Verplichte extra aflossing (cash sweep)
Achtergrond
Er zijn twee afzonderlijke subaccounts of segmenten onderliggend aan het IB Universalaccount, één voor de effectenposities en -saldi die onderworpen zijn aan de klantbeschermingsregels van de SEC en één voor de grondstoffenposities en -saldi die onderworpen zijn aan de klantbeschermingsregels van de CFTC. Deze Universal Accountstructuur is ontwikkeld om de administratieve overhead te verminderen die klanten anders zouden hebben als zij twee verschillende accounts zouden moeten aanhouden (bijv. overschrijvingen van contant geld tussen accounts, inloggen en bestellingen indienen via aparte accounts, meerdere afschriften, enz.) en tegelijkertijd de door de regelgeving vereiste scheiding te handhaven.
Deze regelgeving vereist dat alle effectentransacties worden uitgevoerd en marge ontvangen in het effectensegment van het universele account, terwijl grondstoffentransacties moeten worden uitgevoerd in het grondstoffensegment.1 Hoewel de regelgeving de bewaring van volgestorte effectenposities in het grondstoffensegment als margeonderpand toestaat, doet IB dit niet, waardoor de hypothecaire zekerheid ervan wordt beperkt tot de restrictievere regels van de SEC. Gezien de regelgeving en het beleid die de beslissing om posities aan te houden in het ene segment versus het andere bepalen, blijft contant geld het enige activum dat tussen de twee kan worden overgedragen en waarover de klant kan beslissen.
Hieronder volgt een bespreking van de aangeboden opties voor verplichte extra aflossing, de procedure voor het selecteren van een optie en de selectieoverwegingen.
Opties voor verplichte extra aflossing (cash sweep)
Klanten kunnen kiezen uit 3 opties voor sweeps, waarvan de beschrijvingen hieronder staan:
1. Geen sweep van overtollige middelen - bij deze keuze worden overtollige middelen niet van het ene segment naar het andere verplaatst, tenzij dit noodzakelijk is om:
a. een margetekort in het andere segment op te heffen/te verminderen;
b. een debetsaldo in contanten en dus rentelasten in een bepaald segment te minimaliseren. Let op: dit is de standaardoptie en de enige optie voor accounthouders met slechts één van de handelspermissies voor effecten of grondstoffen.
2. Sweep van overtollige middelen naar mijn IB-account voor effecten - hier worden kassaldi alleen in het segment grondstoffen aangehouden voor zover dat nodig is om aan de huidige margevereiste voor grondstoffen te voldoen. Alle contanten die hoger zijn dan de margevereisten en die worden gegenereerd als gevolg van hetzij een toename van de contanten (bijv. gunstige variatie en/of transactiegerelateerd), hetzij een afname van de margevereiste (bijv. wijzigingen in de SPAN-risicomatrixen en/of transactiegerelateerd), worden automatisch overgeboekt van het grondstoffensegment naar het effectensegment. Let op: de accounthouder moet toestemming hebben om effecten te verhandelen om deze optie te kunnen selecteren.
3. Sweep overtollige middelen naar mijn IB-account voor grondstoffen - hier worden kassaldi alleen in het effectensegment aangehouden voor zover zij, samen met eventuele andere effectenposities met leenwaarde, nodig zijn om aan de huidige margevereiste voor effecten te voldoen. Let op: de accounthouder moet toestemming hebben om grondstoffen te verhandelen om deze optie te kunnen selecteren.
Andere items om op te letten:
- Aangezien het Universal Account het mogelijk maakt kassaldi in verschillende valuta's aan te houden, bestaat er een hiërarchie om te bepalen welke bepaalde valuta eerst moet worden overgeboekt wanneer er lange saldi in meerdere valuta's bestaan In deze situaties worden eerst de saldi in de basisvaluta overgeboekt, vervolgens de USD en vervolgens de resterende lange saldi in ander valuta's, van hoog naar laag.
- Om de kans te minimaliseren dat een segment een margetekort oploopt na de overdracht van overtollige contanten naar het andere segment, wordt niet het volledige overschot overgedragen en wordt een buffer gelijk aan 5% van de onderhoudsmargevereiste aangehouden. Om de operationele overhead van de overdracht van nominale saldi tot een minimum te beperken, zullen saldi alleen worden overgedragen indien, na verrekening van de 5%-margebuffer, het eventuele overschot niet minder dan 1% van het accountvermogen of $ 200 bedraagt.
