Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Review: Total Control For Experts & Beginners

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Interactive Brokers is simply unmatched in terms of market access, account types and execution options for retail traders. It always has been and remains one of the cheapest trading and investing platforms globally.
Richard Berry
Richard Berry
Good Money Guide Founder

IBKR Customer Reviews

4.3
4.3 out of 5 stars (based on 869 reviews)
Excellent63%
Very good20%
Average11%
Poor3%
Terrible3%

Good effective

26th June 2024

Good effective

Jean-Michel Doublet

I find the trading platform…

28th June 2024

I find the trading platform – I mostly use TWS – comprehensive and easy to use. I enjoy the access to such a large number of financial markets around the world. The information provided is abundant and helps make solid trading decisions. Trading costs are shown in an honest and transparent way, so that one can optimize one’s cost targets and avoid surprises.

Maria Osmane

Most overall tools, analysis and…

27th June 2024

Most overall tools, analysis and assets

Giles Hodgson

Good effective

26th June 2024

Good effective

Jean-Michel Doublet

Good

25th June 2024

Good

Ossie Wheatley

5/5

20th June 2024
E Greenfield

Comprehensive

19th June 2024

Comprehensive

Ian Day

Comprehensive

19th June 2024

Comprehensive

Ian Day

I’m not sure but I…

18th June 2024

I’m not sure but I Steven Talewa of Tari Hela Province of Papua New Guinea select only for the year

Steven Talewa

3/5

18th June 2024
Dan Caps

Very detailed but more for…

15th June 2024

Very detailed but more for proffessional investord

Michael Leney

quick and easy

14th June 2024

quick and easy

roger frew

Good value for money

14th June 2024

Good value for money

Anil Lala

5/5

13th June 2024
Gary Dooley

Low costs but the platform…

13th June 2024

Low costs but the platform is not simple

Mr Alastair Glendenning

5/5

13th June 2024
Daniela Magoni

IBkR app a bit clunky

13th June 2024

IBkR app a bit clunky

Douglas Dulcamara

Easy to use with fir…

12th June 2024

Easy to use with fir price.

St Johns Investment Club

Good value

12th June 2024

Good value

Ian Hannah

need to be bit user…

12th June 2024

need to be bit user frindly

Kailayapillai Ranjan

no thoughts

12th June 2024

no thoughts

Edward Wal

Easy to use very comprehensive

12th June 2024

Easy to use very comprehensive

Philip Callaghan

A lot to learn

12th June 2024

A lot to learn

Philip Callaghan

UI very accessible

12th June 2024

UI very accessible

Delesh Jeyadevan

Efficient

12th June 2024

Efficient

Delesh Jeyadevan

So so

12th June 2024

So so

Andy Holmes

So so

12th June 2024

So so

Andy Holmes

Works well, clear interface

12th June 2024

Works well, clear interface

Dr Barry Michael Chopping

4/5

12th June 2024
Benjamin Billiard

Good , but complicated

12th June 2024

Good , but complicated

Ian Mackey

Fit for purpose

12th June 2024

Fit for purpose

Ian Mackey

Poor website difficult to navigate…

12th June 2024

Poor website difficult to navigate and manage

Frank Campbell

.

12th June 2024

.

Eric Mulligan

.

12th June 2024

.

Eric Mulligan

OK bit less easy to…

12th June 2024

OK bit less easy to use

Anthony Gray

OK

12th June 2024

OK

Anthony Gray

No thoughts

11th June 2024

No thoughts

Ussumane Sauane

5/5

8th June 2024
Fred Baton

5/5

8th June 2024
Fred Baton

4/5

6th June 2024
Kristina Juodikyte

4/5

6th June 2024
Kristina Juodikyte

Great for availability of products,…

6th June 2024

Great for availability of products, not usable on mobile though.

Anthon Jahreskog

multiple options

5th June 2024

multiple options

Glen Eels

5/5

4th June 2024
Steven Talewa

Terrible user experience

3rd June 2024

Terrible user experience

Lachlan Davies

Brilliant

1st June 2024

Brilliant

Lawrence parker

Good for foreign sevurities

31st May 2024

Good for foreign sevurities

Joe Ellis

very detailed solution

29th May 2024

very detailed solution

Stephen Starr

very detailed solution

29th May 2024

very detailed solution

Stephen Starr

Not really used it.

29th May 2024

Not really used it.

Matt Ryan

Good

28th May 2024

Good

Albertus Muheua

steep learning curve.

28th May 2024

steep learning curve.

yugrafh kalfka

steep learning curve

28th May 2024

steep learning curve

yugrafh kalfka

Okay

27th May 2024

Okay

Haris Mian

good spectrum of shares but…

27th May 2024

good spectrum of shares but complicated to invest. Not straightforward like Hargreaves for example

Ochonu

Very complicated and strange terminology

27th May 2024

Very complicated and strange terminology

Ochonu

Unclear platform

26th May 2024

Unclear platform

Nick Meulenbroek

Unclear platform

26th May 2024

Unclear platform

Nick Meulenbroek

Does exactly what you need…

26th May 2024

Does exactly what you need it to do

Mr Ben Coupar

Good, range of tools and…

26th May 2024

Good, range of tools and info proves useful

Mr Ben Coupar

3/5

25th May 2024
Suryabrata Banerjee

4/5

25th May 2024
Suryabrata Banerjee

No views

25th May 2024

No views

G Allen

ok

25th May 2024

ok

Aaron White

NA

24th May 2024

NA

Aditi Sharma

4/5

24th May 2024
Sandeep Paul

4/5

24th May 2024
Sandeep Paul

Good but still scope of…

24th May 2024

Good but still scope of improvement

Pritam Patel

Good but still scope of…

24th May 2024

Good but still scope of improvement

Pritam Patel

Easy to use, they answer…

24th May 2024

Easy to use, they answer the phone and can answer the questions

colin phillips

ok

24th May 2024

ok

hector mclean

need to improve old fashioned

24th May 2024

need to improve old fashioned

hector mclean

3/5

24th May 2024
David Sumners

3/5

24th May 2024
David Sumners

Best platform for trading UK…

23rd May 2024

Best platform for trading UK & non UK stock and cheapest on fees with best service.

