trade, and end date.
To create a new recurring investment, the investor clicks the blue Create Recurring Investment button to initiate the Asset Search screen.
The investor can search by symbol, ISIN, or CUSIP. Once the investor selects the search type, they should enter in the data. The investor also has the option of choosing an exchange. In this case, the investor chooses symbol, and selects the stock they want to set up the recurring investment in.
Once the investor selects the symbol, a new screen will appear in which the investor chooses the start and end date by clicking on the calendar icon in each box. The investor can select the month by clicking on the up and down arrows or click on the month and choose the month and year. Next, the investor can select the dollar amount. And finally, the interval of the recurring investment. The investor can choose
- Yearly
- Quarterly
- Monthly
- Biweekly
- Weekly, or
- Daily.
Once selected, the investor should click Continue and read through the disclosures as well as the review of the trade description prior to clicking the blue Save Investment button in the bottom right-hand corner. Once clicked, a confirmation message will appear on the screen and the investor should click Done.
How are Recurring Investments submitted and at what price are they filled?
Recurring Investment orders may be aggregated across several clients and are submitted and filled through a best-effort Volume-Weighted Average Price (or VWAP) at the market open and each participant on that day will receive the same average price. On days that the market is closed or that the order is not filled, orders will be placed the next trading day.
How to edit a Recurring Investment?
To change the settings of a recurring investment, the investor should go to the Recurring Investment screen in Client Portal and click on the Pencil icon in the investment row.
Once selected, the investor can choose to either cancel or modify the investment. When the investor clicks on the blue Modify Investment button, they will be taken to the Edit Recurring Investment screen. Here, they can edit the end date and amount. Once the changes have been made, the investor clicks the blue Continue button and will see the disclosure and trade description page showing the changes. When ready to submit the changes, the investor should click on the blue Save Changes button, and they will receive a confirmation and can click Done.
The investor is now brought back to the Recurring Investment screen.
How to cancel a Recurring Investment?
A recurring investment can be cancelled in two different ways. From the Recurring Investment screen, the investor can click on the Pencil icon and click on the red Cancel Investment button.
Once clicked, the investor can choose a date that the recurring investment will end or check the Effective Immediately box. When ready, they click the red Confirm Cancellation box and will receive a confirmation message that the request has been processed successfully. To exit out, the investor clicks done and will be taken back to the Recurring Investment screen.
The second method of cancelling a recurring investment is for the investor to click on the X icon next to the investment.
Once clicked, the investor can either choose a date to cancel or check the Effective Immediately box and click the red Confirm Cancellation button. Once completed, they will receive a message that the request has been processed successfully and can exit out by clicking Done.
How to view the Recurring Investments history?
An investor can see the history of their recurring investments by clicking on the clock icon next to the recurring investment. A Recurring Investment History window will appear showing trades and any changes made to the recurring investment.
How to view expired or cancelled Recurring Investments?
In the Recurring Investments window, the investor can click on the line “Show Expired and Cancelled Recurring Investments” to see any past Recurring Investments that are no longer active.
How to view open/active Recurring Investment orders?
How to view open/active Recurring Investment orders?While open Recurring Investments cannot be viewed on the Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) or the IBKR Mobile order screens, they can be viewed in both the Recurring Investment screen as well as the Order and Trade screen in the Client Portal.
The Interactive Brokers Recurring Investment feature allows the investor to set up orders for a specific stock to be filled on a scheduled basis over a specified time frame. The investor can cancel the order at any time as well as adjust the amount and end date.
Resources
I saw that recurring investments only buy whole shares. This doesn’t make much sense for amounts of few 100 usd. Is there any way to enable fractional share for recurring investemts, so i can invest exactly the amount specified?
Hello Sebastian, thank you for reaching out. When using the Recurring Investment program, you will receive fractional shares equivalent to the cash amount specified. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=370325813. We hope this helps!
When is the actual trade executed?
