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Interactive Brokers (IBKR) boasts a minimum of 2.1 million clients. Millions consider it their favourite trading platform and for good reasons. For starters, this service provider offers thousands of popular financial instruments, including currency pairs, indices, and real stocks. Moreover, it embraces both traders and investors.
We spent considerable time researching the Interactive Brokers UK broker. Afterwards, our team used live accounts to test the trading platforms offered by this service provider. IBKR didn’t disappoint, and we highly recommend it to traders and investors in the UK. We’ve discussed what we found out after conducting extensive evaluations and tests in this Interactive Brokers review UK.
In This Guide
Our Opinion about Interactive Brokers
Our team identified numerous upsides of trading with Interactive Brokers while researching and testing this platform. But we also discovered that, like other service providers, IBKR has a few shortcomings. The platform’s upsides outweigh its drawbacks, so trading with it should be beneficial. But before you make that decision, here’s an overview of IBKR’s mention-worthy pros and cons:
Interactive Brokers
✔No minimum deposit requirement
✔Zero inactivity fees for individual trading accounts
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Licensed and regulated by multiple respected authorities, including the FCA
- Offers tens of thousands of financial instruments and assets
- No minimum deposit requirement
- Tight spreads and commissions starting from 0.1 pips for FX pairs and 0.015% for stocks and ETFs
- Zero inactivity fees for individual trading accounts
- Supports free trial for all available trading platforms
Cons
- No third-party software like MetaTrader
- Limited educational resources
- Higher withdrawal fees than its peers
Security & Regulations
Interactive Brokers’ security and legitimacy is unquestionable. In the UK, this service provider is authorised by the FCA, Register Entry Number 208159. It’s also licensed and regulated in many other jurisdictions, including Canada, Australia, and Asia, by IIROC, the AFSL, and the HKSFC, respectively. It’s also authorised and supervised by the CBI in Ireland and MAS in Singapore.
Since it’s multiregulated, Interactive Brokers must adhere to numerous rules and mandates for protecting client funds and data. For instance, this service provider has to segregate client funds in separate accounts, where they can’t mix with company resources or be misappropriated.
If you’re worried about losing your funds to bankruptcy or insolvency issues, take it easy. Interactive Brokers carries an SIPC policy for protecting client funds and securities. If this company goes belly up today, you, an account holder, will be liable for compensation of up to £500,000.
Interactive Brokers also employs numerous measures for enhancing the safety of client accounts. For starters, it allows traders to optimise security with two-factor authentication. Moreover, the broker has an automatic log-off feature programmed to log you out after extended inactivity and restricts account access after 10 successive failed login attempts.
We can’t fail to mention that Interactive Brokers uses advanced encryption technologies TLS 128-bit to ensure that every communication between your device and the company’s servers is secure and confidential. Furthermore, the platform uses state-of-the-art monitoring systems and an advanced security team to detect and mitigate suspicious activities before escalation.
Platforms
The Interactive Brokers online page is one of the simplest we’ve encountered, but that doesn’t mean it’s bland. The platform is professionally designed but simplified for easy navigation. We easily found everything we needed to know to prepare this Interactive Brokers review UK edition, from the available tradable instruments to pricing information.
That said, while evaluating this platform, we realised it offers diverse trading software and platforms, including:
- IBKR Trader Workstation (TWS): If you are a seasoned and active trader who needs a power-packed, flexible platform, go with TWS. With this solution, you can trade different instruments, from FX pairs and bonds to futures and options, from a single platform. TWS enables users to access real-time market data and news, which is indispensable in informed decision-making. It’s also equipped with exceptional risk management technologies like Option Analytics and the Risk Navigator. This platform is exclusively for intermediate and advanced traders.
- IBKR Desktop: If you prefer trading with a PC, go with IBKR Desktop. This platform has most of the functionalities in TWS and comes with numerous unique features like Screeners with MultiSort. Other features included here range from Multi-chart mode, which offers advanced charts, to watchlists with customisable columns. We love the IBKR TWS platform because, despite packing a punch, it’s intuitive and beginner-friendly.
- IBKR Mobile: This is another IBKR platform tailored primarily for intermediate and advanced traders. It’s a dedicated app with everything you need to trade on the go and manage your positions anywhere, any time. IBKR Mobile is equipped with numerous exceptional features, including IBKR’s trademark option spreads grid and mobile check deposit support.
