Interactive Brokers, the US-based, online, multi-asset broker, with operations in the UK, Europe and Asia, has launched a new stocks and shares ISA promotion worth more than £50.
Interactive Brokers ISA Offer
Interactive Brokers is offering new customers who open a stocks and shares ISA with the firm, a commission credit of £55.00.
The promotion is designed to bring the interactive Brokers ISA offering to the attention of UK investors, who aren’t already familiar with the brand and its services.
Interactive Brokers have been active in the UK for around twenty years but are a relatively recent entrant to the ISA market, having launched the service some 12 months ago.
Gerald Perez, Managing Director at Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited, spoke to the Good Money Guide, about the ISA promotion and said that:
“The ISA service was initially soft-launched to the firm’s existing UK clients, but it was now time to open it up to a wider audience”
A solid take-up among existing clients and a steady stream of new customers, who have come to the firm via word of mouth, or their own due diligence, seems to have justified Interactive Brokers’ entry into the competitive ISA market.
Mr Perez also commented on the fact that new ISA customers have gone to open other accounts with the firm, taking advantage of the brokers’ various dealing platforms and smart tools.
Overall the stocks and shares ISA has been one of the most successful product launches that Interactive Brokers UK has made.
Multi-asset one-stop-shop investing
Interactive Brokers want to attract new customers who open multiple accounts, as the firm wants to position itself as a one-stop shop, offering low commissions, alongside a global presence and multiple investing and trading services.
The offer of a commission credit rather than a cash incentive is designed to appeal to the type of ISA customer that Interactive Brokers is looking for.
That’s typically a well-heeled, relatively active trader who is looking for value for money and a wide-ranging offering, from a well-established reputable firm.
Though not specifically targeted at ISA customers Interactive Brokers offers tools that facilitate smart portfolio construction as well as advisory services.
Interactive Brokers’ existing ISA clients are usually aged between their early twenties and forties and are experienced investors rather than novices or newbies.
Mr Perez noted that the firm is also seeing a growing level of interest from female investors, with as many as one in three recent inquiries about the firm’s ISA service coming from women.
IBKR ISA USP
I asked Mr Perez about what differentiated Interactive Brokers from the competition as far as stocks and shares ISAs were concerned.
The answer was the company’s size, reach and existing infrastructure, which means that ISA investors can deal across multiple markets from one platform, with a single set of charges.
My final question to Mr Perez concerned what, if anything, could UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt do to improve the lot of ISA investors and providers.
Mr Perez pointed out that the £20,000 annual investment limit hadn’t been raised for several years, during which time equity markets have rallied sharply and rising inflation had eaten into the purchasing power of money. So a more generous annual investment allowance would be top of his wishlist.
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