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Folio Institutional

Welcome to
Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

Dear Folio Client

Effective with the January 13, 2021 close of business, the self-directed retail accounts of Folio Investments, Inc not closed or transferred to another broker prior to this date have been transferred to IBKR. If your account was transferred and you have not yet completed the account opening steps with IBKR, you will need to do so to access your account.. The steps for completing your account are as follows:

  1. Obtain the User Name & Password
    • Click here and enter your Folio account username, email address registered at Folio and your Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID
    • We will provide you with a username and a single-use password that you will enter online and create a permanent password. Note that we will try to reuse your Folio user name, where possible, and, if you have multiple accounts, link a single user name to as many of those accounts as possible.
  2. Review & Complete your IBKR account
    • You will be presented with your account information of record at Folio. You will be prompted to confirm, update or complete any missing information and sign the customer agreement.

You will receive an email confirming completion and approval of your account typically within 1-2 business days after completing these steps. Note that you will not be able to submit opening orders through your IBKR account until it’s been approved so it’s important to act prior to the transfer date.

We invite you to review our website to learn more about IBKR, find answers to the most frequently asked questions or contact us with any questions. If you’re not already familiar with IBKR, we have a 42-year history of building electronic access trading technology that provides our clients with the ability to trade worldwide at the lowest costs.

We are one of the largest US electronic brokers based on daily average revenue trades and have been recognized as:

  • Barron’s #1 Best Online Brokers – 2020, 2019 and 2018
  • Stock Brokers.com – 2020 Annual Review #1 for Commissions and Fees
  • HFM Technology – 2019 Winner #1 Best Application for Mobile

Some of the features that will be available to you as an IBKR client include:

  • Trade globally in stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, and funds from a single unified platform with the ability to buy fractional shares on most US stocks and ETFs.
  • Invest in over 34,000 mutual funds from 285 fund families in the Mutual Fund Marketplace.
  • Earn extra income on your fully paid shares of stock by participating in our Stock Yield Enhancement program.
  • Borrow at the lowest margin rates.
  • Use our proprietary Impact Dashboard to evaluate and invest in sustainable investing strategies.
  • Obtain up to $2,500,000 of FDIC insurance through our Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program.
  • Invest in portfolios comparable to Ready-to-Go Folios via our affiliate Interactive Advisors.

Please review the FAQs below for answers to the most frequently asked questions.

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Customer Support

Direct Dial: +1-872-249-4691
Toll-free: +1-833-981-4691

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IBKR Nasdaq Listed
IBKR Trading Platforms

Transfer FAQs

We expect Folio to send the cost basis details for your transferred sometime during the week following that of the transfer date (i.e., after January 14, 2021). Note that his lag should have no impact upon tax reporting for trades that take place prior to the receipt of this data.

All eligible positions, including fractional shares, will transfer to your IBKR account; however, they will no longer be organized into the Folios groupings. This will have no impact on your ability to close or increase holdings in these positions.

IBKR offers trading in fractional shares, with certain policies that differ from Folio. For example, IBKR maintains positions in increments extending out to 4 decimal points whereas Folio uses 5. Assuming you hold a position with Folio of 100.12345 shares, at IBKR that position will convert to 100.1234 shares and a cash credit for the proceeds from the sale of the 0.00005 shares.

In addition, while IBKR offers fractional share trading in over 9,200 issues (see website for list), the population of eligible securities offered by IBKR and Folio may differ. For example, IBKR does not support fractional shares for Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares. If you hold a fractional position in a security not offered by IBKR as of the transfer date, it will be liquidated and you will receive a cash credit for the proceeds from the sale of the shares.

Clients who transfer their accounts elsewhere after the account is transferred to IBKR will be charged a $100 processing fee. This fee will be automatically deducted from the account balance when the account is transferred to the receiving broker.

Your 2020 tax forms will be produced by Folio but made available through your IBKR account, when available. Since the transfer is expected to take place in January 2021, possibly resulting in reportable activity from both brokers for the year, you may receive two tax forms for 2021, one produced by Folio for the period covering January 1, 2021 to the date of transfer, and one produced by IBKR for the period covering the date of transfer through December 31, 2021. Clients will be provided online access to both of these tax forms through their IBKR account.

Pricing FAQs

We offer two pricing plans, IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite. IBKR Pro is the plan for sophisticated investors and active traders. IBKR Pro clients access the IB SmartRoutingSM system, which provides $0.47 per 100 shares price improvement vs. the industry. IBKR Lite provides retail clients with $0 commissions on US listed stock and ETF trades, no account minimums and no inactivity fees. View the following Short Video for an overview of these two plans. While the IBKR Pro plan includes a monthly inactivity fee of $10, which is reduced by any commissions generated during the month, we will be waiving this fee for transferring Folio clients for the 12-month period following the transfer.

Product FAQs

We offer trading in a broad array of instruments, including stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, options, and currencies all from a single unified platform. Access to these products is provided via 150 markets in 33 countries. A listing is available on our website.

We offer access to a wide selection of exchanges across North America, Europe and Asia. A listing of these exchanges along with their operating hours is available on our website.

Our affiliate Interactive Advisors offers portfolio that are very similar. Interactive Advisors is an SEC-registered investment advisor that provides low-cost access to well-diversified portfolios using data from industry-leading providers and our own investment team as well as a curated selection of talented investment managers who have a mandate to pursue enhanced returns. IA has 70+ portfolios including several Socially Responsible Portfolios that allow you to invest in accordance with your values. Investopedia ranked Interactive Advisors top robo advisor in the sustainable investing and portfolio construction categories. Fees start at 0.08% per year and range between 0.08% and 1.5% per year and the minimum to invest starts at just $100. SEC registration does not imply a level of skill or training.

Trading FAQs

We offer 3 platforms for submitting orders:

  1. Client Portal – our web application which provides a simple interface for checking quotes, placing orders, monitoring account balances and performance, accessing reports and transferring funds.
  2. IBKR Mobile – trade and manage your account on the go from your iOS or Android device (tablet or smartphone).
  3. Trader Workstation (TWS) - Our flagship desktop platform geared towards experienced traders who require access to all of our order types and algos, option analytics, risk management tools, scanners and an Application Programming Interface that allows clients to connect to our trading system with their own custom-built trading applications.

Most clients find the Client Portal to be the optimal starting platform based upon ease of use and ample functionality or IBKR Mobile if the convenience of a Smartphone app is preferred. Clients are free to switch platforms at any login session and enjoy the same commissions and execution quality regardless of platform selected.

We have an Education section on our website that includes a number of short instructional videos. To learn about trading with the Client Portal, we recommend these two:

Navigating and Trading using IBKR’s Client Portal

Watchlists and Market Scanner in Client Portal

Account Settings

Fund an Account

Cash Sweep Program

Trading on Margin

IRAs

Manage Your Account

Dividends & Corporate Actions

IBKR offers dividend reinvestment choices for both stocks (U.S. and Canadian) and mutual funds. Stock dividends are paid in cash by default and clients can elect to participate in our Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP) through the Client Portal. See the Knowledge Base for details. Accounts transferred from Folio will have Mutual Fund dividends paid in cash by default and may change the setting to elect dividend reinvestment within the Client Portal (see Settings/Account Settings/Dividend Election menu options).

Pricing, Billing, & Fees

Taxes

Privacy & Security

Death Claims

Forms & Disclosures

Glossary