[Amazing services is a continuing series here at bidatzi.net where I write about extremely good services I use online. I’m not paid to write about this stuff, I’m just a happy user]
Interactive Brokers is an online brokerage service usually described as a discount broker and thrown in the same bag as e-trade, scott-trade, etc. It’s nothing at all like those other services.
Global reach: IBKR provides access to 80 markets in 19 countries in one account with extremely competitive prices (made possible, I understand, by automating almost all the trading processes and by the fact that they’re market makers in several important markets). You can trade stocks, options, futures, warrants, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, forex, commodities…
Another remarkable feature of IBKR is their trade execution. I know of no other brokerage service available to individual investors that provides an execution as sophisticated and efficient as IBKR does.
The pricing structure is well explained and trading costs at IBKR are extremely low. In US markets, for example, the commission is $0.005 per share ($1 min. and 0.5% of trade value max). Besides, if you’re interested in that, margin-lending costs are IBKR are the lowest I know for individuals.
In sum, I couldn’t be happier with my choice of broker. Yes, their software platform looks awkward and outdated, but it’s packed with useful features and gets the work done. And IBKR provides a lot of training materials (web-seminar, tutorials…) about their tools and about investing in general.
If you’re looking for a serious broker with competitive prices and excellent execution that doesn’t cost you a fortune you could do worse than trying IBKR.
(Again, I’m just recommending the service as a satisfied customer and nothing else. I don’t get any commission from IBKR nor do I own IBKR stock)
