No, when opening a new account you have to sign some stuff and send it to them. That's the way its done in Canada not sure about the US.
You can print them, scan them in, and email them to IB. I've done that for opening all my sub-accounts. The details on what you can send (for example they accept PDF, JPG, etc) are documented as well. This saves stamps and the wait (and the possibility that the wonderful USPS loses them). Also note if you want a second set of 100 tickers you can create a second user id and subscribe it to data (but this will mean a second $10 charge per each sub-account that doesn't meet the $30 minimum). But that will give you another 100 tickers. You also might try using the scanner for this, or the historical data service (for example get the last 1 minute period every 10 minutes). SSB
Great info on the F&F Advisor accounts, esp. SSB. I've got one (more) question though. In the first few pages of the Master account application I was presented with the following: "In order to participate in Interactive Brokers' Friends and Family Advisor Program, you must certify that: · You have conducted research in your province/country and the provinces/countries of your advisees and you are not required to be registered as an Investment Advisor (or Commodity Trading Advisor); · You have fewer than 15 NON-paying advisees (or whatever lower number is used for exemption by the regulators in your province/country); · The accounts you manage will have less than $25 million total in assets; and · You do not hold yourself out as an Investment Advisor (or Commodity Trading Advisor). " I am wondering about the "NON-paying advisees" clause - does this mean I cannot deduct management and performance fees as described in http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/advisors/advisorWrapFees.php?ib_entity=llc unless I go the pro Advisor route? Thanks, Steve
Steve -- I'm not sure about that but I think it likely depends on the laws in the state you live in. It's a hassle but you might consider consulting with a lawyer -- as it would be a bigger hassle if you run afoul of some registration law and get sued by the SEC or something....
Something else that was never clear to me was do you have to actually fund the FFA, or can it be empty? I'd be setting one up for myself for trading 2 of my own personal accounts. I don't want to trade from the FFA directly, just in the 2 "real" accounts.
The master account only needs enough to cover data fees. I usually keep around $100 in the account and add to it as needed. As far as I know you cannot trade in the master account -- only the client accounts. Trades are entered in the master account (you log into TWS using the master account) but you need to specify with the trade how it gets allocated to the client accounts. You can't allocate to the master account. For example you can say you want to buy 500 shares of MSFT, and allocate 300 to one account and 200 to the other. You trade logged into the master account but the master account does not hold the positions. SSB
Right now I get hit with data fees in both of my accounts. Sounds like I can cancel my data subscriptions in those accounts and just subscribe in the FFA. And like you said, just keep enough $$$ in the FFA to cover them. What about that rule that data is free if you have > $30 in commish per month? If the 2 managed accounts together produce > $30 does this count for the FFA?
I lifted this from my post in another F&F thread - --------------------------------- In a Friends and family account each sub-account causes a $10 fee to be debited against the advisor account. The account must then produce the number of sub-accounts times $10 to get the fee waived, with the minimum commission level always being $30. Assume four accounts. Four accounts must produce 4 times $10 in commissions - $40. Example 1: Acct 1 - $25 in commissions Acct 2 - $5 in commissions Acct 3 - $5 in commissions Acct 4 - $5 in commissions Total $40 - No fee Example 2: Acct 1 - $10 in commissions Acct 2 - $10 in commissions Acct 3 - $10 in commissions Acct 4 - $5 in commissions Total $35 - $ 10 fee Example 3: Acct 1 - $10 in commissions Acct 2 - $5 in commissions Acct 3 - $5 in commissions Acct 4 - $5 in commissions Total $25 - $ 30 fee Fees are always billed to the Advisor account, not to the sub-accounts. Thus, you need leave very little money in the advisor account if you just use basic data. If you use a lot of "added-value" data then you must ensure that you transfer enough to have sufficient funds to pay for the data. IB does not pro-rate data. You always pay for a full month. ----------------------------------- I believe you always get billed in the Master Account. SSB (at the time of the original post) thought the individual accounts were billed. We did not follow up in that thread. Note that IB may have changed their policy since Oct. You might call them. Jack
I'll use the most common case. The advisor has the US non pro bundle. Example 1 Sub 1 = 20 commissions Sub 2 = 9 Commissions Sub 3 = 0 Commissions Monthly Charges Master = 10.00 Market data Sub 1 = 0 Sub 2 = 1 Sub 3 = 10 Example 2 Sub 1 = 20 commissions Sub 2 = 10 Commissions Sub 3 = 0 Commissions Monthly Charges Master = Market data waived Sub 1 = 0 Sub 2 = 0 Sub 3 = 0 We sum the subs. If the summed commissions are greater than $30, no market data charge for the master. If the summed commission is greater than (Funded accounts * $10.00) no accounts are charged a minimum. If the summed commission is even a penny below (Funded accounts * $10.00), the sub accounts are on their own in meeting the $10 minimum.