Determining the IB entity in which an account is maintained
Übersicht:
All applicants are required to specify their country of legal residency during the initial stage of the application process. Based upon the response provided, the applicant will automatically be provided with the appropriate application forms, agreements and disclosures specific to the IB entity through which the account will be maintained upon approval (e.g., IB LLC, IB Canada, IB UK, IB India, IB Japan).
It's important to note that the IB entity to which an account is assigned is not subject to client discretion but rather determined by regulation and is a function of an individual's stated country of legal residency or, in the case of an entity, its country of formation.
Trading Access to the Indian Financial Markets for non-residents
Per Indian regulations, trading access to the Indian financial markets for individuals residing outside India is currently restricted to "Non-Resident Indians" ("NRIs") and "Financial Institution Intermediaries" ("FIIs") only.
NRI
NRIs are defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 and the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.
In short, to qualify for NRI status you must:
a. Reside outside of India for more than 182 days per year, and;
b. Hold Indian citizenship, or;
c. Be a Person of Indian Origin as defined in the Indian Foreign Exchange Management Deposit Regulations of 2000.
Please note that applicants must satisfy criteria (a) and criteria (b) or (c) and will be prompted to review the aforementioned legislation and confirm their status at the point of application. To trade Indian products as a NRI, new or existing customers may apply for an account through the IB website.
FII
Currently not supported.
Can I withdraw funds from my account once I've met the minimum deposit requirement?
IB's intent with respect to the minimum is for account holders to maintain at least USD 10,000, or equivalent, although it's understood and accepted that equity may fall below that level due to trading losses and/or fees. Account holders are not, however, allowed to fund an account at a level sufficient to meet the minimum threshold and subsequently withdraw funds in an effort to circumvent the minimum.
What is the minimum applicant age requirement?
In the case of an account requesting 'Cash' trading permissions the minimum age requirement is 18 (for joint accounts, both parties must be at least 18 years of age).
In the case of an account requesting 'Margin' trading permissions the minimum age requirement is 21 (for joint accounts, the primary account holder, at a minimum must be at least 21 years of age. The secondary joint account owner must be at least 18 years of age).
Account Application - General FAQs
Background:
How do I find out about the status of my account application?
Once all account application materials have been received at IB, the application will be reviewed and a decision will be made to either accept or decline the account. An e-mail will be sent to the applicant informing them of the decision. In addition, you may log into Complete Application to view your latest status.
Once all account application materials have been received at IB, the application will be reviewed and a decision will be made to either accept or decline the account. An e-mail will be sent to the applicant informing them of the decision. In addition, you may log into Complete Application to view your latest status.
Can I fund an account in a different currency than the base currency?
Yes, you can deposit and withdraw funds in any of the offered currencies if you have a margin account. Cash accounts may only fund in the base currency.
Yes, you can deposit and withdraw funds in any of the offered currencies if you have a margin account. Cash accounts may only fund in the base currency.
Will you convert funds from one currency to another?
No, IB does not convert funds but IB customers may convert currencies through the IB Forex trading venues (IdealPro for orders above USD 25,000 or equivalent and the odd lot order book for orders below that threshold).
No, IB does not convert funds but IB customers may convert currencies through the IB Forex trading venues (IdealPro for orders above USD 25,000 or equivalent and the odd lot order book for orders below that threshold).
Can I transfer money between different IB accounts?
Yes. In the case of Individual accounts, funds may be transferred between accounts having the identical name, type and Tax ID, Certain transfers may also be allowed between a master account and a client or sub account. See IB's Transfers page for instructions and details.
Yes. In the case of Individual accounts, funds may be transferred between accounts having the identical name, type and Tax ID, Certain transfers may also be allowed between a master account and a client or sub account. See IB's Transfers page for instructions and details.
Is my account insured?
Cash in the securities portion of your account deposited for purchase of securities is insured for up to $30 million regardless of your country of residency. Click here for specifics on your insurance protection. As part of the IB Universal Account service, IB is authorized to automatically transfer funds as necessary between your IB securities account and your IB futures account in order to satisfy margin requirements in either account. You can configure how you want IB to handle the transfer of excess funds between accounts on the Excess Funds Sweep page in Account Management: you can choose to sweep funds to the securities account, to the futures account, or you can choose to not sweep excess funds at all.
Links:
Does IB offer managed accounts?
IB, itself, does not provide advisory services to customers, but we do clear for a rather large number of Financial Advisors who do carry and clear their customer accounts with IB. As we are not in a position to provide personal recommendations as to Financial Advisors, you would need to research for an advisor on your own and if they are not already affiliated with IB, request that they open an account on your behalf with IB.