Bomy Gandhi

Best platform for trading UK…

23rd May 2024

Best platform for trading UK & non UK stock and cheapest on fees with best service.

Bomy Gandhi

Excellent range of investments, low…

23rd May 2024

Excellent range of investments, low costs but a complicated user interface

Julian Hermele

Good, economic

23rd May 2024

Good, economic

Liam Moan

Good, economic

23rd May 2024

Good, economic

Liam Moan

Solid stable and reliable platform….

23rd May 2024

Solid stable and reliable platform. Easy to use once you get familiar with the layout of the site

Andy Meek

Solid stable and reliable platform….

23rd May 2024

Solid stable and reliable platform. Easy to use once you get familiar with the layout of the site

Andy Meek

Ok. Less slick than ii

22nd May 2024

Ok. Less slick than ii

Jim Steel

Steep learning curve and reasonable…

22nd May 2024

Steep learning curve and reasonable platform.

Tim Poole

ok

22nd May 2024

ok

Tim Poole

Its fit for purpose

22nd May 2024

Its fit for purpose

DEAN SALMON

It works as I want,…

22nd May 2024

It works as I want, so no particular issues.

Mark Duston

no comment

22nd May 2024

no comment

alister l

A great broker. Not expensive…

22nd May 2024

A great broker. Not expensive and they don’t take the otherside of your trade

Chris Yates

Great.

22nd May 2024

Great.

Chris Yates

Very comprehensive platform with clear…

22nd May 2024

Very comprehensive platform with clear user guides and educational features which has been good as a beginner

Simon Burt

Very comprehensive platform with clear…

22nd May 2024

Very comprehensive platform with clear user guides and educational features which has been good as a beginner

Simon Burt

4/5

22nd May 2024
Kevin Gallagher

OK

22nd May 2024

OK

IAN WILLIAMS

Easy to use

22nd May 2024

Easy to use

James Porter

Easy to use

22nd May 2024

Easy to use

James Porter

Dont know them

22nd May 2024

Dont know them

Sir Norman Murray Pringle

A very complete platform

22nd May 2024

A very complete platform

Carlos Aristoteles Martinez Guzman

very intuitive platform

22nd May 2024

very intuitive platform

Carlos Aristoteles Martinez Guzman

Na

22nd May 2024

Na

Bartlomiej Ogorek

Great for investment selection and…

22nd May 2024

Great for investment selection and currency conversion with low costs

Iain Donnison

Last year I found only…

22nd May 2024

Last year I found only after opening an account, I could only transfer in ISA not create a new ISA account.

W. K. Raphael

consistent and robust

22nd May 2024

consistent and robust

Francesc Riverola

consistent and robust

22nd May 2024

consistent and robust

Francesc Riverola

.

22nd May 2024

.

Bharat Lakhani

ok

22nd May 2024

ok

jacob carpenter

Low fees, excellent platform

22nd May 2024

Low fees, excellent platform

Gareth Clarke

Low fees, excellent platform

22nd May 2024

Low fees, excellent platform

Gareth Clarke

Good

21st May 2024

Good

Yohay Elam

Great, but difficult for beginners

17th May 2024

Great, but difficult for beginners

Tack Rainforest

Complex but full feature

17th May 2024

Complex but full feature

Christopher Drummond

Great overall

15th May 2024

Great overall

Rob Garfield

Great overall

15th May 2024

Great overall

Rob Garfield

Avoid

17th May 2023

Avoid at all cost, very unprofessional. Had to pay extra on my mobile subscription to get my rights respected. Because everything has an issue everytime. Impossible to email, to chat, … So Unprofessional

Pros:

cheap but not so as you pay indirectly way more

Cons:

Unprofessional and frustrating

Pich

5/5

28th February 2023

Pros:

I can invest in everything.

Cons:

Provide UK Capital Gains Tax statements.

GMG Awards Voter: [118255747839]

3/5

28th February 2023

Pros:

ok

Cons:

ok

GMG Awards Voter: [118255631981]

5/5

28th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118255400165]

5/5

28th February 2023

Pros:

Good price-quality

Cons:

Bonds

GMG Awards Voter: [118255351622]

5/5

28th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118255311116]

4/5

28th February 2023

Pros:

low commission fees

GMG Awards Voter: [118255146280]

5/5

27th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118254518445]

4/5

27th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118254238324]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

Access to LSE

GMG Awards Voter: [118254016716]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

Access to global markets

GMG Awards Voter: [118253951019]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

Flexibility

Cons:

Provide a SIPP

GMG Awards Voter: [118253929025]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

Low cost currency exchange and share dealing

Cons:

Enable automatic dividend reinvestment; offer simpler UI

GMG Awards Voter: [118253928859]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

It’s highly safe and regulated

Cons:

All is good

GMG Awards Voter: [118253908512]

5/5

27th February 2023

Pros:

accessibility, fees

GMG Awards Voter: [118253839830]

3/5

26th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118253594483]

4/5

26th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118253483647]

5/5

26th February 2023

Pros:

Ravi d’├®tre parmi vous

GMG Awards Voter: [118253458307]

5/5

26th February 2023

Pros:

The mobile app, and the low fees

Cons:

little bit better order structure

GMG Awards Voter: [118253437839]

5/5

26th February 2023

Pros:

the low fees

GMG Awards Voter: [118253428882]

5/5

26th February 2023

Pros:

Strong

GMG Awards Voter: [118253376755]

1/5

26th February 2023

Pros:

Nothing, stuck with them for technical reasons

Cons:

Everything, especially the retarded 2 factor auth that makes it impossible to automate trading on their API

GMG Awards Voter: [118253354622]

4/5

25th February 2023

Pros:

Professional platform

Cons:

Update their platform.

