IBKR Recurring Investing Important Facts
• IBKR offers Recurring Investments for eligible stocks and ETFs.
• Standard commissions can apply to automated recurring trades.
• Dollar-cost averaging can be done through Recurring Investments at IBKR.
If you regularly buy the same security at Interactive Brokers, you may want to create a Recurring Investment so future purchases are placed automatically.
Overview of IBKR’s Automatic Investment Plan
Interactive Brokers calls its Automatic Investment Plan feature Recurring Investments. The brokerage allows scheduled purchases, but not scheduled sales, of eligible U.S., Canadian, and European stocks and ETFs that can be traded in fractional shares. Other asset classes, including mutual funds, are not available through this program.
Not every IBKR entity provides this feature. Recurring Investments are available to clients under IBLLC, IBUK, IBAU, IBCAN, IBCE, IBIE, IBHK, and IBSG. Belgian retail clients are not eligible.
Setting Up Recurring Investments
To create a recurring investment for a security, log into the IBKR website and click the Trade tab in the main menu. In the drop-down window, find the link for Recurring Investments.
On the next page, you’ll see a blue button for creating a recurring purchase. Click it to open the order form. Enter the requested details, including the amount, which will be in whole dollars or the currency used by the account, the start date, an optional end date, and the frequency. IBKR offers several frequencies, including:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Biweekly
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Yearly
The minimum purchase amount under the recurring-investing program is 10 in most currencies, except for Swedish krona, where the minimum is 100. In either case, fractional shares can be created from the whole-currency order.
After the required details on the AIP trade ticket have been entered, review the order. If everything is correct, submit it. After a recurring order has been submitted, it can be modified or canceled at any time by returning to the Recurring Investments page.
To create a recurring investment for a European stock, a U.S.-based account must first add the required permission for global trading. This can be done in the Trading Permissions hub, which is located on the Settings page under the account icon in the upper-right corner of the site.
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Trade Execution
AIP orders are submitted near the market open and may be combined across multiple clients. Recurring Investment orders are filled through a best-effort volume-weighted average price (VWAP) process, and each participant buying the same security on that day receives the same average price. A recurring purchase is submitted only if the account has enough cash to cover the trade plus any commission. If the account does not have enough cash available for trading, the order is not submitted. If the account has enough cash in another currency, IBKR may automatically convert currencies in cash accounts to complete the trade.
IBKR Dollar-Cost Averaging
Because scheduled purchases use a whole-currency amount, they can be used for dollar-cost averaging. This investing strategy uses a fixed-dollar amount to buy securities on a regular schedule. When prices are lower, the same amount buys more shares. Over time, if the investment grows and more purchases are made, the account balance can build gradually.
Cost of Recurring Investments at IBKR
Standard stock and ETF commissions apply to Recurring Investments at IBKR. For U.S. stocks and ETFs, recurring investment instructions are subject to IBKR’s Fixed Pricing, which is $0.005 per share, subject to minimums and caps. Commissions for Canadian and European securities depend on the market and pricing schedule.
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Updated on 9/5/2026.
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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