You may also wish to review the website of a US industry regulator such as FINRA (www.finra.org) which provides information regarding selecting investment professionals along with a tool referred to as FINRA BrokerCheck which allows investors to check the professional background of individual brokers.
Can I open a paper trading account for practice purposes before opening a live account?
IB does offer a paper trading account which allows one to use the full range of IB trading facilities in a simulated environment using real market conditions. This account, however, is made available only after the regular trading account has been approved and funded. Until that time, we recommend that you try the online demos made available to prospective customers through our website to get an overview of system functionality. A demo of both the TraderWorkstation or WebTrader trading platforms may be found by visiting our website at www.interactivebrokers.com and selecting the Individuals page. There you will be presented with a series of links including one titled 'Demos'.
IRA: Understanding Rollovers
Interactive Brokers offers three IRA account types for U.S. persons: Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and Simplified Employee Pension plan IRA (a.k.a. SEP-IRA). Rollover transaction options may be available into or out of each account type.
The term IRA Rollover refers to several different movements of funds between U.S. retirement accounts. Select from the list below for a brief description of each rollover type available, as well as the their guidelines.
IRA to Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan Rollover
Rollover Types
Funds withdrawn from an IRA and re-deposited into an IRA within 60 days may be eligible for treatment as a 60-day rollover contribution. If eligible, this movement of funds may qualify as an IRA withdrawal of funds without any penalty or taxes.
Tax Reporting - Principal Trust will report the withdrawal of funds as an IRA distribution and the re-deposit of funds as an IRA rollover contribution to the IRS. The IRS receives Form 5498 (IRA Contributions) and Form 1099-R (IRA Distributions). US investors do not include the Form 5498 with their tax filing, but do include the 1099-R. Click 2012 Tax Reporting for details.
Funds received or withdrawn from an employer-sponsored retirement plan and deposited directly into an IRA. The 20% tax withholding of funds by the plan sponsor is waived when funds are rolled directly into an IRA.
Tax Reporting - Principal Trust will report the deposit of funds from an employer-sponsored retirement plan as an IRA rollover contribution to the IRS. The IRS receives Form 5498 (IRA Contributions). US investors do not include the Form 5498 with their tax filing. Click 2012 Tax Reporting for details.
3. IRA to Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan Rollover
Funds moved directly from an IRA into an employer's retirement plan are deemed rollover contributions. Not all retirement plans accept rollovers from IRAs. Investors should consult the plan sponsor to determine eligibility.
Limitations & Guidelines
Distributed funds from an IRA may be rolled into another IRA only once every 12-month period. The rule applies to funds withdrawn from each separate IRA. The 12-month period begins the date funds are received, not on the date funds are deposited into another IRA. (See IRS Publication 590 for limited exceptions to the rule.)
Distributions from an IRA or Employer Sponsored Retirement plan may remain eligible for the tax-free rollover treatment only when contributed to another qualified plan within 60 days of receipt. Generally, funds re-deposited outside of 60 days are not tax-free. The withdrawal of funds is taxable. The deposit into another IRA is treated as a regular contribution. (See IRS Publication 590 for limited exceptions to the rule.)
Click here to return to the Retirement Account Resource page.
Disclaimer: IB does not provide tax advice. These statements are provided for information purposes only, are not intended to constitute tax advice which may be relied upon to avoid penalties under any international, federal, state, local or other tax statutes or regulations, and do not resolve any tax issues in your favor. We recommend that you consult a q
Glossary terms:
Contacting IB Canada
Übersicht:
General Contact Information of IB Canada
What is the best way to contact IB Canada if I have a question ?
For general inquiries, send a webticket (secured email system) from the Message Center section in Account Management. For trade problems or other time-sensitive issues, please contact us by chat or telephone at 877-745-4222. The IB Canada helpdesk is available Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm ET. You may contact any of the IB offices outside of these hours. For contact information please see the Help & Contacts, customer service section.
How do I convert my advisor client account to an Individual IB account?
Übersicht:
Due to varying reasons, some clients of advisors no longer want their account to be managed by a Financial Advisor, but they wish to maintain an individual account at IB.
Information:
To transfer an FA Managed account to an Individual IB account, you must create a new Individual account where all aspects of the new account match those of the existing account (titles, tax ID's, trading permissions). Once the new account is approved, log into the old account's Account Management, select Funds Management -> Internal Transfers.
Note
- Only Cash can be internally transferred from an FA managed account to an Individual IB account. IB does not currently provide a facility for performing an internal account transfer when moving from an FA managed account to an individual account.
