This was posted 3 years 5 months 16 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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$0/Month Account Keeping Fee for All Accounts (Was US$10/Month) @ Interactive Brokers

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Don't forget to sign up via referral link as well and get up to $1000 USD in free IBKR stock for depositing up to $100k USD in the first year (pro-rata). Use the link below to get a referral link from the ozbargain pool.

edit: referral is pro-rata. If you deposit a total of $10k aud within the next year, then you will get $100 aud of free stock etc.

This is a great deal that offers more value for IBKR which is already highly competitive.

Referral Links

Referral: random (213)

Referrer gets $200. Referee gets $1 worth of IKBR share (capped at $1,000) for every $100 deposited.

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Interactive Brokers Australia
Interactive Brokers Australia

closed Comments

  • +1

    Does this apply to existing accounts?

    • Yeah. I received the notice in my account this morning.

  • I wasn't being charged the fee anyhow.

    What was the threshold of activity & holdings to avoid the monthly fee?

    • enough commission to cover the fee

    • The fee didn't used to be charged for the first 3 months for new account holders or if balance is > $100k usd. Or if you generate $10 usd of trading in a month, you won't pay the account fee (just pay the brokerage fees).

  • still not as good as CS how does it compare tho? whats the free like vs 0 fees? i like their after hours/extended hours market access.

    • +1

      Credit Suisse? Never heard of them being a broker. Got any further info?

    • Schwab is a better user experience but it will cost you in more forex charges.

      Also IBKR is nice with their margin rate for Australians (up to $25k).

      • +1

        Schwab is a better user experience but it will cost you in more forex charges.

        only if you pay Schwab directly.

        • How do you get free forex then?

          • +3

            @watwatwat: Two ways,
            Both I use an IB account to do it ;)
            Buy US shares at IB and transfer them to Schwab
            or convert AUD to USD @ IB, then transfer the USD to Transferwise , and then from Transferwise to Schwab.

            It's worth the hassle as the FX fees can really sting. Sometimes IB will let you send to Schwab directly, but after one transfer they block it as they don't consider it a proper bank account.

  • $1 activity fee per month if i read it correctly

    • Edited
      Not sure about the differences

      Broker Client Accounts
      Monthly Activity Fee = USD 0
      USD 1 activity fee will be applied to accounts having a Net Liquidation Value of less than USD 1000.

      Client Accounts
      Monthly Activity Fee = USD 0.00

  • +5

    Is there a TL;DR for what im about to sign up to?

    • +1

      Global stock trading platform.

  • +1

    How much is brokerage fee?

    • Varies by country. Amongst the lowest in the market, overall.

  • +1

    Wow - excellent! This makes it a great choice for trading non-ASX shares due to its minimal forex fees and low commissions.

  • +1

    Nice one. One of the best platform if you want all in one that can trade on multiple countries.
    Don't forget to use the random referral pool if you're creating new account

  • I have recently opened a CS account and was about to start using it this Aus fin year (have not as yet transferred cash in) but wondering if this is better and if there is a comparison between the two ?

    • +17

      'it depends'
      You need to do some research and figure out what you want and what is important to you.
      Small account and want to trade fractional shares = IB wins (CS doesn't offer this to Aussies)
      Afraid of a broker going bust in the future and want your US shares protected? CS wins, IB doesn't give Aussies SIPC insurance.
      Want to trade all markets and not just US shares (or you want to trade US futures) = IB wins
      Want some extra hours of pre-market time, IB wins. CS comes online a bit later for pre-
      Want to not pay for any market data, CS wins. IB gives you delayed data until you pay up. You are charged on a monthly basis, not pro-rata, so if you signup to data on 25th of the month, you will pay full price for less than a week.
      CS is fee free, but IB isn't far behind if you know how to use orders that get a Rebate if that is important.
      Want to setup automated trading? IB wins
      Want to trade US penny stocks = BIG WIN FOR CS, huge rip off at IB.

      Or.. do what I do and use both.

      • +1

        Thanks for this very informative comment. Helped me a lot!

      • +1

        thanks for this! very helpful

      • +1

        Thank you for taking the time to type that up

        Access to multiple markets is appealing.

        I typically go long, not day trade.

        Would prefer to start with cash in the $10s of thousands rather then $100's of thousands.