- Bij het uitvoeren van de kredietcontrole vóór de transactie om te bepalen of een account voldoende eigen vermogen aanhoudt om een nieuwe order te ondersteunen, wordt een overschot aan contanten in het ene segment in aanmerking genomen voor transacties in het andere segment (hoewel een sweep pas plaatsvindt nadat de transactie is uitgevoerd en alleen als het dan nodig blijft om aan de margeverplichtingen te voldoen). Accounts die zijn aangemerkt als Pattern Day Trader (patroondaghandelaar) en die zijn onderworpen aan een kredietcontrole vóór de transactie waarbij rekening wordt gehouden met het vermogen van de vorige en de huidige dag, dienen bijzondere aandacht te besteden aan het onderstaande onderdeel 'Selectieoverwegingen'.
Een sweep-optie selecteren
Als uw versie van Accountbeheer een reeks menu-opties aan de linkerkant bevat, selecteert u de menu-opties Accountadministratie en vervolgens Sweep van overtollige middelen. Als uw versie menu-opties heeft aan de bovenkant, selecteert u de menu-opties Beheer account/instellingen en vervolgens Configureer account/Sweep van overtollige middelen. Ongeacht uw versie krijgt u het volgende scherm te zien:
U kunt vervolgens het keuzerondje naast de optie van uw keuze selecteren en op de knop Doorgaan klikken. Uw keuze wordt van kracht vanaf de eerstvolgende werkdag en blijft van kracht totdat een andere optie is gekozen. Met inachtneming van de hierboven vermelde instellingen voor handelsrechten is er geen beperking op wanneer of hoe vaak u uw veegmethode mag wijzigen.
Selectieoverwegingen
Hoewel de beslissing om het ene segment te verkiezen boven het andere met het oog op het aanhouden van overtollige kasmiddelen kan worden beïnvloed door subjectieve keuzes en voorkeuren die uniek zijn voor elke klant (bv. klant houdt activa aan die aanzienlijk en geconcentreerd zijn in het ene segment vs. het andere), worden hieronder verschillende factoren beschreven die in overweging moeten worden genomen:
1. Pattern Day Trading Equity - De koopkracht van effecten van accounts die door de regelgeving zijn aangewezen als patroondaghandelaren (d.w.z. 4 of meer dagtransacties binnen een periode van 5 werkdagen) wordt beperkt door het laagste van de huidige of voorgaande dagwaarde in het effectensegment. Een keuze om overtollige middelen naar het grondstoffensegment over te dragen, voorkomt dat deze middelen in deze berekening worden opgenomen, waardoor de capaciteit om nieuwe orders in te voeren mogelijk wordt beperkt. Om het gebruik van eigen vermogen voor het invoeren van effectenorders te maximaliseren, zou men ervoor moeten kiezen om overtollige fondsen naar het effectensegment te vegen. Let op dat een keuze voor het effectensegment geen afbreuk doet aan de mogelijkheid om grondstoffenorders in te voeren, aangezien de regels voor patroondaghandel niet van toepassing zijn op dergelijke accounts.
2. Verzekering – SIPC-bescherming wordt verleend aan activa in het effectensegment en er is geen overeenkomstige verzekeringsregeling voor het grondstoffensegment. Saldi boven de SIPC-sublimiet van $ 250.000 in contanten (Lloyd-sublimiet van $ 900.000 in contanten, indien van toepassing) worden echter niet gedekt. Klanten van IB Canada en IB UK zijn ook onderworpen aan dekkingsregels zoals gespecificeerd door respectievelijk het CIPF en de FSCS.
3. Rente-inkomsten –als alle andere omstandigheden gelijk blijven, zullen klanten waarschijnlijk de meest optimale rente-inkomsten ontvangen op lange kassaldi die niet zijn opgesplitst tussen de segmenten effecten en grondstoffen, aangezien deze niet worden samengevoegd voor rentekredietdoeleinden (aangezien zij onderworpen zijn aan afzonderlijke segregatiepools en herbeleggingsregels). Dit, samen met het feit dat voor kredieten een minimaal kassaldo moet worden aangehouden en dat voor hogere saldi preferentiële tarieven gelden, zijn factoren waarmee rekening moet worden gehouden bij de keuze voor sweep.2
Andere relevante kennisbankartikelen:
A Comparison of U.S. Segregation Model (Een vergelijking van Amerikaanse segregatiemodellen)
A Comparison of U.S. Segregation Model (Een vergelijking van Amerikaanse segregatiemodellen)
Voetnoten:
11Aangezien OneChicago enkelvoudige aandelenfutures een hybride product zijn dat gezamenlijk door de SEC en de CFTC wordt gereguleerd, kunnen ze op beide accounttypes worden gekocht en verkocht. IB voert dergelijke transacties echter uit in het effectensegment van het Universal Account, omdat dit nodig is om de marge tussen de enkelvoudige aandelenfutures en elke kwalificerende aandelen- of optiepositie te verlichten.
