Is Interactive Brokers a Legitimate Firm?
Do you have questions about the legitimacy of Interactive Brokers? Are you worried about the safety
of the company? If so, you have definitely come to the right place. We have done a lot of research, and here are the results:
Is Interactive Brokers a Scam?
In the United States, Interactive Brokers is overseen by multiple regulators and self-regulatory organizations. The SEC is the federal securities regulator, while FINRA is the brokerage industry’s main self-regulatory organization. Interactive Brokers LLC is registered with the SEC, is a member of FINRA and SIPC, and is also regulated by the CFTC for futures-related activity.
Interactive Brokers’ FINRA CRD number is 36418. The company’s BrokerCheck profile shows that it has been registered since 1994, which is a long period compared to many newer entrants in the investing space.
On IBKR’s BrokerCheck report, there are currently 92 final regulatory events and 26 arbitration disclosures. Typically, the brokerage firm does not admit or deny wrongdoing and settles with a fine. One example is a $5.5 million fine paid in 2018 for failing to establish an internal supervisory system with written procedures.
Interactive Brokers’ SEC number is 8-47257. Like FINRA, the SEC enforces a variety of rules and regulations and can impose fines when broker-dealers make mistakes.
Interactive Brokers is also registered with 53 U.S. states and territories. Because IBKR provides futures and forex trading, it also needs futures-industry oversight. The firm’s NFA membership number is 0258600.
Is Interactive Brokers SIPC/FDIC Insured?
The United States Congress has also made sure that insurance is available on U.S.-based securities accounts. Notice that we said “securities accounts.” Futures, forex, cryptocurrencies, and other assets that are not securities are not insured by SIPC, which protects eligible securities and cash inside brokerage accounts if a SIPC-member brokerage firm fails and customer assets are missing.
SIPC provides protection up to $500,000 per customer at Interactive Brokers, including up to $250,000 for cash claims. SIPC does not protect against market losses.
Eligible IBKR clients who choose to participate in Interactive Brokers’ FDIC-sweep program may obtain up to $5 million of FDIC insurance for an individual account and up to $10 million for a joint account. This is in addition to the existing $250,000 SIPC cash coverage, creating total potential cash protection of $5.25 million for individual accounts and $10.25 million for joint accounts, subject to program limits and FDIC rules.
Large accounts at Interactive Brokers have another layer of protection through a supplemental policy with Lloyd's of London. As with SIPC coverage, futures, options on futures, forex, and cryptocurrencies are not covered by this securities-account policy. Each customer is eligible for an additional $30 million of coverage. Of this amount, $900,000 can apply to a free cash balance. There is a firmwide aggregate limit of $150 million. The Lloyd’s policy applies only after SIPC coverage is exhausted.
Interactive Brokers Better Business Bureau
In addition to Interactive Brokers’ FINRA profile, there is another profile at the Better Business Bureau. BBB grades companies operating in North America, so this is another way to see how Interactive Brokers is performing in the eyes of its customers.
We found a grade of A on Interactive Brokers’ BBB profile. This is still a strong rating, although it is no longer the A+ grade shown in some older reviews. BBB says Interactive Brokers is not BBB accredited.
There are currently 17 customer reviews on BBB’s profile for Interactive Brokers, and these customers give the investment firm an average rating of 1.12 out of 5. BBB also shows 100 complaints in the last 3 years and 34 complaints closed in the last 12 months. Although the review score is very low, the sample probably represents mostly upset customers.
Is Interactive Brokers Safe Verdict
Interactive Brokers is definitely a reliable, trustworthy, and legitimate investment firm. There are several layers of government and self-regulatory oversight for the products it offers, and insurance is available on eligible securities and cash. Unfortunately, investing always involves some level of risk, and no insurance available today protects against market losses. This is true at all brokerage firms, so we judge Interactive Brokers to be as good as any.
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Interactive Brokers Review
Now that we have confirmed that Interactive Brokers is a responsible investment firm, it is time to look at how the company performs in important categories.
Investments Choices
Interactive Brokers specializes in self-directed trading for experienced investors. There is, however,
also a robo service through Interactive Advisors, and managed accounts are available as well.
Retail and institutional clients have a wide range of assets to choose from when making investment
decisions. Interactive Brokers offers these products:
- ETFs
- Closed-end funds
- Mutual funds
- Stocks
- Option contracts
- Forex
- Fixed-income securities
- Precious metals
- Warrants
- Structured products
- Cryptocurrencies
- Futures and options on futures
The equity category listed above includes OTC and penny stocks. In addition to assets trading on American exchanges, Interactive Brokers offers a very large global investing service that opens up many exchanges around the world.
Website
To trade and research all the asset classes Interactive Brokers offers, the company provides a capable website. It requires two-factor authentication to log in, which can be viewed as either an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on your preference.
Once inside, there are many useful tools. Charting is provided by TradingView, which creates a high-level experience. During our review, we found eleven plot styles. These include Kagi, Renko, and Baseline. There are roughly a hundred technical studies and many customization features.
The site’s trade ticket has multiple order types plus bracket orders, including stop-loss and take-profit orders. There is also a check box for a price-management algo feature.
Users who need to find something to trade will benefit from the website’s security screener, which is conveniently located under the Research tab in the top menu. In addition to American exchanges, it can scan foreign markets.
Security profiles contain a lot of information. These data points can be found by going to an asset’s profile and clicking on the Research icon in the upper-right corner.
Mobile App
Interactive Brokers clients with busy lifestyles can trade in almost any location in the world thanks to the company’s powerful mobile app. Compatible with Android and Apple phones and tablets, the software is packed with features.