GMG Awards Voter: [118253153395]

5/5

25th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118253129692]

4/5

25th February 2023

Pros:

Platform

GMG Awards Voter: [118253075202]

5/5

25th February 2023

Pros:

Super efficient desktop trading app.

Cons:

Allow export of current positions to file directly from TWS.

GMG Awards Voter: [118253044951]

4/5

25th February 2023

Pros:

Option trading

Cons:

Simplify

GMG Awards Voter: [118252932434]

5/5

25th February 2023

Pros:

Trading cost and execution price

Cons:

Traderworkstation is an absolute mess; it’s powerful but its layout should be taken from the programmers

GMG Awards Voter: [118252903493]

2/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252569505]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Trading Platform & costs

Cons:

Easier navigation

GMG Awards Voter: [118252509700]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

effectiveness

Cons:

simpler interface

GMG Awards Voter: [118252486647]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252475898]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252465285]

4/5

24th February 2023

Cons:

Customer support

GMG Awards Voter: [118252430918]

5/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118252426976]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Record keeping

GMG Awards Voter: [118252241791]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Low costs, breadth of investment choices

GMG Awards Voter: [118252189727]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Cheap trades and currency exchange

Cons:

automatic rebalancing

GMG Awards Voter: [118252105256]

4/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

across many markets

Cons:

n/a

GMG Awards Voter: [118252093397]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Cheap

GMG Awards Voter: [118252082936]

4/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Low cost

Cons:

Add cash to portfolio print outs

GMG Awards Voter: [118252077411]

2/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

nothing really

Cons:

Modernise the dealing platform and improve reports

GMG Awards Voter: [118252046210]

4/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Lots of investment options

Cons:

Improve the online service

GMG Awards Voter: [118252020190]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Easy and cheap

Cons:

Client atention and more markets

GMG Awards Voter: [118252010359]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251997388]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Low cost and informative, but not good for small cap.

Cons:

Improve availability for smaller shares on their portal platform

GMG Awards Voter: [118251993132]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251987539]

4/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Range

Cons:

Deposit funds with debit cards or simple bank transfers

GMG Awards Voter: [118251980580]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Wide range of instruments

Cons:

Improve platform

GMG Awards Voter: [118251978851]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

good data

Cons:

expensive for what it is

GMG Awards Voter: [118251954177]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

low cost yet sophisticated

Cons:

be more user friendly

GMG Awards Voter: [118251950620]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Range of investments

GMG Awards Voter: [118251932343]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

easy to trade

Cons:

Tends to be cheaper

GMG Awards Voter: [118251932313]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Depth of trading ability

Cons:

Better interface

GMG Awards Voter: [118251908963]

4/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Has the essentials

Cons:

No thoughts

GMG Awards Voter: [118251900775]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Ease of use

Cons:

N/A

GMG Awards Voter: [118251894449]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

low cost currency exchange

GMG Awards Voter: [118251887946]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Save my time

Cons:

Admin

GMG Awards Voter: [118251885238]

3/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251882428]

3/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Dealing

GMG Awards Voter: [118251877058]

5/5

24th February 2023

Pros:

Currency handling

Cons:

Fees based on shares traded makes trading uk shares expensive

GMG Awards Voter: [118251866839]

4/5

24th February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251865708]

5/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

Comprehensive offer at fair cost

Cons:

Better alert system. Refinements in the app (e.g. sorting, filtering). Creation of custom conditional orders. Improved presets for orders (clarity especially).

GMG Awards Voter: [118251647870]

4/5

23rd February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251647311]

5/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

Technology and research information. Overall fees, deposits and withdrawals

Cons:

Maybe easier deposits and withdrawals?

GMG Awards Voter: [118251634910]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

low fees and high level of security

Cons:

UI

GMG Awards Voter: [118251490721]

5/5

23rd February 2023
GMG Awards Voter: [118251486029]

2/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

THA IT HAS TOO MANY THING TO LEARN

Cons:

GIVE INFORMATION IN CAPSULES

GMG Awards Voter: [118251432770]

5/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

Research Tools

GMG Awards Voter: [118251390962]

2/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

number of assets available

Cons:

User experience in the website, platform because it’s very very oldfashioned and hard to do.