        I think using both is the best :) I will start with CS

        • Another benefit for CS which I forgot to mention, is dividends can be automatically reinvested. Nice to be able to set and forget.

      • Great info. I would just add that you do get limited (adequate in my view) free market data per month. You can request for it in the buy/sell screen. Additional requests are also only a few cents.

        • +1

          Yeah, it does get a bit frustrating to constantly refresh live prices. Everyone has different needs - for me that isn't adequate at all. I subscribe to their data packages and consider it a cost of doing business.

      • Sorry to revive an old thread. When you say IB doesnt give Aussies SIPC insurance, what are you refering too? I don't really understand how SIPC works, but do they work differently for different country?

        I was checking the details and SIPC is being mentioned on their site; they are also listed on SIPC list of members. Just no mention about "Australia". https://www.interactivebrokers.com.au/en/index.php?f=46431

        • Customers used to be all on IB USA (IBKR) and everyone had SIPC insurance.
          Then they made an IB AU, IB Singapore, etc - and none of these offshoots have SIPC insurance. It's a gripe that many have expressed around the world about IB.
          Sure, you don't think you'll ever need it etc etc, but why won't they offer it? Schwab offers it so I have most of my long-term trades there and only use IB for short-term trades.

          https://www.interactivebrokers.com.au/en/index.php?f=6410&p=…
          vs
          https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=2334&p=acc

          IB AU 'may' be eligible for the NGF (National Guarantee Fund) compensation, but, this is only for ASX shares…

  • I need to deposit 100k to get the referral bonus?

    If I open an account and did't use it for awhile or inactive trades for months like if you aer only a long term investor. Will I get charged?

    • +1

      It is pro-rata so if you deposit $10k, you get $100 and so on and so forth.

    • +1

      Don't have to deposit that much, it works out as 1% but you have to maintain the balance. I tried to post how it works a while ago, not sure if it clears enough, as their referral is quite complicated: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/615719
      Also, if u only opened it long ago but never used it, likely they'd already close it (I got my first one closed after ~6 months of no activity long ago).

  • IB vs Superhero vs Stake ?

    • don't be completely lazy.
      what do you like about each?

      edit: the answer for me is obviously IB as the others are trash for what I want .. but if you have $1000 to invest, probably Stake ;)

      • i would argue that stake is probly better if you're looking to just buy and hold, as theres no trading fees and you can do direct usd deposits to avoid fx fees.

        • Unless u already have big amount USD laying around, you'd still lose something in conversion, isn't it? Whether it's Stake, Wise, or whoever convert it. IB conversion rate is pretty close to the better one.

          • @hanofee: exactly. So if you convert AUD to USD at IB no point then sending it to Stake.

          • @hanofee: hmm okay at the time, i sorta figured the IB trading fees and account keeping fees wouldve killed it for me. but maybe ill look into it again and reevaluate

    • +1

      Stake has quite a few hidden fees (even charge fixed fee for deposit last time?), as well as worse exchange rates. Yes, u can deposit in USD, but that requires another third party like using Wise, where with IB it's just BPay (I'd rate IB conversion rate to be close to Wise anyway). Haven't used superhero, so can't comment.

  • +2

    Time to trade options and lose all my capital

    • +1

      Options… It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

      • Hmmm decisions decisions…. I guess I'll take the best of times option, thanks.

  • Hello Everyone,
    Thanks in advance for reading this comment. I have been waiting for a conversation like this to start, I need some help to steer my learning in the right direction.
    I lost my job/contract a couple of months ago. I have some savings and other ways to put food on the table for the kids, so that is all fine.
    I want to get into trading/day trading in forex, commodities & ETFs etc. Just want to make about 100-200$ a day. I know that i have to be very firm on my rules ( take profits/take loss etc.). I have been investing in Spaceship and Raiz for the last couple of years and have build about 25k+ on those platforms that I am now ready to transfer to IBKR or something similar.
    Its just that i have not been able to get much information on day trading in my researches. I would really like to speak/consult to an actual trader to learn the basics.
    Can I please request any suggestions to learn the trade, online trainings, books, courses etc. Being in IT I am well aware of technology that might be needed to trade and also in project management, I believe myself to be well disciplined.
    Any suggestions/recommendations will be great. If you like, please PM me.
    I can really use some pointers in the right direction,

    Thanks in advance again.

