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Interactive Brokers Reviews

The platform is only for pro traders who need little help with getting set up. They keep transaction costs extremely low by cutting on things like customer service (which is non-existent, but I can live with that since I don't need handholding)

If besides Forex you also do stock scalping or set up iron condors and similar option strategies, they have the lowest possible fees you will find anywhere. They take only $1 per executed trade whereas all other brokers will take at least $7.99 or more.

Are there any negatives? Not for me personally, but I can see why some people would think so. First of all, they will not take poor third world citizens as clients. You need to have $10,000 minimum to start trading.

The software is probably not the easiest one to use for beginners, and as mentioned previously, there is little to no customer support available. The application process is fairly tedious;
You certainly can't just sign up here as you can on most other sites. You also have to electronically sign U.S. tax forms even if you are a foreign resident.

But if you are an experienced trader and have a stable bankroll, they are the best place to go to on the entire internet. For Forex, stocks and anything else. Not to mention, the cheapest.		Morgan12.11.18
This platform is suck bcoz they give u very very low leverage . i deposited sgd 3000 , lost 1 trade then bcoz sgd 2800 and try to trade gbp/jpy and other indices as well .. u know what ... the system say im out of margin !!! sgd 2.8k OUT OF MARGIN ??? they ask me to tranfer my money to other currency and it"s very complicated ! i feel very bad about their leverage and their system ! IT"S SUCK !!ken13.09.18
Interactive brokers are good for stock trading, but when you start trading forex, you understand that you have a liitle chances to earn here. It seems that you deal with bucket shop then with ECN broker. If you don't know what broker to choose, add me in skype - vovkfx, i will help you to select the best broker for you!Andrew25.07.18
Interactive Brokers is a nightmare when dealing with wire transfers that went belly up.

Their compliance dep, is not reachable and they respond whenever they wish to: leaving you in the dark.

When you believe there is a resolution, interactive brokers customer agent, says they will not progress with the issue and provide us with a reference to deal ourselves with the correspondent banks.

The correspondent banks do not provide us with information since the funds originated from IB.
Its a deat spiral which you need to contact again IB for info and wait the compliance dep goodwill!!!!

Very disturbing customer service!!!!!		Robert21.07.18
These guys are the worse when you need any level of support. try to close your account and the message function shuts down , no explanation no way to learn if these clowns have sent or plan to send your money.. If they wont talk to you when you want your funds returned, run from them .
If they don't want smaller accounts ,50k, and us with only 5 years experience, just say so up front ,instead of advertising based on cheap commission rates. what do they expect.. at the end of the day they prove why some business gets taged as pigs..they earned it.		Alex M18.04.18
SCAMAbsolute train wreck in customer service and integrity. Good luck closing an account and getting your money out without getting bent over on fees.Truman675403.01.18
As a CTA I have no problem running most of my client accounts and my own futures accounts through interactive brokers. This is mainly because they have never put a foot wrong regarding funding issues or execution. Their front end is very easy to use for setting up new accounts. It certainly is a broker for professionals, so I can understand the frustrations of smaller traders who encounter problems with them. If a trader ever gets a margin call then your risk is too high. It is shocking how many posts there are on the net of people having issues with how their broker treated them regarding a margin call. This is an event that simply should never happen if you are to suvive in the markets. Thats my two pennies worth. Good trading everyone.Francis Everington12.12.17
I have had an account for close to a year with IB. For ForEx they provide the tightest spread I've found, with .5 pip on EUR/USD plus $5 roundturn commission.
Their platform is complicated and too customizable to be suitable to first time users. It's taking me ages to master it and I have only customized the few areas I'm interested in.
Charting is hopeless. Usually I watch the market on MT4 and have a Depth of Market BookTrader from IB for execution. This works best for me. You can open a demo account and get quotes on MT4 so you can run your studies etc. and execute at .5 pips from IB.
Also, the BookTrader from IB has a close position button and a reverse position button, so you can trade forex like it's a future contract.
Customer service has always been very cooperative with me. I don't recognize any of the situations described by others here.
Finally, I think IdealPro from IB is a true ECN model for ForEx. I've never seen this shop run my stops. I usually check the action on different platforms if I have a stop near the market to make sure my shop is not doing something funny and it hasn't happened.
I always wanted to say something about what I believe is one of the best kept secrets in ForEx: IB.
Also and finally, you can buy futures, options, stocks or trade ForEx with the same account. It's perhaps too complex for most traders and they hardly advertise their ForEx presence. I discovered it by chance after I had opened the account with them.

Quitehi07.12.17
probably one of the best broker for fx out there, it's to bad the minimum deposit
is 10.000 us dollars! and cr*p leverage 50:1,
I guess they don't wan't small traders.
or if they wan't any traders at all?
they sure don't act like it,
they are probably to stupid to realise how much they loose on that.		Billy06.10.17
NICE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION... BUT EXTREMELY COMPLICATED FX PLATFORM... AND CLOSED THE SPOT IF YOU ARE NOT PREMIUM CLIENT.

CLIENTS AND INVESTORS.. YOU NEED 24/7 CONTROL PLATFORM FOR YOUR RISK MANAGEMENT.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND INTERACTIVE BROKER FOR FOREX.		MICHAEL ALCOCER21.08.17
It hard to believe any comments here. Yes IB is a big company and is some times impersonal. But I have been with them for 4 years. If you think they have scammed you, you are not a trader...Blue Point12.05.17
I'm in a two-week (and growing) battle to get my money released from IB after canceling my account. The account has been officially closed, but my attempts to get an ACH transfer or check issued are not getting any action. Their service personnel seem to fire off canned instructions that are based on the nature of your request; they don't actually READ your specific request. When their canned instructions, which are often buggy, don't work, you are back to square one.