GMG Awards Voter: [118251360200]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

reliability

Cons:

have better website

GMG Awards Voter: [118251342326]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

Easy to use

Cons:

Decrease fees for EU customers who have to use IBKR Pro

GMG Awards Voter: [118251185185]

5/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

huge diversity of trading possibility

Cons:

applying trading bots

GMG Awards Voter: [118251078869]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Pros:

friendly efficient

Cons:

na

GMG Awards Voter: [118251034842]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Cons:

n

GMG Awards Voter: [118251025009]

4/5

23rd February 2023

Cons:

Access to pro account

GMG Awards Voter: [118250966326]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

high interest rate on uninvested cash and low margin rate

Cons:

simplify User Interface

GMG Awards Voter: [118250658374]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

I have had better information

Cons:

have a folder with more precise information

GMG Awards Voter: [118250574784]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

analyst rating

Cons:

make it easier

GMG Awards Voter: [118250542274]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Low cost

Cons:

Better customer service

GMG Awards Voter: [118250500913]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

low fees, many markets

GMG Awards Voter: [118250496232]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

easy to use and good information about stocks

Cons:

all good

GMG Awards Voter: [118250483267]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

global access

GMG Awards Voter: [118250472063]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Customer support

Cons:

fee

GMG Awards Voter: [118250348815]

4/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Overview, charts, low fees

Cons:

More focus on such areas as Baltic stocks

GMG Awards Voter: [118250338393]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Chris palmer

GMG Awards Voter: [118250197023]

4/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Being able to see chart, option chains and fundamentals very easily

Cons:

overall performance of the charting component, and the trader station can be a bit hard to understand at first.

GMG Awards Voter: [118250178574]

5/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

Value for money

GMG Awards Voter: [118250098223]

1/5

22nd February 2023

Pros:

good apps and website

Cons:

Excellent

GMG Awards Voter: [118250102970]

Leave a review

  • Tell us what you think of this company and help others make more informed financial decisions.

62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Expert Interactive Brokers Review

I’ve used Interactive Brokers for about 20 years now. I’ve interviewed their founder (Thomas Peterffy), their UK MD (Gerry Perez), they’ve been a competitor (when I was a broker myself), a customer and a partner over the years. I’ve traded live with real money when thoroughly testing their platforms.
This included an in-depth conversations with their Head Of Product (Steven Sanders) to get inside insights on the best parts of the platform and services that some clients may not know about. In this review, I lay out my verdict on Interactive Brokers as an industry expert so you can decide if they are the right investing and trading platform for you.

Interactive Brokers Review
Good Money Guide Recommended 2024

Name: Interactive Brokers

Description: Interactive Brokers is a major US online automated electronic broker company. The financial broker is listed on the Nasdaq Exchange with ticker IBKR. The firm operates in 150 electronic exchanges in 33 countries, and offers trading in 23 currencies. Interactive Brokers has more than 1.75 million institutional and retail customers.

Why we like them

Interactive Brokers is an exceptional trading platform that offers institutional-grade trading capabilities to private clients around the world. IBKR has some of the lowest trading and investing fees and the widest market range in the industry.

Pros

  • Very low dealing fees
  • Wide market range
  • Direct market access
  • Complex order types

Cons

  • Customer services can be slow
  • Pricing
    (5)
  • Market Access
    (5)
  • Apps & Platform
    (5)
  • Customer Service
    (3)
  • Research & Analysis
    (5)
Overall
4.6

Ratings Explained

  • Pricing: Top marks as IBKR don’t charge a custody (account) fee and commission are the cheapest around
  • Market Access: Top marks again for the widest selection of markets available
  • App & Platform: Hard to beat – excellent range of institutional grade execution tools and simple apps for beginners
  • Customer Service: IBKR let themselves down a bit here. If you are a big customer you get an account manager, otherwise online support is slow
  • Research & Analysis: Some of the best education, screeners and market data for free on their website and integrated into IBKR platforms.

There is one thing that Interactive Brokers gives you above all other brokers, and that is control. You can invest and trade in pretty much anything you want, in pretty much any account type, pretty much how you want.

If you are not familiar with Interactive Brokers (IBKR) they are American, but global, as most American things are, with the notable exception of their news, which always seems to be local. But I digress, IBKR was one of the first brokers to offer electronic trading to the masses. They were founded in 1978 and if you want to know more about the man who founded them and is still running the show, read my interview with Thomas Peterffy, the founder and chairman.

Highlights

The key things to focus on if you are considering opening an account with Interactive Brokers is that:

  1. They are cheap: No other investment or trading platform can match their discount commissions, FX rates and zero account charges
  2. Huge market range: IBKR offer by far the best access to global stock exchanges around the world
  3. They innovate and create :You can invest in so many different ways through IBKR, from their beginner IBKR LITE apps, to their institutional-grade desktop workstation trading platform. They have some of the most advanced and easy-to-use features available to private investors.

Interactive Brokers Account Types

For us Brits, you can:

  • Have an Investment ISA account
  • Manage your SIPP
  • Trade CFDs
  • Trade on exchange features and options
  • Buy funds
  • Buy shares (then earn money by lending it out to people who want to bet against you and short it through their Stock Yield Enhancement Program)

You can also earn money on your cash, you can buy bonds (high and low yielding), buy warrants, partake in placings, vote on company corporate actions. You can convert currency at 0.2%, which is cheaper than most specialist currency brokers or money transfer apps.

Foreign Exchange

Which actually segues me nicely to prove my control point. With most brokers you have to choose an account base currency (if you are in the UK that is probably going to be GBP) and when you trade, no matter what currency an asset is traded in your P&L will be converted to that base currency. But with Interactive Brokers you can run your account in multiple currencies.

So, if you put in GBP and trade the S&P for example, your P&L will be in USD. If you buy USD stock you get the option to attach a currency conversion to the transaction so you can convert exactly the right amount to cover the purchase, or you can choose to run a deficit in USD.

It’s not such an issue for small traders, as currency exposure, whilst important to be aware of, isn’t the most pressing matter. But if you are running a net flat long/short global macro portfolio, then keeping on top of your currency exposure could be the difference between making money or not.

