To extend the discussion, the advantage of having an IRA at IB is that they offer a restricted margin account for IRA that bypass the T+3 settlement rules but disallow the use of leverage. That means you can daytrade in an IRA. Whether that is a good idea or not only the account owner can decide. The IRS has never definitively settled the issue of whether daytrading in an IRA makes it a "business" (which would be disallowed). A lot of people are doing it.