IB's customer service is really to the point of being criminally bad. One would think that the answers a broker provides to their customers at a minimum shouldn't be mutually exclusive and would hopefully approximate the truth. IB is so bad I get the impression I'm dealing with Indian call center guys reading off a script. I've actually filed a FINRA complaint on this and after supposedly investigating for 11 months FINRA let me know that they weren't going to take any action but refused to tell me why. Thats what you get with the oxymoron of self regulation. The worst thing is that IB management is willfully ignorant in this and apparently just doesn't care.
Here is the page on the IB website which specifies trading permissions for IRA margin accounts. As of the date of this post, it has not been updated to align with the letter IB sent out last week. http://ibkb.interactivebrokers.com/node/188
I don't see how you can file a complaint that customer service is bad. If they specifically did something like mess up a trade that would make sense. Bad customer service (unless it cost you money and then you'd file an arbitration claim I'd think) would seem to be something you deal with by going to another broker. Not that I'm excusing their customer service it's been completely opaque and other than that email it's still not clear who's in charge and what's going on there. Reminds me of Congress....
Their margins for futures contracts are already higher than the exchange margins most other brokers use. Plus they charge the infamous "exposure fees" if you get anywhere near those already higher margins. And now they want to raise the margins yet again. That's OK though; IB customers are used to being abused.
Who gives a better deal, futures and futures options trading, in IRA? Any suggestions from anyone most welcome.
This is from TD Ameritrade; It is my pleasure to assist you today. Yes, our IRA accounts can trade in futures, but cannot trade options on futures. I have put the stipulations below on what the account needs to be able to trade Futures in an IRA account. •Account will need to be approved for Tier 2 Standard Margin Option Approval. •IRA must maintain $25,000 Net Liq to trade Futures. •IRA accounts are held to 125% of Futures Margin Requirements. •Clients cannot trade options on futures in an IRA account. Our platform is compatible with Ninja Trader. If there is anything else I can do for you, please reply to this e-mail. Your business is appreciated and I want to make sure I address all of your questions and concerns. Sincerely, Cindi Hunt New Accounts, TD Ameritrade TD Ameritrade, Inc.
Loans are absolutely allowed in an IRA, but it's more compliance headaches with UBTI reporting and hence most brokers don't permit it even though the IRS rules allow it. If you want to have your IRA borrow money, go see one of those self-directed IRA custodians. They're always pitching owning real estate in your IRA, where your IRA gets its own mortgage for rental properties and such. Not that i think the latter example is a particular good idea from a tax perspective, but it definitely can be done.
This may be true as long as you don't personally guarantee a loan or extension of credit to the IRA. By doing so, you may be participating in a Prohibited Transaction under Internal Revenue Code 4975. Read more here: http://www.whitecase.com/files/Publ...8ab5/article-Recent-Tax-Court-Case-Byline.pdf
Thanks. I also checked them out, futures but no futures options. I might still go with them though depending how much IB jacks up margin requirement on futures. Looking at Trade Station, it seems you can do futures options in IRA there but at my level of activity their various fees would make it uneconomical.
IB's website still indicates that futures trading is not allowed in IRA accounts despite the letter they published stating the contrary.