Desktop Trader

Through ScaleTrader, (one of the founder’s favourite features) IBKR also gives you some very advanced order functionality, the sort you usually only get with professional trading systems like Fidessa (for stocks) or TT (for futures).

If you’re building a big position and don’t want the market to know you’ve got a big order to work, IBKR’s order ticket will let you gradually feed that into the market (but only charge you for the single order).

You can automatically drop bids and offers into the market based on time and price to take advantage of volatile markets. You can also set it to scalp for quick profits in choppy markets.

Testing IBKR's trading platform

Pairs Trading

You can trade one stock against another automatically by spread, percentage or price.

Why is that important? Because it can help you build a market-neutral portfolio and when we asked the boss of IBKR the habits he saw in his most profitable customers, (referring back to our interview with him for the third time) he said the ones that traded one stock against another, often did well.

Interactive Brokers Universal Account

You can of course do these things with other brokers, but what you can’t do is do them all in one place.

For this review, I spent a while talking to Steven Sanders, IBKR’s head of Marketing & Product Development, and he said in the twenty years, he’s worked for Interactive Brokers the thing he’s most proud of (other than it being founder lead and therefore very little red tape when you want to get things done) is the implementation of the Universal Account, where everything is done from one account.

What’s amazing to me is that nobody else really offers it. Ten years ago when I was a derivatives broker at Man Financial, we offered everything that IBKR did, but all on separate platforms. We have a couple of big accounts, £20m upwards, that we were always trying to lure back from IBKR with our personalised voice brokerage where you could phone us up we’d take care of your complicated orders for you.

But times change, there is still demand for bespoke voice brokerage, but not as far as Interactive Brokers are concerned. They do offer it from specialists desks if needed, but most trading and investing is done online.

Demo Account

Interactive Brokers does have a demo account, but they call it a free trial instead. This is odd, because you don’t actually have to pay to have an account with IBKR. In fact, Interactive Brokers is one of the only trading platforms that does not have a custody fee for investing in a GIA, SIPP and ISA.

If you want to know more about that, you can listen to my podcast with Gerry Perez, the UK MD, who explains, how they offer such amazing market access for such little cost.

You get a cool $1m to paper trade with on the Interactive Brokers demo account or ‘Paper Trading version’ as they call it. You get access to the easy-to-use investors portal and the more complex IBKR TWS provides delayed market data, simulated trading and access to all of our unique tools and offerings, including the IBKR Risk Navigator, the Volatility and Probability Labs, Portfolio Builder, Research and News.

But, to be honest, I didn’t find the demo account very good. Lots of information was missing and I couldn’t place a trade. I’m not sure why, and actually, that’s going to be a bit of an issue for Interactive Brokers because demo accounts are a great way to get client’s interest. In a world where so many brokerages a vying for the same business, even small hiccups like that can cause a massive drop off rate in opening an account.

Interactive Brokers Demo Account

Usually, IBKR’s technology is first-rate, but the demo account isn’t up to scratch. I didn’t use the paper trading account, just the live trading platform with real market orders.

Customer Service At Interactive Brokers

It’s not all great, it takes a while to get through on the phone to customer service, and it has a slightly outsourced feel about it (if you know what I mean).

The desktop trading platform, despite its exceptional functionality, is also a bit ‘Windows 95’. But if you don’t need all the bells and whistles, the web based platform, or app has a more modern feel to them.

Options Strategy Builder

Options trading is gaining in popularity in the UK, mainly because of the press attention they derived from meme stocks (where US traders punt via options). But they are still a very complicated product. So what Interactive Brokers has down is create a Strategy Builder product, that essentially reverse the process of putting on options strategy trades.

You tell Strategy Builder what you think the market is going to do. For example, either, go up, stay still, not move for a while, or volatility will increase and it will create an options strategy around that. Instead of you having to know what strategy to put in place or working out the individual options legs.

IMPACT Ethical Investing

In tune with moving with the times, Interactive Brokers has also released the IMPACT app to help people investing in ESG and impact sectors, so they can put their money to good.

You can see the IMPACT dashboard on desktop, but it also operates as a standalone app that connects directly to your IBKR account and scores your portfolio based on how ethical the stocks you hold in it are. Ratings come from FactSet and Refinitiv, and there is this excellent feature that allows you to swap into more ethical stocks.

If one of your holdings is flagged as not that ethical, the app will suggest another one and at the click of a button, it will sell your shares and calculate how many new shares of a more ethical but similar company to buy and do it all for you. If you’re in the US, you can also make charitable donations directly on the app.

Interactive Brokers For Beginners

There is no doubt that Interactive Brokers is a proper trading platform, for those who know what they are doing and cater mainly to the more sophisticated investor. But they are making an effort to open their services up to the newer breed of investor and trader.

It’s standard now among many fintechs, but IBKR were actually the first to offer no commission trading. They also offer fractional shares through IBKR LITE and IBKR Pro accounts and have removed the monthly minimum account charge.

The hope of course is that by onboarding investors when they just start, they can look after their investments for the next 40 years, just as they have been doing for their existing clients for the last 40.

Interactive Brokers runs a Student Trading Lab where students from 600 schools and universities take part in a $1m paper trading account for the purposes of getting a better understanding of the markets. No broker these days can tell you what to buy or sell, but IBKR GlobalAnalyst helps you hunt out undervalued opportunities, across the world, not just in the US.

IBKR offer a Trading Academy, podcasts, webinars and blogs for beginners and experienced traders so that new customers survive the markets to become long-term clients.

Plus, they are cheap.

24-Hour ETFs At Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers has a list of 24 selected ETFs available to trade around the clock from Sunday evening, east coast time, through to the close on Friday, by adding these funds to its US overnight trading facility.