22Neem bijvoorbeeld een account dat een lang USD-saldo van $ 9.000 aanhoudt in elk van de segmenten (effecten en grondstoffen). Afhankelijk van de benchmark Fed Funds Effective Rate, zou het account in aanmerking komen voor rente op $ 8.000 ($ 18.000 - $ 10.000) als de twee saldi in één segment zouden worden aangehouden, maar aangezien saldi onder $ 10.000 in een van de twee segmenten niet in aanmerking komen voor rente, zou het account niets kunnen opleveren zonder te kiezen voor een sweep-optie. Ook zou men in aanmerking komen voor rente op een hoger niveau als de accounthouder als gevolg van een sweep-keuze in een bepaald segment een lang USD-kassaldo van meer dan $ 100.000 zou bereiken. Voor aanvullende informatie over renteberekeningen, inclusief een link naar de actuele benchmarkrente, zie KB39.
How To Transfer an Existing IRA from Interactive Brokers
If the other broker participates in the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) program, then contact your other broker to submit the transfer out electronically.
If the other broker is not ACAT eligible, they must provide outgoing trustee to trustee transfer paperwork or outgoing Direct Rollover paperwork. They can give you the completed documents which can be uploaded online. Please note this is only for cash transfers, and information submitted is only instructions, not the actual withdrawal. After paperwork is reviewed and approved, you’ll be advised when to submit the withdrawal of funds.
To submit a withdrawal request:
- Log into Client Portal
- Select Transfer & Pay followed by Transfer Funds
- Click Make a Withdrawal
- Select Use a new withdrawal method and next to Bank Wire, click Use this Method
- Select Financial Institution when asked “Where will funds be deposited?”
- Answer the prompts that follow, then click in the box when asked if you’ll be sending a trustee-to-trustee transfer or Direct Rollover to this destination
- Confirm in the pop up box you have the signed custodian transfer paperwork
- Complete remaining banking prompts and click Save Bank Information
- Confirm the instructions on the next page and click Continue
- Click on Upload your form
- Click Reply to upload the document and add a comment.
- Click Submit and close the window
You will be provided updates of your transfer request through the Message Center.
If a wire transfer is not accepted by your new custodian, you may submit a check withdrawal request. Please note check requests require review by Compliance and will take longer to process if approved.
- Log into Client Portal
- Select Transfer & Pay followed by Transfer Funds
- Click Make a Withdrawal
- Select Use a new withdrawal method and next to Check, click Use this Method
- Select “Send to another person/entity” from the first drop down box
- Answer the prompts that follow and click Save Destination
- Complete remaining banking prompts and click Save Bank Information
- Confirm the information and click Continue
- Read the instructions and click Finish
- Finally, click on Help on the top right and select Secure Message Center to create a new ticket
- Click Compose and then New Ticket>Funds & Banking>Cash Withdrawals
- Complete the prompts and upload the completed paperwork from your broker/custodian
You will be provided updates via this ticket.
Contra firms and Custodians (only) may forward paperwork to the following:
Interactive Brokers LLC
Attn: IRA Services, Transfers
209 South LaSalle Street, 10th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604
- Email — iraservices@ibkr.com
- Fax — 312-542-7345
Additional Information
- IRA Transfer Methods in the Client Portal Users' Guide
Notification Regarding Third-Party Wire Withdrawals
Certain Interactive Brokers (“IBKR”) accounts are eligible to request withdrawal of funds to third parties by bank wire. These requests are subject to review and approval at IBKR’s sole discretion. This program is described on the IBKR website here.
After a due diligence review, IBKR may allow withdrawals to a third party for purposes like:
• Withdrawal for purchase of a home or mortgage payoff
• Withdrawal to a spouse, parent, sibling, or child of source account holder
• Withdrawal to an account held by one of the accountholders of a joint account or vice versa.
• Withdrawal from trust account to a beneficiary
• Payment of certain account expenses
• Tax payments
• IRA qualified charitable distributions
IBKR will generally not approve the following types of third-party withdrawals:
• Private investments
• Repayment of loans
• Withdrawals to companies owned by the accountholder
• Payment for purchase of goods or services
• Withdrawals to individuals other than spouse, parent, sibling or child of account holder
Withdrawing Funds from a Closed Account
Introduction
Clients who elect to close their account must first ensure that all balances (e.g., cash and positions) have been withdrawn or transferred before the account can be closed. Once closed, the account is then restricted from further transactions, however, there are situations where assets may be credited to the account despite it being closed. As disclosed at the point of account closing, cash balances credited to an account after it has been closed are automatically converted to the base currency, regardless of amount, since the trading platform is no longer available to facilitate conversions.
The following article provides background as to how such situations may occur and the steps clients can take to withdraw the assets.