    • +1

      I can share my personal experiences since I had similar ambitions earlier. There is no such thing. And I have done a fair bit of research. Worked in investment banking and currently work in data science. Have friends in hedge funds and leading banks.

      If you have enough capital, high-frequency trading can give you some pennies to the dollar. Couldn't find any other reliable trading mechanism. Pick any method and back test it as widely as you can. Then wait for a while for the markets to generate more, true, out of sample data, and then test again. I couldn't find any good strategies.

      Warren Buffett recently won a 10 year bet by picking index funds over the best hedge funds.

      I would suggest trying value investing.

      • Thank You Jalwa,

        Really appreciate your insight. For my learning, i first need to learn all the different options. You mentioned, index funds, hedge funds, where to learn about that? What would you recommend best way to learn what "value investing" is?
        I've heard that on some investing platforms there are live market analysis and then recommendations to invest using their tools etc. Also there is then you can follow someone who is doing successful trades and basically copy their trades to begin with while you are learning? Any idea/experience with that?

    • Try option Alpha and invested podcast.

      • Thanks Kobeduck,
        Thank you for the tips, will do.

    • Good to hear that you had cash buffer from investing. There are lots of things to consider before you jump right in. Firstly you are going from being an investor to becoming a trader. Investors think more long term and trade less. Traders think short term and trade much more. I’ve dabbled in both and due to my family and lifestyle prefer the former. But can see the attraction of the trading because “you can do it anywhere, anytime” cue photos of laptops on beaches. However you do need balls of steel. The outcomes are extremely binary.

      Assuming you have $50k, a return of investment of $100 per day is equal to $25k per annum, that’s 50% per annum. Not easy to do. So gearing is going to make it more magnified up or down. You feel like a god when you make thousands, but you feel the world is ending when you lose thousands.

      Secondly there is tax implications, when you previously buy and hold. No tax is paid until you sell. The raiz investment needs tax to be paid when you close your position. However trading means you need to pay tax on your $100. So you need even more return on investment to achieve your $100 post tax. Hence why fund managers find it hard to outperform the market, plus there fees too.

  • -5

    Nothing against OP.

    I’m gonna use the ‘morally objects’ excuse here because it is IB specifically.

    These guys were one of many committing fraud out in the open, boasting about their market manipulation (via preventing purchases and sales at critical moments) during the GameStop etc al saga.

    Here’s one such interview with the chairman. https://youtu.be/7RH4XKP55fM

    tl;dr scum company with terrible morals; illegal activity; will stop you investing using your own money if they feel like it.

    • I don't think it's a valid neg for this deal.

      terrible morals; illegal activity

      They prevented buys in Gamestop for 1-2 days 6 months ago alongside other brokers and you're still mad about it. Use a different broker if you don't like them.

      illegal activity

      Evidently it wasn't illegal.

    • Literally all the brokers did this not just IB. The only ones that didn't were not US regulated. It was restrictions by the SEC.

  • I am new to online share trading and have recently start investing small amount to have a feel and learn about it.
    I am currently using SelfWealth where paying flat $9.50 brokerage per transaction and no other account fees.
    So far I have invested around $10k, and usually my transaction are around $2k to $5k amount, not a big player.
    I may do 2 to 3 transactions each month or may not do any for 3 to 4 months.

    Not sure, if I should switch/open account with IB or even with CS where they charge $0 brokerage.

    • Schwab will cost more because you need to pay forex, unless you are trading a lot.

      But overall I think Schwab is a way nicer broker for newbies.

      • Schwab will cost more because you need to pay forex, unless you are trading a lot.

        Can't you transfer USD to them ? eg I have (for now, until Citi leaves Australia) a USD Citi account

        • You can definitely transfer USD to Schwab.

    • Yes, although waivers are available.

      • Waivers are available for some, but not all.. which is a shame.

    • The market data charges make it kind of expensive for smaller accounts. If you're exclusively trading US shares and options i would suggest Tastyworks instead for a smaller account.

      • I would recommend Schwab. They say they require 25k to open an account but it is not enforced.

  • Am I correct in understanding that if you want to transfer your stocks out of this broker platform to another one later on you pay an asset transfer fee minimum of $50?

  • Damn not for existing customer?

  • how do i deposit funds in to trade? do i do a TT to US based bank?

    • +1

      U can deposit in AUD via normal Bpay. Then IB will convert if u trade US stock (u can trade ASX too if u prefer)

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