Clients who are permissioned to deal in US stocks, are able to trade these ETFs 23.50 hours a day, five days per week, allowing them to react to news stories, macroeconomic and geo-political events as they happen, rather than waiting for US markets to open.

The trading hours and ETFs are available to both retail and institutional clients alike and are traded via the firm’s IBEOS system. Trades can be submitted using multiple order types.

The range of ETFs is pretty broad and includes firm favourites such as SPY, QQQ, DIA and IWM, which track the S&P 500Nasdaq 100Dow 30 and Russell 2000 indices respectively. You can also short those indices by trading the SH, PSQ, DOG, and RWM inverse ETFs.

62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

IBKR Awards

In the Good Money annual awards Interactive Brokers have won:

  • Best Trading Platform – 2023
  • Best Bond Broker – 2023
  • Best Futures & Options Broker – 2020 & 2023
  • Best Options Broker – 2022
  • Best DMA Broker – 2022
  • Best Prime Broker – 2022
  • Best Algo & API Trading – 2022

YouTube video

62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

IBKR Video Review, Live Trades & Verdict

In this video review of Interactive Brokers we trade live on a real account and highlight some of the key platform features.

YouTube video

62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Interactive Brokers Facts & Figures

IBKR CFD Markets
Over 5230
👉 Forex Pairs100
👉 Commodities20
👉 Indices13
👉 UK Stocks500
👉 US Stocks3500
👉 ETFs1100
IBKR Key Info
👉 Number Active Clients1750000
💰 Minimum Deposit$0
❔ Inactivity Fee$0
📅 Founded1977
⬜ Public Company✔️
🏢 HQGreenwich, Connecticut
IBKR Account Types
➡️ CFD Trading✔️
➡️ Forex Trading✔️
➡️ Spread Betting
➡️ DMA (Direct Market Access)✔️
➡️ Futures Trading✔️
➡️ Options Trading✔️
➡️ Investing Account✔️
IBKR Average Costs
➡️ FTSE 1000.005%
➡️ DAX 300.005%
➡️ DJIA0.005%
➡️ NASDAQ0.005%
➡️ S&P 5000.005%
➡️ EURUSD0.0008%
➡️ GBPUSD0.0008%
➡️ USDJPY0.0008%
➡️ Gold0.0007%
➡️ Crude Oil0.0007%
➡️ UK Stocks0.02%
➡️US Stocks0.003%

62.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider

Interactive Brokers Trading App

Does Interactive Brokers Have A Good Trading App?

Yes, IBKR is one of the best apps for sophisticated and professional traders is the IBKR Mobile as which replicates some of the functionality of the Interactive Brokers desktop TraderWorkstation platform. As with the main trading platforms, Interactive Brokers’ trading apps are some of the best around. I tried all three different apps on offer

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Testing IBKR's trading platform

Does Interactive Brokers Have Good Trading Platforms?

Yes, we rank Interactive Brokers as the best online trading platform as it is exceptionally good for sophisticated trading. It offers by far the most access to the most markets through DMA futures, options, physical shares and CFDs. It also has the most advanced execution tools for retail traders, including complex order types such as

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How to buy US Treasury Bonds on Interactive Brokers

Can You Buy Bonds On Interactive Brokers?

Yes, you can buy corporate bonds and Treasury bonds online with Interactive Brokers. However, as the majority of IBKR’s dealing services are online, there are better options for buying illiquid retail bonds. For example, Saxo has a dedicated bond desk for high-value bond investors and traders. You can see how Interactive Brokers compare in our

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IBKR Demo

Does Interactive Brokers Have A Paper Trading Demo Account?

Yes, Interactive Brokers’ demo account gives you $1m to ‘paper trade’ with on over 7,000 markets with no time limit. You can trade on Interactive Brokers with the IBKR demo account. There are some serious problems with it, but also some excellent features. I’ve tested the Interactive Brokers demo account and compared it to the

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Options Brokers

Can You Trade Options On Interactive Brokers (IBKR)?

Yes, you can trade either American or European options on Interactive Brokers. IBKR has one of the best options trading platforms for all types of clients because of their market range and strategy builders let you create options trading strategies visually and with AI. IBKR offers one of the most, if not the most advanced

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Commodities

Is IBKR any good for commodities trading?

With IBKR you can trade commodities on powerful, award-winning trading platforms as a CFD, ETF or on exchange futures and options. Execute commodity trades in over 100 order types from limit orders to complex algorithmic trading. Commodities markets available: 20 Minimum deposit: £2,000 Account types: CFDs, DMA, futures & options, investing Pricing: Gold 0.0007%, Oil 0.0007% Compare commodities trading

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DMA Brokers

Does Interactive Brokers Have Direct Market Access?

Yes, Interactive Brokers has one of the best DMA offerings for professional traders. IBKR offer direct market access to the most exchanges at the lowest cost of all the brokers we compare. DMA markets available: 20,000+ Minimum deposit: £2,000 DMA account types: CFDs, DMA, futures & options, investing IBKR offers direct market access to 30+ market centres with

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Index Brokers

Does Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Offer Indices Trading?

Yes, you can trade the global stock market and synthetic on-exchange indices as either a futures contract, DMA option of equity as an ETF. Interactive Brokers has transparent, low commissions and financing rates. Equity indices can be traded in lots as small as 1x the index level. Unlike the related futures, Index CFDs do not

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Interactive Brokers CFD Trading

Can You Trade CFDs With Interactive Brokers (IBKR)?