For example, the app has two trade tickets: a horizontal ticket and a vertical one. The horizontal ticket is a wheel order-entry system with pre-installed values for order size, limit price, and trade amount. The user simply scrolls through the choices, selects the desired numbers, and submits the order as a buy or sell.
The vertical ticket is the standard ticket, although it also has pre-installed values for a limit price. A chart can be swiped from right to left on this vertical ticket to re-check price action before submitting an order.
Regular charts can be displayed in horizontal mode. They have many features, including indicators and multiple plot styles.
Unlike the website, the mobile app has a demo mode, which makes the software easy to practice with.
Desktop Platform
IB customers who are not on the go may want to use Trader Workstation instead of the mobile app. This is the company’s very advanced desktop software. It has many professional-level features that should appeal to demanding traders.
Charting can stretch across the full width of the monitor. There are many features, including technical studies, drawing tools, and right-click trading.
The platform’s order ticket can be used to trade foreign securities. There are many order types, and there is a very extensive menu for direct-access routing.
Trader Workstation includes a practice mode, which really helps users learn this robust program.
Customer Service
A company associate can be reached by phone from Sunday afternoon through Friday evening. Interactive Brokers operates client-service centers throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and calls may be routed to another available center outside a local center’s normal hours.
For online service, there is the website. It has an Artificial Intelligence tool named iBot. During our test drive of the chat system, we found it moderately useful. IBKR also provides live chat with a representative, phone support, email, tickets, document upload, and internal messaging through the website.
For actual human service through the website, there is internal messaging. The link for this can be found under the Help icon in the upper-right corner of the website.
Interactive Brokers has no branch locations, so the channels mentioned above are the full support lineup here.
Pricing
Many account structures at Interactive Brokers have no inactivity fees or account minimums, and commissions are quite low on several assets. Some account types, markets, and products may still have specific requirements or charges.
IBKR Lite customers based in the United States get free trades on U.S. exchange-listed stocks and ETFs, subject to program rules and exclusions. Other accounts, assets, and exchanges will carry commissions. For example, a stock trade on the Euronext Paris exchange that is directly routed on a fixed-commission schedule will cost 0.10% of trade value with a €4 minimum.
U.S.-listed options are generally $0.65 per contract for Lite customers, with option pricing depending on the product, premium, volume, and pricing plan. Pro clients can get lower rates for high-volume trading.
Cryptocurrency trades cost anywhere from 0.12% to 0.18% of trade value, depending on the account’s monthly trade volume. There is a $1.75 minimum commission, but the minimum is capped at 1% of trade value. Digital assets are custodied by Paxos Trust Company or Zero Hash LLC and are not protected by SIPC.
See IBKR Lite vs Pro plans comparison.
Margin Service
Interactive Brokers continues its practice of low fees with its very good margin service. IBKR Lite clients pay a flat 6.38% across all debit levels. Pro customers have a tiered schedule that ranges from 5.38% to 4.38%.
A cash account can be upgraded to margin status on the Interactive Brokers website. The link to do this is on the settings page, which can be found under the head-and-shoulders icon at the top of the site.
Trader Workstation displays margin requirements for an entered ticker symbol. To find this information, click on the advanced tab on the trade ticket and then select Check Margin.
Additional Services
Cash Management Features: Because Interactive Brokers focuses on professional-level trading services, it does not emphasize traditional banking tools as much as some bank-owned brokers do. It does offer an integrated cash-management experience with interest on eligible cash, mobile check deposit, direct deposit, bill pay, an FDIC-insured bank deposit sweep program for eligible customers, and a Karta Visa Infinite US Charge Card for qualifying clients.
Initial Public Offerings: Interactive Brokers provides IPO information and market tools, although it does not advertise the same broad U.S. retail IPO allocation program that some full-service brokers promote.
Extended Hours Trading: Thanks to pre-market, after-hours, and overnight sessions, IBKR clients can trade many U.S.-listed securities well outside regular market hours. IBKR says overnight trading is available in over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs from 8:00 pm to 3:50 am ET, Sunday through Friday. Other exchanges and asset classes will have different hours.
DRIP Availability: Automatic dividend reinvestment is available for certain eligible stocks and ETFs inside an Interactive Brokers account. Mutual-fund dividend reinvestment is also available in some cases.
Recurring Investments: Interactive Brokers offers recurring investments using fractional-share trading for eligible stocks. This does not appear to be a traditional automatic mutual-fund investment plan.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Several IRA types are available at Interactive Brokers with no ongoing account fees.
Fractional Shares: Fractional-share trading is available at Interactive Brokers for more than 10,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs, with investing starting from $1. IBKR also supports fractional trading in eligible U.S., Canadian, and European stocks.
Recommendations
Small Accounts: We suggest the IBKR Lite schedule for small accounts.
Retirement Savers and Long-Term Investors: Although Individual Retirement Accounts are available,
Interactive Brokers does not place a strong emphasis on long-term investing. For example, it does not
offer annuities, nor does it have a screener that can look for target-date mutual funds.
Charles Schwab has both.
Beginners: Interactive Brokers is strongest for experienced traders, although IBKR GlobalTrader and Interactive Advisors are easier to use than Trader Workstation.
Beginning investors who want branches and broad in-person help should consider Charles Schwab.
Mutual Funds: Although Interactive Brokers does offer mutual funds, including a list of
no-transaction-fee funds, its fund resources are not very good.
ETF and Stock Trading: Hands down, Interactive Brokers is it. Trader Workstation provides a professional-level experience.
Interactive Brokers Review Judgment
Although Interactive Brokers is a legitimate brokerage firm, it does not shine brightly in every area. Nevertheless, experienced stock and options traders will find a lot to like about this firm, including the value it delivers.
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Updated on 9/18/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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