Post-Closure Balances
While it is uncommon for credits to be applied to an account once closed, the events which cause this to happen generally arise from the following:
- The account was closed via disbursement issued in in the form of a check which the client does not present for payment for 90 days and is therefore cancelled by IBKR; or, where the client requests a stop payment due to loss, theft or non-delivery of the check.
- The account was closed via an electronic disbursement (e.g., wire, ACH, EFT) later returned to IBKR by the receiving bank. This can occur if the receiving bank decides to reject and return the funds because the client’s bank account is closed or if the title of the account at IBKR differs from the bank account to which it is being deposited (i.e., a 3rd party transfer).
- A credit adjustment is applied to the account after it has closed to correct an over-withholding of taxes on a prior period dividend.
- An applicant deposited funds prior to the account being opened and the application was never approved by IBKR or was abandoned by the applicant.
- The account was closed via transfer to another broker who later returns the assets after the account has closed.
Withdrawing Assets
To withdraw cash, log into the Client Portal, select the Transfer & Pay and then Transfer Funds menu options and you will be presented with the option to make a withdrawal and a list of available banking instructions which you created while the account was open. Select an instruction that is active and applicable to the denomination of the currency to be withdrawn.
If your account has positions, please contact the broker who returned the positions to request that they be transferred back. Note that you will not be able to submit orders to close positions in a closed account.
FAQs
Q. What do I do if I don't recall my login credentials and am unable to log into the Client Portal?
A. If you require assistance logging into your account, you will need to contact your local Client Service Center via telephone. Such requests require verbal verification of your identity as a protection from unauthorized users. Contact information is available on our website.
Q. How do I determine the credit balance in my account?
A. The account balance and its composition can be found in your activity statement. Daily, monthly and annual statements are available online via the Client Portal through the Reports/Tax Reports menu option.
Q. Am I able to reopen an account that has been closed?
A. Accounts that have been closed for an extended period or are attempting to reopen solely for the purpose of withdrawing assets are generally not eligible to be reopened. If you intend to reopen the account to establish an ongoing brokerage relationship, please contact your local Client Service Center for assistance.
Q. What happens if I want to withdraw the funds via check and my address has changed?
A. If your account is eligible to withdraw funds via check (only available for US currency withdrawals by customers with a US mailing address) and your mailing address on record is no longer accurate, you will not be able to change your address online. In this instance, please contact Client Services to inform us of your new address and receive instructions on how to upload a copy of a driver's license or other acceptable document.
Q. What happens if I want to withdraw the funds electronically and my account does not already have a valid banking instruction on file?
A. If you currently do not have an active banking instruction on file, please log into the Client Portal and add a new instruction using the Transfer & Pay menu option. Note that IBKR reserves the right to verify new instructions via verbal confirmation and/or submission of qualifying documentation. This verification step is intended to protect against unauthorized transfers to a 3rd party.
Q. The entity which owned the account no longer has a bank account or is no longer in existence. How can the funds be withdrawn?
A. In the event the funds are unable to be withdrawn and distributed in the name of account holder at the point of account closure, IBKR will seek to distribute the funds to the entity owners based on their pro rata share of ownership. Note that this will generally require submission of documentation evidencing the owners and their ownership interests as well as a warranty and indemnification letter executed by the owners that the information they provide is accurate and there aren’t any other owners or creditors to whom the funds are owned. IBKR also reserves the right to request an independent opinion of counsel verifying the accuracy of the information provided.
Q. What happens if I do not act to withdraw assets in a closed account?
A. IBKR will attempt to notify closed accounts of a credit balance using the email address of record. Account holders who do not act to withdraw balances within 30 days after notice has been sent are subject to a monthly closed account fee of $20. Also note that IBKR is subject to statutes which require that assets in accounts deemed "abandoned" be turned over to the state in which the client resides (or Connecticut if the client resides outside the U.S.). The period of inactivity by which an account is considered "inactive" varies by state, but can be as low as 3 years. See Knowledge Base Article 2599 for details regarding retrieving unclaimed property from the state.
Funds Transfer Restrictions
INTRODUCTION
As part of its anti-money laundering efforts, IBKR implements restrictions on certain client deposits and withdrawals. These restrictions apply to transfers associated with countries considered to have elevated AML risk and consider factors such as the client’s residency, the withdrawal destination and the denomination of the currency being transferred.1 An outline of these restrictions is provided below.
OVERVIEW OF RESTRICTIONS
- Clients residing or maintaining an address in a country designated as having elevated AML risk may not withdraw funds to an account located in another country that has elevated AML risk unless they also maintain an address in that country.
- Clients residing or maintaining an address in a country designated as having elevated AML risk may not deposit funds from an account located in another country having elevated AML risk unless they also maintain an address in that country.
