Under account management you can do an internal transfer of cash simply by a few mouse clicks. Couldn't be easier. I did this just a month or so ago. Of course, you need to set up the advisor account and a new client account for yourself and anyone else your going to trade for. Then you transfer from the old account to the new client account. I called IB to find out how to do it. They picked up the phone in 2 rings, transfered me immediatley to the person with the answer, and politely got the info in seconds. Kudo's IB!
I'm an existing IB client planning to open an F & F Advisor Account for myself as well as family members, free of management charges. I understand that the Master Account is called an F account, while all sub-accounts (including the Advisor's own trading sub-account) are U accounts with no TWS access privileges. I am a little confused by the above quotation. Does it mean that a sub-account client can enter prior instructions through Account Management to allow transfer out to (a) the advisor's F account, (b) any bank account, or (c) a bank account in the name of the sub-account client only? If (c) is correct, does it mean that an advisor can initiate a withdrawal from a client's sub-account for wire transfer to this client's bank account? On a related matter, how many security tokens will be needed for maximum security? Say there are one F account and three U sub-accounts (one of which belongs to the advisor himself), will four identity tokens be required for maximum security? In other words, does an F account also needs a security token for maximum security? This question is raised because a US$100,000 minimum account balance is required to obtain a security token, but I understand that an F account only needs a very small account balance (which the advisor can presumably transfer internally from his own sub-account) to cover data subscription fees, while trade commissions and margin interest will be debted from the U accounts directly. On a different note, in one of the Advisor Account opening web pages, it is stated that "clients will be charged a fee per trade commission for execution and clearing services provided by Interactive Brokers". Is this fee simply the normal trade commission sub-divided based on pre-set clients' trade allocation methods, or is there an additional charge levied by IB on Advisor Account sub-account clients for each transaction? In terms of account protection, are sub-accounts (each belonging to a different individual) regarded as separate accounts for SIPC protection and Lloyd's policy cover purposes, such that each sub-account holder will have the full benefit afforded a normal individual account holder? Whether a person is resident in the US or a US citizen is irrelevant for account protection/insurance purposes, isn't it? Regarding withdrawal fees, can each sub-account client withdraw once from his (or her) sub-account free of charge per month? I'd appreciate it if someone from IB could clarify the above issues. Thanks!
- (C) Only to a bank account in the sub accounts name, and only after the sub account enters the instructions by logging into Account Management - Accounts with > 100k are enrolled in the Secure Token Program (STP). The Advisor is enrolled when ANY sub account has > 100k in equity. The device would be required by both parties to authenticate withdrawals initiated by the advisor for accounts with equity > 100k. - The quote you pulled from the web site refers to standard IB commission. - SIPC and our Lloyds coverage is per customer not per account. - Citizenship is irrelevant for protection. Please let me know if I missed something.
Please confirm my understanding - Only the Advisor is a customer, individual sub-accounts, no matter in what name (tax ID), are not customers. If a person that has a sub-account, say a family member of the advisor, has a separate account apart from the F&F account, that person would be a customer, for insurance purposes, only in the separate account. If the Advisor had a separate account his\her coverage would be based on the combined F&F and individual account. Jack
The advisor and each sub account are customers. If you have two sub accounts, or one sub account and one individual account outside the advisor structure, they will be considered one for coverage calculations. All the accounts for Joe Customer with IB are summed together and considered one. This is the NASD's policy, not something specific to IB.
I better not trade today. This is not jumping off the page. If I have a F&F account with sub-accounts, one for me, one for my son, one for my daughter, and one for my grand-daughter, then you have four customers for IB and insurance/NASD purposes? Jack
Each unique customer receives coverage for all the accounts they have with IB. If your daughter had 2 accounts, IRA and Individual, they would be considered one for coverage. Example, SIPC offers 500k of which no more than 100k can be cash. Daughter - 400k USD Security value Daughter IRA - 200k USD Security value Son - 300k USD Security value Dad - 1,000,000 USD Security value SIPC Covers Daughter - 500k USD(400k + 200k, 500k max) Son - 300k USD Dad - 500k USD
SIPC doesn't have enough money to actually insure your account -- the end result is that their protection is worth what you pay for it....zilch. IF SIPC was to somehow make good on a large brokerage failure then it would take years before you saw the money. End result: don't put all your money with any one broker, and only keep as much there as you need for trading (e.g. withdraw your profits unless you're using them for trading).
Thanks, IB Salvatore, for your prompt response. Just to clarify one detail, assuming each sub-account has a balance exceeding US$100,000. Does this follow that a sub-account client can enter and set up his bank account details through Account Management in advance, using his security token if necessary, and an advisor can arrange to withdraw funds from such sub-account at any time subsequently for transfer to this client's (registered) bank account, with the advisor using his (not the client's) security token if necessary? In other words, can the advisor do the withdrawal for the client, so that it won't become necessary for the client to use his security token every time the latter wants to withdraw funds? The reason for such need is that some people find the security token procedure tricky. One assumes that a sub-account client can naturally do the withdrawl himself if he so wishes. Is it simply an option for him whether or not to grant the advisor the ability to make withdrawals/transfers on his behalf? Also, does it mean that there's a security token for the advisor (Master) account and, if the advisor has also set up his own trading sub-account, that he will receive a futher security token for his sub-account, ie, two devices altogether, one for the F account and one for the advisor's own U account. Is the above correct even if the F account has only a tiny balance, far below US$100,000? My understanding is that the F account only needs to have adequate funds to pay data subscription fees, etc. Thanks again!