I'm thinking of switching to IB. But I can not get an access to TWS from my office and planning to use IB WEB Trader. Have any one had any experience with this part of IB or as they call it IB light? THanks
1. Last I checked, they had an insurance policy to cover the SUM TOTAL OF ALL IB ACCOUNTS... not individual accounts. My impression was that it was "small change" in the event of a really big problem. 2. SIPC insurance is for "missing cash and securities"... it does not apply to futures contracts. However, the FCM or his affiliate is required by regulation to keep customer accounts segregated from funds of the firm. There are other provisions you should investigate as well, but they have been in business for about 30 years(?), which is a plus.
Does this $30M insurance policy mean anything? http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/accountProtection.php?ib_entity=llc
Looks like up to $30MM coverage for an individual issue. However should there be an issue which affects many/all customers, the $150MM aggregate would be apportioned. Depending upon the total assets of IB's customers, the $150MM might be inadequate. You'll have to judge that risk for yourself. http://www.futuresbuzz.com/fcm_accounts.html
Commodities accounts are not covered by SIPC. However, IB is unique in that excess funds in the commodities side of the account are swept into the securities account overnight and thus receive the benefits of SIPC. For more on the safety of your funds and the financial strength of IB refer to this link: individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/about/ibgStrength.php?ib_entity=llc
If you do not have access to TWS, you may also want to consider using our voice brokerage desk for your option orders. For order sizes of 100 contracts or larger, we offer verbal quotes and executions, and will contact multiple liquidity providers in an effort to find price improvement or additional liquidity for your single leg and spread orders. Please call our trading desk at 203-618-4030 for more info.
In the FuturesBuzz link, IB is shown to have "207MM Customer Segregated Funds". In the link above, it mentions "3Billion". What is being measured, and why such a large discrepancy, please...
IB sweeps excess funds in the commodities account to the securities account. Thus, the majority of client funds do not show up in the commodity reports.
Would the aggregate amount refer to different accounts under the same individual/organization? $150MM aggregate for all IB customers is meaningless... Def could you confirm this? Many thanks!
gee looks like the $150MM aggreate is actually for all IB customer accounts... in that case the insurance policy doesn't seem assuring at all...