- Clients residing or maintaining an address in a country designated as having elevated AML risk may only withdraw funds to an account from which that client received a first-party deposit.
- Clients may only withdraw funds in their base currency, their home country’s currency or common currencies (e.g. USD, EUR, HKD, AUD, GBP, CHF, CAD, JPY and SGD).
- IBSG clients may only withdraw in SGD, USD, CNH, EUR, GBP and HKD.
- IBKR may restrict the number of banks that a client may send money to, regardless of the domicile of the client or the bank.
- A change to your base currency requires a minimum of 5 days before withdrawal instructions can be entered and a withdrawal request can be processed.
Note that clients who attempt to create an online banking instruction or initiate a deposit or withdrawal which is restricted will be blocked from creating that instruction or initiating that transaction and will be presented with an online error message.
1In determining whether a country is associated with elevated AML risk, consideration is given to information provided by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental organization which promotes measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system and other public AML indices.
South African Rand (ZAR) - Onshore/Offshore
Overview:
Explanation of Onshore/Offshore South African Rand (ZAR)
Background
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has currency exchange control rules in place for South African residents. A South African resident is a person (i.e. a natural person, body corporate, foundation, trust or partnership) whether of South African or any other nationality who has taken up residence, is domiciled or registered in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). A resident account is also the account of persons resident, domiciled or registered in the Common Monetary Area (CMA). The CMA comprises of the Republic of South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. There are no exchange control restrictions between the members of the CMA and they form a single exchange control territory.
The rules stipulate that there is a yearly limit placed on the amount of ZAR that can be taken out of the country by South African residents – i.e. taken "Offshore". ZAR that remain in South Africa are deemed “Onshore”.
Each resident can take the following amounts offshore per calendar year:
- ZAR 1 million can be taken offshore as a “Single Discretionary Allowance”
- ZAR 10 million can be taken offshore as an “Foreign Capital Allowance”
Only institutions licensed as “Authorised Dealers” (AD) are able to send ZAR outside of South Africa and so offshore. An AD is responsible for reporting the offshoring of any ZAR to the SARB. As a result, residents sending ZAR offshore must accurately state the purpose for which the ZAR is being sent. Residents must receive approval from an AD before they are able to send any ZAR offshore. Prior to taking ZAR offshore as part of the Foreign Capital Allowance, residents must also have additional clearance from the SA tax authorities.
The full exchange control rulebook from the SARB can be found here: https://www.resbank.co.za/RegulationAndSupervision/FinancialSurveillanceAndExchangeControl/EXCMan/Pages/default.aspx
Current Situation
Our cashiering account is a non-resident account. Therefore, we are permitted to:
- Receive deposits in ZAR from other non-resident accounts.
- Disburse ZAR from our cashiering account to non-resident accounts.
- Receive deposits from accounts of South African residents.
- Disburse ZAR to accounts of South African residents.
Margin Considerations for IB LLC Commodities Accounts
Introduction
As a global broker offering futures trading in 19 countries, IB is subject to various regulations, some of which retain the concept of margin as a single, end of day computation as opposed to the continuous, real-time computations IB performs. To satisfy commodity regulatory requirements and manage economic exposure in a pragmatic fashion, two margin computations are performed at the market close, both which must be met to remain fully margin compliant. An overview of these computations is outlined below.
Overview
All orders are subject to an initial margin check prior to execution and continuous maintenance margin checks thereafter. As certain products may be offered intraday margin at rates less than the exchange minimum and to ensure end of day margin compliance overall, IB will generally liquidate positions prior to the close rather than issue a margin call. If, however, an account remains non-compliant at the close, our practice is to issue a margin call, restrict the account to margin reducing transactions and liquidate positions by the close of the 3rd business day if the initial requirement has not then been satisfied.
In determining whether a margin call is required, IB performs both a real-time and regulatory computation, which in certain circumstances, can generate different results:
Real-Time: under this method, initial margin is computed using positions and prices collected at a common point in time, regardless of a product’s listing exchange and official closing time; an approach we believe appropriate given the near continuous trading offered by most exchanges.
Regulatory: under this method, initial margin is computed using positions and prices collected at the official close of regular trading hours for each individual exchange. So, for example, a client trading futures listed on each of the Hong Kong, EUREX and CME exchanges would have a requirement calculated based upon information collected at the close of each respective exchange.
Impact
Clients trading futures listed within a single country and session are not expected to be impacted. Clients trading both the daytime and after hours sessions of a given exchange or on exchanges located in different countries where the closing times don’t align are more likely to be impacted. For example, a client opening a futures contract during the Hong Kong daytime session and closing it during U.S. hours, would have only the opening position considered for purposes of determining the margin requirement. This implies a different margin requirement and a possible margin call under the revised computation that may not have existed under the current. An example of this is provided in the chart below.