Hello Ed, thank you for asking. The Recurring Investment feature allows the client to choose a date and select a schedule on which to invest (e.g., weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). Trades are executed soon after the market open on the start date and continue on future dates based upon the schedule selected. If the market is closed on the scheduled recurring investment date (e.g.: holiday, weekend) then the recurring investment will be scheduled for the next open market date. If the schedule of monthly, quarterly, or yearly is selected and the recurring investment date does not exist for the month (e.g.: February 29th) then the last date of the month will be used. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=370325768
Can we choose a recurring amount currency that is different from the one the security is traded in or is it fixed in USD?
Hello De, thank you for asking. When using the Recurring Investment feature if you don’t hold the currency the stock is denominated in, IBKR will auto-convert currencies to complete the trade. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=370325846
Hi there, what are the currency conversion fees associated? Would it be the $2 flat rate for small amounts?
Hi, thank you for asking. IBKR offers competitive commissions on spot currency trades and conversions, starting at 0.20 basis point * trade value, with a minimum of 2.00 USD (or USD currency equivalent) per order. Commissions for spot currency trades are calculated off the trade value in terms of the second currency of the pair and then converted and charged to the base currency of the account. For more information on spot currency trade commissions, please see https://spr.ly/CampusCommissions.
Hi, is there any commission or fee for using this service? Thank you.
Hi Jhonatan, thank you for asking. Yes, Standard Fixed commissions as listed on the IBKR website are applied for the purchase through the Recurring Investment program. Please note that the minimum commission charge is the lesser of the stated minimums (USD 1 for the Fixed structure) or 1% of the trade value.
Learn more about recurring investments offered by IBKR: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/recurring-investments.php
I tried setting up a recurring investment on SMH ETF (at LSE) but failed. It is stated in the FAQ that “Only stocks/ETFs which are tradable in fractions are eligible.” and I suspect it is the reason.
I would like to confirm if this ETF is NOT tradable in fractions. In addition, how do I know if a security is tradable in fractions? Is there a list to search or something?
Hello SL. We offer fractional share trading on eligible U.S., Canadian and European stocks and ETFs, where available. TWS Build Version 979 or later is required to trade fractional shares. This feature currently supports most order types.
A list of eligible stocks that can be traded in fractional shares is available via the following link. Please note, this list is subject to change without notice:
http://www.ibkr.com/download/fracshare_stk.csv
I don’t see Recurring Order under Trade menu on my IBKR app. Do I need to change some settings to enable recurring order feature?
Hello Tejas, thank you for reaching out. Recurring Investment is available to any client that has fractional share trading enabled and is under IBLLC, IBUK, IBAU, IBCAN, IBCE, IBIE, IBHK, and IBSG. You can review and manage your trading permissions at any time in Client Portal: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/sso/resolver?action=TA_TRADE_PERM_BETA. We hope this answers your question!
hi, I have setup a recurring investment, say 1000 usd each month, on 20th each month. 1000 usd will be transferred to IB on 15th. today as on the 8th, I have 500 usd cash, but it says I cannot place a buy order as I have 0 settled cash. Does it mean it counts the recurring investment amount in the future? if this is the case, I can only use the cash on the 15th when the cash is enough to cover recurring investment and exrea buy order? thanks
Hello Jacky, thank you for reaching out. For this question, please create a web ticket with as much detail as possible, for instance the symbol of the instrument for which you have a recurring investment. Feel free to also check out our FAQs on recurring investments on our website: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/recurring-investments.php
I have tried to set a recurring investment for VT, VTI and QQQ but the systems says that is not possible to set it on Arca or nasdaq. Did I do something wrong or is simply not possible?
Thanks
Hello Max, thank you for reaching out. The Recurring Investment feature is available for US and European stocks/ETFs. Only stocks/ETFs which are tradable in fractions are eligible, so please make sure you enable fractional share trading in Client Portal: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/AccountManagement/AmAuthentication?action=TA_TRADE_PERM_BETA&feature=frac. We hope this resolves the issue. If not, please contact Client Services through web ticket or live chat for further assistance.
For future enhancements, I’d like a feature where I can allocate a specific amount of money for stock purchases, with the goal of achieving a predetermined portfolio balance. For instance, I might want to buy ETFs A, B, and C with the aim of reaching a 20%/20%/60% portfolio balance. Ideally, the system would automatically distribute the allocated money among these ETFs based on their current market conditions to reach the desired ratio.