Yes, you can trade CFDs or contracts for difference with Interactive Brokers, but you have to go through some quite arduous suitability tests to ensure that you understand the risks involved. IBKR offers CFD trading on around 5,200 markets including 100 forex pairs, 20 commodities, 13 indices, and thousands of international stocks. I’ve traded through

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ETF Investing Platforms

How Can You Trade ETFs With Interactive Brokers (IBKR)?

You can trade ETFs with Interactive Brokers as a CFD or physical investment in a GIA, SIPP or ISA. Unfortunately, they do not offer financial spread betting on ETFs like IG. Interactive Brokers has a very advanced platform and execution capacity for international investing on over 150 ETFs. Interactive Brokers reimburses clients for commissions paid

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Interactive Brokers investing platform

Is Interactive Brokers good for long term investing?

Yes, we rate the Interactive Brokers GIA as very good for long-term investing as thier IBKR “universal account” that lets you invest in all asset classes via physical shares, CFDs, futures, options or funds. Expert opinion: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) full review Richard BerryRichard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide),

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Share Dealing

Is IBKR Good For Share Dealing?

Yes, Interactive Brokers is good for share dealing in the largest companies on stock exchanges, but there are limitations when it comes to smaller-cap stocks. You do buy the physical shares (unless you are trading as a CFD). But if you are mainly dealing in smaller or penny stocks a traditional platform like Hargreaves Lansdown

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Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers extends overnight trading to include CFDs

Interactive Brokers has expanded its overnight trading offering to include Contracts for Differences, or CFDs on US stocks and ETFs. Interactive Brokers’ clients can now trade CFDs on US stocks and ETFs around the clock, five days a week. The new service specifically allows them to deal during overnight trading hours, which run between 8:00

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Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers launches ForecastEx prediction markets

Interactive Brokers is launching a new service that will allow its customers to speculate on the outcome of macroeconomic events through a new platform called ForecastEx. What is ForecastEx? ForecastEx is a new prediction market and exchange being launched by Interactive Brokers that will allow users to take yes-or-no positions on various economic and climate

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Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers adds CDEX to its European derivative offering

Interactive Brokers has enabled access for its clients to the Cboe Europe Derivatives exchange or CEDX. Interactive Brokers’ clients will now be able to access an extended range of European equity derivatives. A move that expands the existing product range already available to them. CEDX allows Interactive Brokers’ clients to trade European stock options on

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How to trade cryptocurrency without actually buying cryptocurrency

Are You Allowed To Trade Cryptocurrencies On Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers’ new cryptocurrency trading offering lets individuals, institutional investors, and financial advisers trade popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). This is in addition to other more traditional investment products, such as stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, funds, and ETFs, all from a single unified platform. Interactive

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Interactive Brokers

Can you trade forex with Interactive Brokers in the US?

Yes, you can trade currency futures with direct market access and currency options on the Interactive Brokers trading platforms. Expert opinion: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) full review Richard BerryRichard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two

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Interactive Brokers

Can you trade options on Interactive Brokers (IBKR) in the US?

Yes, Interactive Brokers has one of the best American options trading platforms for all types of clients because of their market range and strategy builders. Expert opinion: Interactive Brokers (IBKR) full review Richard BerryRichard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in

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Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers Launches Securities Lending Dashboard

Interactive Brokers, the US-based multi-asset brokerage that has operations across Europe and Asia, has launched a new securities lending dashboard that will allow investors to access stock loan and short selling data. Stock lending analytics The securities lending dashboard provides sophisticated individual investors and institutional clients with an overview of the securities lending market. Clients

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Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers re-launches its revamped IBKR Campus

Interactive Brokers, the Nasdaq-listed online trading platform that has operations in the US, Europe and Asia, has launched its revamped IBKR Campus a dedicated website that provides a comprehensive suite of free educational and technical resources for traders and investors, whether they are clients of the broker or not. The IBKR Campus contains a wide

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IBKR Prime Brokerage

Interactive Brokers strikes a deal with Sinopac in Taiwan

Interactive Brokers a US-based online securities brokerage with operations in Europe and Asia has announced a partnership with Sinopac Securities, one of Taiwan’s leading securities trading firms. Interactive Brokers have been named as the primary international broker for the Taiwanese firm. Want to know more about IBKR? Read our Interactive Brokers review Why would Sinopac

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IBKR IBUSOPT

Interactive Brokers IBUSOPT keeps its options open

Interactive Brokers the US-based online trading business with operations in Europe and Asia has announced the launch of new features designed to improve their US option execution prices. What is IBUSOPT? IBUSOPT as the new feature is known is actually a new order-routing destination or execution venue, that will enable option order executions at prices,

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Interactive Brokers goes round the clock with selected ETFs

Interactive Brokers, the online trading platform with operations in Europe and Asia has extended the trading hours of 24 widely held and frequently traded ETFs or exchange-traded funds. Interactive Brokers 24 hours ETFs Interactive Brokers has made a list of 24 selected ETFs available to trade around the clock from Sunday evening, east coast time,

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Interactive Brokers GlobalAnalyst

Interactive Brokers launches fractional trading in European stocks and ETFs

Interactive Brokers, one of America’s leading online brokerages has launched fractional trading in European stocks and ETFs. The latest service to be introduced to Interactive Brokers’ UK and European customers is fractional share trading over European stocks and ETFs. Which are being added to the existing US fractional share trading facilities offered by the broker.

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Interactive Brokers gets a new TradingView

Interactive Brokers founded in 1977 as one of the pioneers of online trading, is now available on TradingView having become a partner of the charting and market information service that’s used by more than 30 million traders around the globe each month, and which by some measures is the world’s most used financial website. Interactive

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Interactive Brokers expands carbon offset facility to Western Europe and Asia.