Example
This example attempts to demonstrate how a client trading futures in both the Asia and U.S. timezones would be impacted were that client to trade in an extended hours trading session (i.e., outside of the regular trading hours after which the day's official close had been determined). Here, the client opens a position during the Hong Kong regular hours trading session, closes it during the extended hours session, thereby freeing up equity to open a position in the U.S. regular hours session. For purposes of illustration, a $1,000 trading loss is assumed. This example illustrates that the regulatory end of day computation may not recognize margin reducing trades conducted after the official close, thereby generating an initial margin call.
| Day | Time (ET) | Event |
Start Position |
End Position | IB Margin | Regulatory Margin | |||
| Equity With Loan | Maintenance | Initial | Overnight | Margin Call | |||||
| 1 | 22:00 | Buy 1 HHI.HK | None | Long 1 HHI.HK | $10,000 | $3,594 | $4,493 | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | 04:30 | Official HK Close | Long 1 HHI.HK | Long 1 HHI.HK | $10,000 | $7,942 | $9,927 | $4,493 | N/A |
| 2 | 08:00 | Sell 1 HHI.HK | Long 1 HHI.HK | None | $9,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | N/A |
| 2 | 10:00 | Buy 1 ES | None | Long 1 ES | $9,000 | $2,942 | $3,677 | N/A | N/A |
| 2 | 17:00 | Official U.S. Close | Long 1 ES | Long 1 ES | $9,000 | $5,884 | $7,355 | $9,993 | Yes |
| 3 | 17:00 | Official U.S. Close | Long 1 ES | Long 1 ES | $9,000 | $5,884 | $7,355 | $5,500 | No |
Welcome to Interactive Brokers
Overview:
Now that your account is funded and approved you can start trading. The information below will help you getting
started as a new customer of Interactive Brokers.
- Your Money
- Configure your account to trade
- How to trade
- Trade all over the World
- Five points to enrich your IB experience
1. Your Money
Deposits & Withdrawals General Info. All transactions are administered through your secure Account Management
Deposits
First, you create a deposit notification through your Account Management > Funding > Fund Transfers > Transaction Type: “Deposit” How to create a deposit notification. The second step is to instruct your Bank to do the wire transfer with the bank details provided in your Deposit Notification.
Withdrawals
Create a withdrawal instruction via your secure Account Management > Funding > Fund Transfers > Transaction Type: "Withdrawals" How to create a withdrawal instruction
If you instruct a withdrawal over the Withdrawal limits, it will be considered an exceptional withdrawal and we will therefore need to match bank account holder and IB account. If destination bank account has been used for a deposit, withdrawal will be processed; otherwise, you must contact customer service and provide the documents needed.
Troubleshooting
Deposits: My bank sent the money but I do not see it credited into my IB account. Possible reasons:
a) A fund transfer takes 1-4 business days
b) A Deposit Notification is missing. You have to create it via your Account Management and send a ticket to Customer Service
c) Amending details are missing. Your name or IB account number is missing in the transfer details. You have to contact your bank and ask for the full amending details.
d) ACH initiated by IB is limited to 100k USD in a 7 business period. If you opened a Portfolio Margin account where the initial requirement is 110k, a wire deposit might be the better deposit option to reduce wait time for your first trade. If selecting ACH a wait time of almost 2 weeks or a temporary downgrade to RegT can be possible solutions.
Withdrawals: I have requested a withdrawal but I do not see the money credited to my bank account. Possible reasons:
a) A fund transfer takes 1-4 business days
b) Rejected. Over the max it can be withdrawn. Please check your account cash balance. Note that for regulatory requirements, when the funds are deposited, there is a 3 day holding period before they can be withdrawn.
c) Your bank returned the funds. Probably because receiving bank account and remitting bank account names do not match.
2. Configure your account to trade
Difference between Cash and Margin accounts: If you have chosen the FastTrack application, by default your account type is a cash account with US stock permission. If you would like to get leverage and trade on margin, here how to upgrade to a RegT Margin account
Trading Permissions
In order to be able to trade a particular asset class in a particular country, you need to get the trading permission for it via your Account Management. Please note that trading permissions are free. You might however be asked to sign risk
disclosures required by local regulatory authorities. How to Request Trading Permissions
Market Data
If you want to have market data in real-time for a particular product/exchange, you need to subscribe to a market data package charged by the exchange. How to subscribe to Market data
The Market data assistant will help you choose the right package. Please watch this Video explaining how it works.
Customers have the option to receive delayed market data for free by clicking the Free Delayed Data button from a non-subscribed ticker row.
Advisor Accounts
Have a look at the user guide getting started as advisors. Here you see how to create additional users to your advisor account and grant them access and much more.