Fees & Commissions for UK Traders
Numerous factors, including the £0 Interactive Brokers minimum deposit UK requirement, made our exploration easier and more enjoyable. This trading platform allows users to trade and invest with whatever they can afford, making it ideal even for traders and investors working with a restricted budget.
We were also wowed by the friendly Interactive Brokers fees UK policies. For starters, this company offers free deposits to people who use supported payment methods, including bank transfers. Only people who use physical currency deposits are subjected to a 1% special handling fee. Moreover, this service provider has zero inactivity fees and commissions as low as £0.0005 for stocks and ETFs.
Product Offerings
Interactive Brokers offers products from over 150 global markets, including 100+ FX pairs and 8,500+ share CFDs. All you have to do is pick a security to trade or invest in. Let’s explore some of the product offerings on this platform:
- Forex: IBKR allows you to spot trade different currencies, from GBP and USD to EUR, CAD, and AUD, with spreads starting from 0.1 pips.
- Options: This broker allows users to trade options and leverage the power of numerous tools, including OptionTrader and Probability Lab.
- Bonds: With IBKR, you can access over a million global corporate and municipal bonds. This platform also allows you to invest in treasury bills and notes.
- Stocks: Interactive Brokers offers a wide variety of stocks from popular companies like Amazon, Google, and Tesla. You can trade any of the available instruments in the UK and enjoy commissions as low as 0.015%.
- Futures: As a Briton, you can use your Interactive Brokers account to futures from different asset classes, including agriculture, energy, and crypto. You can also access numerous powerful futures trading tools, including SpreadTrader and ComboTrader.
- Mutual Funds: Interactive Brokers offers over 48,0000 mutual funds, and 19,000+ come with zero transaction fees. Popular options include Invesco, Vanguard, and Schroders.
- ETFs: Low-commission ETFs are available on the Interactive Brokers trading platform. You can start trading popular ETFs on IBKR and enjoy commissions starting from £0.0005 with an IBKR Pro account.
- Spot Gold: You can use Interactive Brokers to trade US Spot Gold with other assets from a single platform. Additionally, this broker allows clients to convert their positions into physical products like gold bullion bars.
IBKR Support Service
Do you have any questions or concerns? Browse Interactive Brokers’ FAQ section. Countless common queries have been covered here, from the fundamentals of opening a new account to calculating profits and losses.
You can also contact IBKR’s customer support team via phone and live chat. These channels are the best for urgent issues that demand immediate attention. On the other hand, email is the best channel to use if you have a non-urgent concern or challenge that requires detailed answers.
How to Sign up For an Account at IBKR
If registering a new account sounds challenging and arduous, we are here to assuage your fears. While setting up our IBKR account, we encountered no mention-worthy challenges. We just filled out the application form and submitted the necessary documents. If you’d like to do the same, follow these steps:
Step 1: Visit IBKR’s official website
Step 2: Register
Step 3: Provide verification documents
Step 4: Deposit money
Step 5: Trade
You can’t assess IBKR without visiting the official site. So, visit it and look around. Also, read the broker’s terms and policies. Once you’ve ascertained that this is a fitting service provider, click “Open Account.” You can also download the IBKR Mobile app and sign up through it.
Interactive Brokers asks every new applicant to provide personal details like full name, residential address, and employer’s contact info. You must provide accurate information to get approved. Also, for enhanced security, set a robust, unique password guaranteed to keep malicious actors from accessing your account.
To verify your identity and location, IBKR will need documents bearing your official name and DOB. For instance, you can provide a copy of your national ID and current lease. Your documents must be valid, clear, and uneditable.
Give the IBKR team to review and approve your application. Then, use a supported payment method like bank transfer to fund your account. IBKR has no minimum deposit, so you can start small if you’re working with a limited budget.
Since transactions are almost instant on IBKR, expect your deposit to go through quickly. Then, choose your preferred financial instrument and start trading. Use position sizing and tools like stop-loss to mitigate losses and maximise returns.
Conclusion
Our Interactive Brokers UK review has introduced fundamental elements you should know, including the broker’s product offerings and trading platforms. Now, it is up to you to decide if trading with this company is in your best interests. While making this decision, factor in your trading goals and objectives. Also, review user feedback on Google Play, the App Store, and Trustpilot; we did the same before preparing this piece.
InvestingGuide Rating:
✔No minimum deposit requirement
✔Zero inactivity fees for individual trading accounts
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Risk Warning
Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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