Interactive Brokers is a US-based investment company that is widely known for its premium-quality online brokerage services. The broker works with millions of its clients from all around the world through more than 30 foreign offices, including branches in Canada, Russia, China, India, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. While all of these branches share the main company’s policies and basic conditions, there may still be minor distinctions in each particular case.
That means you have to invest quite some time into your own research on the fee structure and detailed trading conditions of a particular office you want to trade with — or you can just leave it to the experts. Our team Traders Union experts has delved deep into the trading terms of the Ireland branch of the broker. In this article, we’re going to provide you with a brief overview of their findings and underline the main distinctions for the company’s clients from Ireland.
About the broker
Interactive Brokers opened its first office in the United States back in 1977. The company has been steadily growing ever since, and now it spans across 33 countries and serves 135 different markets. The broker has about $10 billion in equity capital — and more than 2400 employees work to provide its clients with access to financial markets internationally. In 2020, the broker was given the title of the best online broker by Barron’s.
The scope of the company’s activities is matched by its versatility in terms of available trading and investment instruments. The users are allowed to trade and invest in stocks, options, ETFs, bonds, and currency pairs. And you don’t have to keep up separate accounts for separate assets: instead, you can conveniently hold them on one account. Interactive Brokers doesn’t have any minimum deposit, too — you can start buying assets with just $1.
Security and regulation
The broker is extremely reputable and very well-regulated. The main company and its offices are supervised by a multitude of international commissions and national regulators, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and many others. There’s also a deposit insurance program that allows you to retain your funds in case of some fraud.
In Ireland, the broker operates as Interactive Brokers Ireland ltd. The office is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) and is a member of the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme, a scheme that allows you to claim a loss up to a maximum of €20,000. While the sum is not that large, it still offers some solid security guarantees for your investments. The broker also stores the funds of its users on separate accounts to offer some additional protection.
Support and education
Interactive Brokers is known to have a responsive customer support service that operates 24/5, so most of the time you can receive an answer to just about any urgent question about trading or the broker’s conditions. That’s especially important since there are really many instruments to choose from. However, the company’s homepage doesn’t seem to provide too much advice, and even when it does, it’s only partially translated into languages other than English.
Another option to try when you’re looking for answers is the broker’s database of educational materials for traders. It covers an impressive range of topics, even if most of them are intended for newbies. There are webinars and short videos about the basics of investment, a glossary of the most frequently used concepts, a calendar of economic events, and so on. Most of the data is rather common, but you can always a use it as a reference.
Bottom line
Summing up, the Irish branch of Interactive Brokers shares the same trading conditions, assets, and fees. The experts could not find any hidden fees or additional commissions set for clients from Ireland. The office is reliable and secure, and its operations are regulated by the CBI — in addition to all the international regulators. That means we recommend the broker for every trader, and if you’re still unsure, you may try to open a demo account.
