Interactive Brokers

What it is

Interactive Brokers is a US-based brokerage serving traders and investors in many countries around the world. It was founded in 1978 by Thomas Peterffy, who built one of the first computerized market-making operations before expanding into retail and institutional brokerage. The company is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the ticker IBKR and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The firm is known for the breadth of its market access. Clients can trade stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds, and funds on exchanges and marketplaces across North America, Europe, and Asia from a single account, with the firm handling currency conversion between markets. It operates through a network of locally regulated subsidiaries in the countries where it does business.

Interactive Brokers has a reputation as a technology-first broker. Its flagship platform, Trader Workstation, is a professional-grade desktop application with advanced order types, options analytics, and portfolio risk tools. The company also offers a web-based Client Portal and mobile apps for trading on the go.

Who it serves

Interactive Brokers is generally aimed at experienced, self-directed traders. The product range - options, futures, margin trading, short selling, and global multi-currency accounts - assumes a level of market knowledge that beginners usually do not have yet. The platform interfaces are powerful but complex, which suits traders who value control and configurability over simplicity, and the firm's educational materials assume a working knowledge of markets.

The firm also serves a substantial professional clientele. Hedge funds, proprietary trading groups, registered investment advisers, and introducing brokers use Interactive Brokers for execution, custody, and reporting. Its application programming interfaces let developers and institutions build custom trading and reporting workflows on top of the firm's infrastructure, and its white-label and introducing-broker programs extend its reach through partner firms.

Because it operates in many countries, Interactive Brokers is also used by investors who want exposure outside their home market - for example, a European investor trading US options or an American investor buying Asian equities - without opening accounts at multiple local brokers. Its global footprint also appeals to expatriates and internationally mobile professionals who need a single account that works across the countries where they live and invest.

Accounts and platforms

Interactive Brokers offers individual, joint, trust, and corporate brokerage accounts, as well as retirement accounts including Traditional and Roth IRAs in the US. Accounts can hold and trade across asset classes - stocks, ETFs, options, futures, forex, bonds, and mutual funds - with a single login, unified reporting, and funding in multiple currencies.

The main platforms are Trader Workstation for desktop, the web-based Client Portal, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. The firm also provides APIs for algorithmic and automated trading, portfolio analysis tools, a paper-trading environment for testing strategies, and a wide range of order types and execution algos for working large or sensitive orders.

Account features reflect the professional orientation of the client base: multi-currency funding, global market data subscriptions, portfolio margining for eligible accounts, securities lending programs, and consolidated statements covering all positions and transactions worldwide. Research from third-party providers is available alongside the firm's own market commentary and daily webinars.

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