3. How to trade
The Trader's University is the place to go when you want to learn how to use our Platforms. Here you will find our webinars, live and recorded in 10 languages and tours and documentation about our various Trading Platforms.
Trader Workstation (TWS)
Traders who require more sophisticated trading tools can use our market maker-designed Trader Workstation (TWS), which optimizes your trading speed and efficiency with an easy-to-use spreadsheet interface, support for more than 60 order types, task-specific trading tools for all trading styles, and real-time account balance and activity monitoring. Try the two models
TWS Mosaic: for intuitive usability, easy trading access, order management, watchlist, charts all in one window or
TWS Classic: the Advanced Order Management for traders who need more advanced tools and algos.
General Description and Information / Quick start guide / Usersguide
Interactive Tours: TWS Basics / TWS configuration / TWS Mosaic
How to place a trade: Video Classic TWS / Video Mosaic
Trading tools: General Description and Information / Users guide
Requirements: How to install Java for Windows / How to install Java for MAC / Port 4000 and 4001 needs to be open
Login TWS / Download TWS
WebTrader
Traders who prefer a clean and simple interface can use our HTML-based WebTrader, which makes it easy to view market data, submit orders, and monitor your account and executions. Use the latest WebTrader from every browser
Quick Start Guide / WebTrader User's Guide
Introduction: Video WebTrader
How to place a Trade: Video WebTrader
Login WebTrader
MobileTrader
Our mobile solutions allow you to trade your IB account on the go. The mobileTWS for iOS and the mobileTWS for BlackBerry are custom-designed for these popular models, while the generic MobileTrader supports most other Smart phones.
General Description and Information
Order Types Order Types available and Description / Videos / Tour / Users guide
Paper Trading General Description and Information / How to get a Paper Trading Account
Once your paper account is created, you can share the market data of your real account with your paper trading account: Account Management > Manage Account > Settings > Paper trading
4. Trade all over the World
IB accounts are multi-currency accounts. Your account can hold different currencies at the same time, this allows you to trade multiple products around the world from a single account.
Base Currency
Your base currency determines the currency of translation for your statements and the currency used for determining margin requirements. Base currency is determined when you open an account. Customers may change their base currency at any time through Account Management.
We do not automatically convert currencies into your Base currency
Currency conversions must be done manually by the customer. In this video you can learn how to do a currency conversion.
In order to open a position denominated in a currency that you do not have in your account, you have two possibilities:
A) Currency conversion.
B) IB Margin Loan. (Not available for Cash Accounts)
Please see this course explaining the mechanics of a foreign transaction.
5. Five points to enrich your IB experience
1. Contract Search
Here you will find all our products, symbols and specifications.
2. IB Knowledge Base
The Knowledge Base is a repository of glossary terms, how-to articles, troubleshooting tips and guidelines designed to assist IB customers with the management of their IB accounts. Just enter in the search button what you are looking for and you will get the answer.
3. Account Management
As our trading platforms give you access to the markets, the Account Management grants you access to your IB account. Use Account Management to manage account-related tasks such as depositing or withdrawing funds, viewing your statements, modifying market data and news subscriptions, changing your trading permissions, and verifying or changing your personal information.
Log In Account Management / AM Quick Start Guide / AM Users Guide
4. Secure Login System
To provide you with the highest level of online security, Interactive Brokers has implemented a Secure Login System (SLS) through which access to your account is subject to two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication serves to confirm your identity at the point of login using two security factors: 1) Something you know (your username and password combination); and 2) Something you have (an IB issued security device which generates a random, single-use security code). As both knowledge of your username/password and physical possession of the security device are required to login to your account, participation in the Secure Login System virtually eliminates the possibility of anyone other than you accessing your account.
How to Activate your Security Device / How to Obtain a Security Code Card / How to return Security device
In case you forgot your password or lost your security code card, please call us for immediate assistance.
5. Statements and Reports
Easy to view and customize, our statements and reports cover all aspects of your Interactive Brokers account. How to view an Activity Statement
Overview of Dodd-Frank
Background
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly referred to as Dodd-Frank, is a U.S. law enacted in July of 2010, the purpose of which is to prevent the recurrence of events which lead to the 2008 financial crisis. Its principal goals are to:
- Promote U.S. financial stability by improving accountability and transparency within the financial system;
- Protect taxpayers from future bailouts of institutions deemed “too big to fail”; and
- Protect consumers from financial services practices considered abusive.
