Interactive Brokers is a US-based firm with registered offices in a number of other countries, including the UK and Hong Kong, and is one of two genuinely global retail brokerages along with Saxo Markets. The firm offers extremely low-cost Direct Market Access to a large number of international exchanges in Asia, Europe and North America.
The underlying service is an institutional-level trading platform – it’s used by many professional traders and small hedge funds – and Interactive Brokers mostly markets its services to very active traders. However, non-traders shouldn’t be put off by that. This is a cheap and efficient solution for many long-term investors as well, with commendably transparent pricing.
There is a minimum monthly fee of US$10 for accounts under US$100,000, offset against commissions, but the low overall charges – including almost free currency conversion – mean that despite this the firm can still be a surprisingly cheap option even for relatively infrequent traders.
It is still difficult to recommend Interactive Brokers for inexperienced investors, as the technical support team will not walk you through everything with the same patience as a more retail-focused stock broker. That said, the web portal has become more user-friendly over the last few years.
| Online trading | Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China - Shanghai, China - Shenzhen, Estonia, France, Germany - Frankfurt, Germany - Stuttgart, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, India (for NRIs only), Italy, Japan - Tokyo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, UK International Order Book, USA, USA OTCBB and Pink Sheets |
| Telephone trading | n/a |
| Typical online | $1/€4/£6 |
| Online details | Commissions vary between markets and choice of fixed or tiered tariffs (summary of fixed below)
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Australia
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0.08% (min A$6)
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Austria
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0.1% (min €4 max €120)
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Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
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0.2% (min €10)
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Belgium
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0.1% (min €4 max €29)
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Canada
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C$0.01/share (min C$1 max 0.5%)
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France - EUR-denominated
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0.1% (min €4 max €29)
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France - USD-denominated
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0.1% (min US$5 max US$42)
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Germany - Frankfurt
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0.1% (min €4 max €99)
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Germany - Stuttgart
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0.12% (min €6)
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Hong Kong
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0.08% (min HK$18)
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Hong Kong - Shanghai-HK Connect and Shenzhen-HK Connect
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0.08% (min CNH15)
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Hungary
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0.1% (min HUF200)
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Israel
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0.1% (ILS15)
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Italy
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0.1% (min €4 max €29)
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Japan
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0.08% (min JPY80)
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Mexico
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0.1% (min MXN60)
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Netherlands - EUR-denominated
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0.1% (min €4 max €29)
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Netherlands - USD-denominated
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0.1% (min US$5 max US$42)
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Norway
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0.05% (min NOK49)
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Poland
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0.1% (min PLN15)
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Portugal
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0.15% (min €6)
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Russia
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0.05% (min RUB95, max RUB2,200) plus 0.04% fees
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Singapore
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0.08% (min S$2.5/US$2/HK$14.50/£1.4/€2)
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Spain
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0.1% (min €4)
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Sweden
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0.05% (min SEK49)
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Sweden - EUR-denominated
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0.1% (min €4)
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Switzerland - CHF-denominated
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0.1% (min CH10)
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Switzerland - EUR-denominated
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0.1% (min €10)
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Switzerland - GBP-denominated
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0.1% (min £6)
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Switzerland - USD-denominated
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0.1% (min US$5 max US$42)
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UK - SETS - trades under £50,000
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£6
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UK - SETS - trades over £50,000
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£6+0.05% of trade value over £50,000 (max £29)
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UK - EUR-denominated stocks
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0.1% (min €4 max €29)
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UK - USD-denominated
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0.05% (min US$5)
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UK - LSE International Order Book
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0.05% (min US$5)
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USA
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$0.005/share (min US$1 max 1%)
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| Typical telephone | n/a |
| Telephone details | n/a |
| Account fees and inactivity fees | $10/month minimum fees if account balance is under US$100,000 |
| Custody charges for stocks | None |
| Dividend charges | None |
| Corporate action charges | None |
| Currency conversion charges | Up to 0.002% (min US$2) |
| Hold cash in foreign currencies | Yes |
| Currencies allowed | AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, ILS, INR, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD |
| Tax-advantaged accounts | SIPP (UK residents - fees vary), IRA (US residents) |
| Other products and services | Bonds, CFDs, futures, FX, metals, options |
| Minimum account size | None |
| Company location | USA |
| Further information | Go to the Interactive Brokers website |
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