IB no longer supports FX margin trading for retail customers in the US who do not qualify as Eligible Contract Participants. http://news.forexlive.com/!/interactive-brokers-to-cut-off-us-forex-clients-sept-1-20160812
Yeah. I think IB's niche is that it offers access to so many financial products and many international markets too. Seriously, who offers this? You can trade the S&P during the day and trade Hang Seng at night, then swtich over to FTSE in the a.m., before going back to S&P. You can trade 24/7 all around the world. You can trade stocks, futures, options, currencies, etc - all around the world. This is it's true advantage to a more sophisticated client. Moreover, all of that buying power is consolidated and wrapped in the same account and not fragmented by having different specialty brokers with different requirements and just using the same front end software to access all the markets. Which means your P&L from your futures trading can be used to offset buying power in shares, options, etc. It is a jack of all trades and that makes it attractive.
Sorry for you, but they offer it to the rest of the world. Thank your politicians instead of shooting at IB
The drop looks like it mostly came from the market making side, not brokerage. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: IBKR) an automated global electronic broker and market maker, today reported diluted earnings per share on a comprehensive basis of $1.19 for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to diluted earnings per share on a comprehensive basis of $0.62 for 2015. Excluding other comprehensive income, the Company reported diluted earnings per share of $1.25 for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.78 for 2015. Net revenues were $1,396 million and income before income taxes was $761 million for 2016, compared to net revenues of $1,189 million and income before income taxes of $458 million in 2015. and December metrics: Highlights for the month included: 592 thousand Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs), 6% lower than prior year and 19% lower than prior month. Ending client equity of $85.5 billion, 27% higher than prior year and 1% higher than prior month. Ending client margin loan balances of $19.4 billion, 14% higher than prior year and 8% higher than prior month. Ending client credit balances of $41.5 billion, 13% higher than prior year and 1% lower than prior month. 385 thousand client accounts, 16% higher than prior year and 1% higher than prior month. -- Hardly trouble in paradise.