For additional information, please review the following sections:
- Dodd-Frank reforms
- Dodd-Frank and your IB Account
Dodd-Frank Reforms
To accomplish its goals, Dodd-Frank proposed the following reforms:
- Enhanced oversight and supervision of financial institutions through the creation of Financial Stability Oversight Council
- Creation of a new agency responsible for implementing and enforcing compliance with consumer financial laws (Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection)
- Implementation of more stringent regulatory capital requirements
- Changes in the regulation of over the counter derivatives including restrictions upon access to Federal credit by swaps entities, establishment of regulatory oversight and mandatory trading and clearing requirements
- Enhanced regulation of credit rating agencies intended to eliminate exemptions from liability, enhance rating agency disclosure, establish prohibited activities and impose standards for independent Board governance
- Changes to corporate governance and executive compensation practices
- Incorporation of the Volcker Rule which imposes restrictions upon the speculative proprietary trading activities of banking entities
- Mandating studies intended to reform investor protection rules
- Changes to the securitization market including requirements that mortgage bankers retain a % of risky loans.
Dodd-Frank and Your IB Account
Perhaps most visible to IB account holders of all the Dodd-Frank regulations are those relating to money transfers. Here, Section 1073 of the Act introduces consumer protections designed to increase transparency with respect to the costs, timing and the right to repudiate cross-border transactions.
For purpose of Section 1073, a cross-border transaction is defined as an electronic transfer of money from a consumer in the United States to a person or business in a foreign country. As IB LLC is a U.S. based broker, all its account holders regardless of whether they are domiciled in the U.S. or not, benefit from this protection and it covers withdrawals denominated in a currency other than the U.S. dollar as well as USD denominated withdrawals sent to a non-U.S. bank. Account holders submitting a withdrawal which is covered by this regulation will be provided with a disclosure after confirming the request within Account Management. This disclosure will include the following information:
- The name and address of the sender and recipient
- The amount to be deducted from the sender’s IB account
- The amount projected to be credited to the recipient’s bank account including an estimate of fees which the receiving bank's correspondent bank(s) may charge. Note that these correspondent bank fees are not set by nor is any part of them earned by IB.
- A disclaimer that additional fees and foreign taxes may apply.
- Notice of the sender’s right to cancel the transfer request for a full refund within 30 minutes of it being authorized.
- Regulatory contact information in the event of questions or complaints.
When estimating correspondent bank transfer fees, IB takes into consideration information collected from past customer transactions in addition to data made available by our agent banks. We encourage our customers to review and consider this information when making decisions regarding cross-border transactions.
IRA: Required Minimum Distributions
IRA owners may be required to to withdraw funds beginning at age 73, and every year thereafter. Determining your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is significant while retaining an IRA, considering both your life expectancy and the IRA's fair market value.
The required amount for each eligible person is based on the December 31 IRA account value of the previous year and the IRA owners date of birth. Your spouse's date of birth may also be a factor if your spouse is at least 10 years younger than you. Interactive Brokers LLC provides several information resources to understand and calculate your RMD, including access to the online FINRA RMD Calculator.
Requesting Your RMD Withdrawal
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the IRA plan custodian to notify IRA owners about the RMD requirements by January 31 each year. If you turn 73 this year, you are required to begin taking RMDs before April 1 of the following year.
Eligible IRA owners must begin receiving withdrawals by December 31 of the year they reach age 73. The first RMD withdrawal, however, may be delayed until April 1 of the following year.
If you elect to delay the withdrawal, then please observe the following considerations:
(1) Two RMD withdrawals will be required the following year, the undistributed initial RMD and the new RMD.
(2) The new RMD will be slightly larger due to the December 31 market value's inclusion of the undistributed initial RMD.
Subsequent RMD withdrawals from your IRA must be distributed by December 31 to avoid a penalty tax.
Note: Roth IRAs are exempt from the RMD rules during the IRA owner's lifetime.
Requesting Your RMD Withdrawal
You may request a withdrawal of funds through the Transfer & Pay and then Transfer Funds menu options within Client Portal. The IRS deadline for taking RMDs is December 31 each year. Keep in mind that the year end withdrawal cut off for processing withdrawals from your Interactive Brokers account may occur before December 31.
Please note that you can elect to transfer your funds to your bank account or to an Interactive Brokers non-IRA account. To transfer funds to an Interactive Brokers non-IRA account, log into Client Portal, select Transfer & Pay, Transfer Funds then select Transfer Funds Between Accounts.
Your RMD is determined by dividing the account balance on December 31 of last year by your life expectancy factor. Your life expectancy factor is taken from the Life Expectancy Tables contained in IRS Publication 590. Your IRA beneficiary election may play an important role in determining your RMD, as well.
You must calculate your RMD separately for each qualifying IRA custodied at Interactive Brokers and any other financial institution. The RMD, however, may be satisfied from any single one or combination of your IRAs. The IRA Required Minimum Distribution Worksheets may provide additional assistance with the calculation of your RMD.
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 qualified tax adviser or refer to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
