I may take a job that would change my status from individual to professional. Beyond a change in some data access fees, how will my IB service change? I have this vague impression from somewhere that IB will send my employer a monthly summary of my trading activity. Is that so? I ask because, while I have absolutely no problem obeying relevant regulations, firm-specific rules can often be egregious. For example, requiring prior approval for all trades - which can take hours. Also, there may be outright bans on derivatives and some arbitrary restrictions on 'short-term trading.' And I strongly prefer that my investment/trading activity is not a subject of banter at the water-cooler that feeds into workplace politics. Would like to hear from IB customers who also have 'professional status.' Also happy to hear from IB.
Compliance at your new job has to get copies of your trading statements, whether they look at them or not. Since IB doesn't actually send out any statements, I think the responsibility falls on you to provide the statements.
I have a pro account. The answer depends on your firm. I happen to trade with the firm I work for so no duplicate statements are sent, but if I had an outside account, then they would be mailed out monthly. Some firms will NOT allow employees that are pros to hold outside accounts. Regardless, IB would need a compliance letter from your compliance dept. to change your account to pro status. As a pro, you may or may not need to have your trades pre-approved by compliance; this is dependant on how close you are to the desk in regards to information on specific securities etc. Depending on what you trade, you may NOT have to get certain trades approved. For example, I have to have ALL my stock trades approved. The only thing I don't need approval for is ETFs and options on ETFs. Also, some firms have minimum holding periods if you purchase certain securities that the firm covers, typically in the 30 day range, and sometimes you can't trade certain securities at all during certain periods (again, your compliance dept. would let you know). Anyways, hope that helps, all questions should be directed to your compliance dept for full details. If I can give you one piece of advice, DO NOT LIE about having outside accounts (and keeping them in a non-pro status). You will get fired.
Thanks ... I'm looking at some roles in sell-side fundamental research so there are obvious restrictions on individual equities. But, if we get a 'double-dip' or an earthquake topples downtown Tokyo, for example, I would want to actively manage a position in broad index futures and options-on-futures. I would like to go to compliance and say 'I will manage a long position in the Nikkei200 over the next 3 months.' Generally speaking, the sell-side compliance agreements tend to be a bit extreme and might be a hinderance. It could weigh on where I ultimately decide to go. For instance, I'd expect buy-side is much less restricted. Maybe I should talk to a firm's compliance before I accept an offer.