Interactive Brokers the US-based online trading giant is extending its carbon offsetting service outside of the US. Interactive Brokers carbon offset facility Interactive Brokers is launching its carbon offset facility in Western Europe and Asia. As we reported in early April see this link the carbon offset facility allows individual investors to calculate and offset their

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IBKR relaunches Covestor as Interactive Advisors

Back in April 2015 online trading giant Interactive Brokers acquired a Boston-based startup called Covestor. And after seven years of incubation and development, it’s been reincarnated under the brand of Interactive Advisors. What is Interactive Advisors? Interactive Advisors is a Roboadvisor that uses modern technology to help clients meet their investing goals. The investment platform

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IBKR GlobalTrader App

Interactive Brokers launches IBKR GlobalTrader

Interactive Brokers the US online trading platform and investment account that has an active presence in the UK, Europe and Asia has launched a new mobile trading tool designed to simplify trading in stocks around the globe. Interactive Brokers has launched a new trading app called IBKR GlobalTrader which can be downloaded for free from

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IBKR Lite

Interactive Brokers Stocks & Shares ISA now includes fractional shares

Interactive Brokers, the low-cost stockbroker that has operations in London, Europe and Asia has launched a tax-effective savings and investment vehicle for its UK customers. Interactive Brokers Stocks & Shares ISA The low-cost broker has launched a Stocks and Shares ISA. The ISA will allow UK taxpayers to invest in a wide range of ISA

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IBKR Lite

Interactive Brokers reminds us that dealing for free free isnt without costs

US-based stockbroker Interactive Brokers has reinforced its credentials as a low-cost broker this week. What have Interactive Brokers done? The online multi-asset platform recently rationalised its UK and European rate cards by offering flat fee executions on small trades and commissions of just a few basis points on those trades that exceeded a £6000 or

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Interactive Brokers GlobalAnalyst

Interactive Brokers turns everyone into a GlobalAnalyst

Interactive Brokers, one of the world’s largest online trading platforms, has introduced a new service to clients called IBKR GlobalAnalyst, which is designed to aid stock selection and idea generation across a wide range of equity markets. Read our full Interactive Brokers review here What is Interactive Brokers’ IBKR GlobalAnalyst? GlobalAnalayst is a bespoke stock

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Interactive Brokers uses Smart technology to lower European trading charges

Interactive Brokers, a US-based online brokerage, with roots in derivatives markets has taken steps to make its offering more attractive to its European customers and prospective clients. What has Interactive Brokers changed? The firm, which was founded by Hungarian born Thomas Petterfy in 1978, has operated in the UK and European markets for many years

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IBKR Prime Brokerage

IBKR Removes Monthly Account Inactivity Fees

Interactive Brokers, one of the world’s largest online trading platforms has made it easier for smaller investors to trade the market by reducing the cost of running an inactive account. It’s a move that a lot of trading platforms have made recently to maintaining competitiveness against the newer breed of nimble fintech, nipping at the

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Why is IBKR offering simulated sports betting?

As we have recently seen CFD brokers are currently tweaking their offerings, on both sides of the Atlantic, in an effort to attract and retain customers. Thus far the focus has largely been on price and trading terms as well as some adjustments to the product list. However, some initiatives have been a bit more

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IBKR Lite

Interactive Brokers introduces free stockbroking with IBKR Lite

Interactive Brokers, one of America’s largest online brokerages dropped something of a bombshell late in September 2019 when it announced that it was to offer ”commission-free trading” from early October 2019 with IBKR Lite. That announcement came from Interactive Brokers, which is to launch the new service known as IBKR Lite, as of October 2019.

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Interactive Brokers FAQ

Yes, very. We rate Interactive Brokers as safe as they are one of the largest investment platforms in the world and excel in almost every category compared to peers in our matrix. For UK customers funds are protected by the FSCS, and you can keep an eye on the company’s health by following its share price on the NASDAQ (IBKR:NASDAQ).

Yes, as well as providing brokerage services for banks, professionals and hedge funds beginners can also access similar pricing and market access through the Web Portal and IBKR mobile apps. 

Yes, UK investors and traders can use IBKR. The UK entity is regulated by the FCA and has an office on Fenchurch Street in the City of London. Interactive Brokers offers, CFDs, futures and options and physical investing through a GIA, ISA or SIPP account in the UK.

There is no minimum deposit to open an account with Interactive Brokers. You can open an account without depositing funds, they once you are familiar with the platforms and investment features, you can deposit funds at a later date. It is also free to deposit funds via Wire transfer, or you can deposit via your Wise account.

No, Interactive Brokers does not offer financial spread betting. However, you are able to trade the spread between different futures contracts through futures spreads. You can see a list of brokers that offer financial spread betting here.

The current Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ:IBKR) share price is $148.63 which is a change of 0.9 or 0.6% from the last closing price of 148.63 with 707,345 shares traded giving NASDAQ:IBKR a market capitalisation of $62,842,549,624. The most recent daily high has been 149.63 and daily low 147.83. The NASDAQ:IBKR share price 52 week high has been 149.96 and the 52 week low 72.6. Based on the most recent NASDAQ:IBKR share price opening of 148.63, the current NASDAQ:IBKR EPS (earnings per share) are 6.31 and the PE (price earnings ratio) is 23.55.

IBKR share price pricing data last updated: 10/10/2024 16:00

Yes, Interactive Brokers has some of the best interest rates on uninvested cash. You can compare the best cash on uninvested cash rates from investment platforms here.

60% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with IBKR.
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