I am trying to open an account with IB, but seems like they need a proof that i have a job. I had been studying various markets for quite some time. I am a full time home maker with interest in future trading. I am not in any hurry to trade. My goal is to trade from jan 2008. Seems like IB will not be opening account if i can't show them a source of income. I have an acount with fidelity with over 50K in there. will a statement from them be good enough proof for them. anybody else had any isues with account opening at IB
There is normally a box in the form that asks about annual income. I thought this was self certified ie they didnt want proof, perhaps requirements are more stringent these days. Or perhaps because you didnt put a ficticious value in when you orginally submitted the form means its too late to get passed compliance now If your partner has a job perhaps you can open an account in joint names.
seems like that... i have said i will provide with account stmnt from my previous brokerage firms... lets see if they will accept it.
I just opened an account with them and I have a similar situation as you, (Mr. Mom) experienced in equity investments, intending to trade futures and options in 6-months. I was not required to provide any documents to verify my declarations. I entered retired as my profession, with a substantial net worth. You may try editing your application to self-employed or retired, enter your spouses income (family income) and adjust your net worth to reflect all your assets... If they do not accept your application with your declarations, I do not think that a letter from your brokerage of $50K will make a large difference... I believe they are mainly complying with SEC regulations to confirm that your are a sophisticated investor and aware of the risks involved. It is my understanding that IB is not for the inexperienced and if you do meet their investor benchmarks, that it may be in your best interest to seek out a different broker which may be able to provide you with additional support. i.e. thinkorswim, etc... I currently am considering TOS myself over IB for my initial trading primarily due to the amount of education and support they supposedly provide, albeit at higher trading costs... IMHO, the additional fees should offset major losses in the learning curve... They also provide Paper accounts to trade prior to going live... which ever brokerage you choose, you can always re-apply to IB after you have gained some experience in derivatives. Hope this helps, Good luck and safe trades....
Actually every IB customer has the possibility to open a paper account for free next to his real one. Of course, the fee(s) for the real time quotes of whatever stock exchange you chose will be deducted one time (for the paper and real account) each month, no matter if you trade or not.
That's correct. But unless you are approved for opening an account, you won't be able to open a paper trading account...
I'm bit surprised at this... I don't recall ever having to do that. So how about those college students who wish to trade? Or how about those who would like to venture into trading after inheritating a large sum of money from their elders? :-/
thanks for all the reply... i am looking for a good broker with little cost. I had been studying market for last 3 years. First year i was trading stocks and was a disaster. last 2 yr no trading. i am going to start trading futures emini sp or russell 2000 only. staring with 4 lots for next 1 month and slowly grow to 10 lots. I am also looking for low cost,stable platform, good execution speed..
Take a look at Open E Cry. I think it is a 5k minimum to open account. Free basic charts and dom order mgmt. Demo account for sim trading is free for 2/3 weeks and small monthly charge thereafter. I use both IB and OEC. Lately I've been using OEC for futures and IB for everything else. By the way OEC is futures only.
So have you given up on your IB application or has it been denied? Or do they now want a proof of income like a monthly salary payment or a labour contract? I'd like to know because I have a friend of mine who's in college and would like to start trading with IB...