Currently, I’m doing this manually, but it would be great if the system could handle it automatically. I’d like to simply specify my desired portfolio ratio and the amount of money I plan to deposit each month. The system would then use this monthly deposit to automatically buy the stocks or ETFs, adjusting the purchase amounts as necessary to work towards the set portfolio balance.
Hello Matthew, thank you for reaching out. Our Rebalance Portfolio tool makes it easy to retain control over your portfolios. We hope this helps!
can we request for new shares to be added to the list of recurring investments? i note that some ETFs on LSE is not available for recurring investment yet
Hello, thank you for reaching out. The Recurring Investment Feature is available for US and European stocks/ETFs. Please keep in mind that only stocks/ ETFs which are tradable in fractions are eligible.
For a question or concern about a specific security, you can also create a web ticket: http://spr.ly/IBKR_CreateWebTicket
Hi, for recurrent investment on LSE etf (VWRA), I read from several sources that the fee charged is actually tiered pricing instead of fixed. Can I confirm on this?
Hello Dino, thank you for reaching out. Standard Fixed commissions as listed on the IBKR website are applied for the purchase through the Recurring Investment program. We hope this helps!
I tried to create recurring investments but the process refuses to go further after I press the ‘continue’ button, after many attempts. Is there a bug in the application? How to resolve it?
BTW, my account has already be authorized to conduct fractional trading. Thanks
Hello Alf, thank you for reaching out. We take comments like yours seriously and want to resolve this issue quickly. Please send an email to social@ibkr.com with a little more detail about what happened and we will respond ASAP.
Hi,
I was not able to create a recurring investment for AAPL. The error says:
You cannot create a recurring investment for AAPL at NASDAQ.
Account does not have trading permissions.
I am based in Singapore and my base currency is already in USD. I did manage to buy fractional AAPL shares, and would like this feature automated monthly.
Hi Ahmad, thank you for reaching out. It should be possible to create a recurring investment for AAPL with the correct trading permissions. Please ensure that you have the appropriate trading permissions. You can view and manage your trading permissions here at any time:
https://www.interactivebrokers.com/sso/resolver?action=TA_TRADE_PERM_BETA
We hope this helps!
Hi,
I set up a recurrent investment biweekly last Friday and only one trade was made during this week, I was expecting two. If one chooses biweekly, which days of the week do these two trades happen? I could not see a possibility to select the days. Thank you.
Hello, thank you for reaching out. It is possible to choose a date and select a schedule on which to invest (e.g. weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) using the Recurring Investment feature. Trades are executed soon after opening on the start date and continue on future dates based on the schedule selected. Please note that there is no guarantee modifying the recurring investment on the scheduled day of investment will be reflected in your trading activity for that day. Please view this link for more information: https://www.ibkrguides.com/kb/overview-of-recurring-investment-feature.htm
Please reach back out with any more questions. We are here to help!
Here is the translation of your text to English: “Is there a way to create automatic entries not by specific time, but by a specific percentage of retracement? Here’s an example: if stock X falls by 5% in a single day, place the purchases automatically. Every time the day has been negative, place a buy order.”
Hello Henning, thank you for reaching out. This link displays all of IBKR’s order types, with the ability to filter by product: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/ordertypes.php
We hope this helps!
If I have the lite pricing plan where all trades are supposed to be commission free, why am I getting charged for recurring buys of stocks that would be commission free if I purchased them manually?
Hello Migel, thank you for reaching out. IBKR Lite provides commission-free trades in US exchange-listed stocks and ETFs. For trades in non-exchange-listed US stocks (e.g. Pink sheet and OTCBB), ETFs, warrants, and other non-qualifying products, and recurring investment instructions, IBKR Lite accounts are subject to Fixed Pricing. We hope this answers your question!
If I have lite and trades are free if placed manually for a stock like aapl, why am I charged a commission fee when I setup a recurring investment for the same aapl stock?
