I applied over a month ago for a margin account and never heard back. No e-mail regarding whether I was approved or even denied. I called in and the gentleman on the phone (distinct asian austrailian accent) told me my networth was 4,000 (!!!) That was wrong and I never claimed such an amount. It is definitely north of 7 figures. I e-mailed in bank statements to back my financial claims and he said it should take 1-2 business days to be approved. A week later I decided to follow up, because once again there was no follow up... Again, I was denied saying I did not meet the financial requirements. I cannot believe with over 7 figures IB will not approve a margin application. I have several accounts with other brokers open. I do not know their requirements as they are not disclosed, but I have much less than 7 figures deposited. I have now completed a quiz for review on the website to show I am knowledgeable about futures. Again, no follow up. What gives?! I cannot get approved for over a month with multiple attempts. This must be the worst and most unprofessional broker I have ever dealt with. The interaction I had with the support agent over the phone was absolutely toxic. He had a voice of doubt about my networth and made disparaging remarks like "If you really had that much money". He fumbled the steps to do over the phone and put the blame on ME with an angry tone to the point it distorted his voice. My wife and I looked at each other and chuckled at his childish reaction. I can't imagine if these are the people that represent the level of professionalism at IB how much safer is your money? Or more so, why do they deserve your business?...
Hi VV Capital - You can reach out to me to see if we can be a better fit. My email and phone number are below.
A few things...Hopefully some will make sense. If you only have $4,000. in an account there, that is all they can see (or want to see). You can move your net worth anywhere and everywhere!! Money talks!! Open an account with them ($100,000.) and see what they say... If your assets are nonliquid, it doesn't matter...Liquid is a key word! If the nonliquid assets get tied up in the courts, what good does that do IB?? Let's see a business relationship with them...That matters. Most people lie about their years of experience in option trading...To get to a higher level. If you are trying to do margin...Forget it. Not happening...Like with most other brokers, show us the money or the stocks/bonds you deposit with our firm. IB (and everyone else) wants your business. I believe the $4,000. is verifiable...The rest (a company, crypto, trust) can not be totally secure. Example again...They DO NOT want to be in the courts, trying to deal with someone who has a margin call and has their property inaccessible.
All of what you said sounds reasonable. I deposited 50,000 with them. So, I obviously had more than 4,000..... As I said, when I applied I did attach my broker statement from my previous broker that showed the balance of over 1 million on the header. I also included my savings accounts' statements. I backed all my claims. To be fair, I was just approved today. Given all the expectations of a broker their behavior is still unexcused. In face of their conduct I still responded calmly. I was going to try the broker before depositing more.. Not a good first impression. To be honest, I probably will not deposit more. I can see why other brokers have risen up over IB over the years.
shoot them 50k and see what they would say. anyway, i thought the margin account is by default regardless.
Hi Robert, Does Lightspeed pay monthly interest on a client account similar to IBKR ? Does a client have to have a minimum account balance to receive this interest ? What percentage does LSpeed pay and what day of the month is it paid ? thanks... Edgey..
No, but you can buy a T-bill or MM Fund to get a better return on CASH. It is under 50 bps but changes often. Institutional accounts can request something based on Fed Funds.
Lightspeed is not a self clearing bank/broker. Our added value is not high interest bearing accounts. Our focus is on trading and customer service.
Morse. You're am excellent representative of Lightspeed. Straight forward, clear, honest, and helpful. Best wishes to you and Lightspeed.