Your account is a multi currency account which allows you to transfer, hold and trade any currency IBKR offers. For each currency, cash is segregated in specific bank or custody accounts in different locations where funds have to be sent to depending on the currency. Assets in your account may be held by different depositories and custodians under IBKR’s street name, depending on the market. For example, DTC for U.S. and CCASS for Hong Kong stocks.
Client accounts at Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Ltd are protected by the Investor Compensation Fund ("ICF"). The ICF only covers financial products traded on the HKEX. For both securities trading and futures contracts trading, the maximum amount of compensation is HK$500,000 per investor per case. This coverage provides protection against failure of a broker-dealer, not against loss of market value of financial products.
The ICF is administered by the Investor Compensation Company Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SFC. For more information about ICF and answers to frequently asked questions (such as how ICF works, what is protected, how to file a claim, etc), please refer to the Investor Compensation Company Limited website.
US securities in your account are custodied with IBLLC. To the extent that your securities (or cash balances, to the extent they are acting as margin in support of a short stock or option position carried by IBLLC) are custodied at IBLLC, they are protected by SIPC for a maximum coverage of $500,000 (with a cash sublimit of $250,000). This coverage provides protection against failure of a broker-dealer, not against loss of market value of securities. In the unlikely event it should ever become necessary to assert a claim in a SIPC insolvency proceeding as a result of a failure of IBLLC, Interactive Brokers Hong Kong Ltd will make the claim on your behalf.
While IB HK is a local broker, IB HK is still a subsidiary under the Interactive Brokers Group, which has an equity capital of USD 12.2 billion. Please keep in mind that similar to the U.S. entity, assets for clients under IB HK follow strict segregation rules. With respect to client money, funds are segregated in special bank or custody accounts which are designated for the exclusive benefit of clients of IBKR.
Further information regarding the strength of IBKR can be found on our website.