Hello,
I have multiple currencies on the account however not sufficient amount of the currency that the stock is traded in. What currency is selected for automatic conversion and based on what criteria?
Thank you,
Hello, thanks for asking. When trading a product denominated in a non-base currency without first converting to that currency, a margin loan is created in the currency of the product. The account will use available funds in the product’s currency first before automatically converting from other currencies according to the following priority:
Any excess funds in the currency of the traded product.
USD funds or USD equivalent of securities.
Funds in currency with the largest balance.
Remaining currencies from largest to smallest balance.
The currency conversion serves to provide the necessary funds in the required currency so the order can be placed.
Please view this FAQ for more information: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=104943015
Hi. what happens if there is not enough money in the account to cover the recurrent trade in one month?
Hello, thank you for asking. The system will check the account 3 business days prior to the next occurrence of the recurring investment and if the account is lacking funds then a notification will be sent to the client. If on the occurrence date the account still lacks the funds, the occurrence date will be incremented by the frequency (e.g.: if monthly, update to next month). If on the next occurrence date the account again lacks funds then the instruction will be canceled.
We hope this helps!
Hi. I have set up recurring investment on my accounts and will like to get an email or push notification when the trades are executed. Is there a way to set up the notifications?
Hello, thank you for reaching out. To set up an alert for a recurring investment in IBKR:
Log into Client Portal and go to the Recurring Investments page.
Click on the recurring investment you want to set an alert for.
In the menu on the right, click “Create Alert”.
Choose the alert conditions – for example, you can set an alert if the recurring investment fails to execute.
Enter your email and/or phone number to receive the alert.
Click “Save” to activate the alert.
Now you will receive a notification if the conditions you set are triggered for that recurring investment.
We hope this helps!
Hello I have a daily recurring order to buy QQQ and today, the recurring order was filled at a higher price than the price of the stock at that time. Is it normal? Actually the transaction states that the order was filled at 15:39 ie 21 min before market closure today at a price 453 usd but the price was at 451 at the very same time. Please explain.
Thank you for taking the time to reach out, and please accept our apologies. For time sensitive trading issues, please contact our Client Services team which can be reached by phone, live chat, or ticket. http://spr.ly/IBKR_ClientServicesCampus
I see that this feature is available in my personal accounts, but is it available in a corporate account? Where do I find the feature in a corporate account? Thank you.
Hello, thank you for asking. Recurring investment is available to any client that has fractional share trading enabled and is under IBLLC, IBUK, IBAU, IBCAN, IBCE, IBIE, IBHK, and IBSG. https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=370325745
Requests to participate in IBKR’s Recurring Investment program are initiated online via Client Portal. Select the Trade menu option followed by Reccuring Investments. Please view this FAQ for more information about participation in the program: https://www.ibkr.com/faq?id=370325733
We hope this helps!
Hello, Is it possible to have a recurring sell feature? Or even better something like swap one asset for another. Thanks you.
Hello, thank you for reaching out and please accept our apologies. You can use the Rebalance Portfolio tool to redistribute the current position weighting in your portfolio. Specify a new “Target Percentage” for your positions and let TWS automatically create orders that, when submitted, will attempt to execute trades to keep your portfolio in line with your investment strategy. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/rebalance-portfolio.php
Please reach back out with any more questions. We are here to help!
I was told that margin accounts with a negative cash balance cannot use reccuring investments. Even if the have plenty of buying power and excess liquidity. Is this true?
Thank you for asking, Jhon. That’s correct. If your account is in a margin deficit and cannot initiate new positions, the recurring investment will not occur, even if you have the feature enabled. A Deposit Hold can cause a recurring investment to be rejected. The trade will only occur if free cash is available. Clients that are borrowing on margin cannot use the recurring investment feature until they have free cash. Please note that recurring investment orders are credit-checked at the time of entry. Should an account go into margin deficiency at any time after that, including as a result of the end-of-day SMA check and the end-of-day Soft Edge Margin, the account will become subject to automated liquidation. https://www.ibkrguides.com/kb/overview-of-recurring-investment-feature.htm