Can I purchase primary bond issuances?

IBKR does not offer clients access to Treasury auctions for purposes of buying original issue bills, notes, bonds or TIPS. Clients, however, may purchase Treasury securities once trading in the secondary market, which can be located by using our Bond search…

A bond trading when-issued (WI) means that the bond has been authorized but not yet issued, and trades may be taking place conditionally to gauge the level of interest if/when formally issued.

IBKR does not support WI trading, however, the bond will be available once issued and trading on the secondary markets if it is otherwise supported…

U.S. Savings Bonds are considered non-marketable government securities and do not trade on secondary markets. As a result, IBKR does not accept deposits of or offer trading in these instruments…

Identifying when a derivative instrument is issued is very important. This determines whether the instrument is subject to the rules (pre-2017 issued instruments are not) and when the delta computation is made. In general, an instrument is ‘issued’ when it comes into existence, its inception date or date of original issuance. Instruments are not issued when re-sold in the secondary market…