Their download-version trading platform is overly complex and their web-based app is overly simple. Their user docs are rarely up to date. Having said that, I did use their services for 7-8 years with only a few trade misfires. (When they do screw up a trade, however, they never admitted it or made me whole.) I'm glad to (almost) be done with them. 		mbt21514.02.17
I've been with IB for more than 10 years and I have traded stocks, options, futures and forex with them. They do charge a commission on forex trades, but the spreads are ultra tight interbank spreads and their commissions are some of the lowest in the business, on all of their products. They do give lower leverage in forex than many others, but requiring more than 50 to 1 leverage is not a factor in my trading (and probably shouldn't be in most others', I'm sure).

I give only 4 stars because: YES, I know their customer service can be questionable, which I know from years ago and from other traders, but this is because IB is not interested in having to walk people through the basics or answer newbie questions. They expect their customers to have at least some experience before opening with them... you know when most people open an account and lie on their ap that they have years of "extensive" experience in trading and a $1M + net worth, and then call them up to complain about normal slippage that cost them 50 bucks... this pisses IB off, as it prob should. I haven't had to contact their customer service in over 4 years anyway.		AW18.01.17
I've been trading stock and futures with IB for 7 years with little problems. 1 year doing forex with them and no problems so far. They do charge commission but tighter spreads. They're honest and dependableStephen26.12.16
SCAMInteractive Brokers is the Money Motel. Money checks in but it never checks out. Their cr*ppy software was unresponsive and would not let me close a position. So I called them on the telephone. No one answered no matter how long I tried. I lost a good bit of money so I decided to close my account. Interactive Brokers delayed my wire transfer withdrawal for 9 days for no reason. They S*CK!!!Angry In Ohio25.10.16
SCAMI\'ve experienced 2 suspicious activities with IB Canada.
First - IB\'s failure to execute stop loss orders during overnight trading on Aug 21-08. When I complained, 2 IB Canada representatives (Evan & Sylvain) acknowledged receipt of my stop loss request but suggested that it was my fault it didn\'t get executed because I was trading \"after hours\". I also pointed out that the stop was actually hit at 1:15am but the position was still open at 7:00 am... lots of time to execute even in a fast market. This cost me $475.
Second - Somehow two positions opened around 30 minutes after midnight on Sep 3-08 while I was in bed sleeping on vacation. When I returned from vacation on Sep 11-08 and opened TWS to do some trading I was alarmed to see these positions. I immediately closed both positions and contacted IB Canada. After being on hold for 20 minutes, Carlo checked the audit trail for these trades and acknowledged that there was something inconsistent, but refused to tell me what that was, instead he said he would call me back... which of course didn\'t happen. This mysterious trade cost me $2,020.
FYI - since Aug 21-08, I\'ve been performing a print screen of my account and portfolio page each day so that the date and time are visible and on Sep 2-08 there were no open positions or limit orders showing on the IB trading page.
I filed a complaint with CFTC Enforcement who responded by stating that IB Canada is not registered with the CFTC. They also suggested that I file a complaint with the National Futures Association (NFA) which I did but have not had any response from them as of this writing.
I have instructed IB Canada to close my account and transfer my remaining equity back into my bank account. I have been an IB Canada customer for over 2 years and can honestly say that I\'ve never experienced a service work so hard at not providing customer support or mitigation... good bye and good riddance !
Ingar19.09.16
SCAMThey have non existent customer service. Their people are angry and hostile and degrading. They will steal from your account and do not honor withdrawals or ACAT transfers. activetrader00709.07.16
Interactive Brokers' FX trading is one of the most straight forward fx trading for retail customers. Tight spreads and very low commission reduce overall trading costs thus increasing your chances of being profitable. All these negative reviews are from bucketshop competitors who do not want the retail customer to have a honest trading environment. Any firm that takes credit cards to fund your account should be avoided at all costs.

Only drawback is the customer service -not the most friendly out there. But not everyone needs their hand held

Overall, 5 stars.		Jim27.06.16
I was trading for while with IB this is definetly not good platform for futures only 1 point this is universal account you have every thing in 1 place , but execution and costumer service EMPTY spacedavid28.05.16
Their service is scam. Their CSR are very hostile and anti-productive.
Any problem you have will require lots of phone calls and many days before you are lucky enough to get a solution.		Ken16.05.16
SCAMInteractive Brokers are crooks, they will slip you 80-100 points on a trade, if you appeal they turn round and admit the fault, but tell you the claim cannot be processed as they basically did not get back to you in time.
Scammer for sure, never ever trade forex with them.		Mike H13.05.16
Traded with IB for over a year. Unlike other brokers, you have no idea if your account is up or down. Just made $500 over past two weeks - it's not reflected in the Net Liquidation Value or account total. Earnings remain in traded currencies until you close them out for another fee. If you leave a limit close order, and it takes it, your profit is at the whim of the market on that profit currency until you close it, which can take up to 2 days. Frankly, I sense very little correlation between the profit and losses generated, and the account total.FXTrader07.05.16
I have been trading with IB for over a year and they can't be beat for speed of execution and low commissions. For forex, however, they provide only 50:1 leverage and their platform is lacking key indicators for Forex, in my opinion. Great place for long-term investments and options. Go elsewhere for Forex and futures.Swingtrader11.04.16
Wow. IB is most definitely not a scam. They are one of the best brokers on the market for almost any product. Everyone knows their customer service isn't perfect. But everyone uses them.

I still remember a couple of years ago when I had a 100 pip slippage because of a mistake I made. I called customer service, and requested that the trade be busted.... 15 minutes later it was, with almost no questions asked.

Check out a more reputable board like 'elitetrader' for better info.		Jon Benito08.02.16
SCAMEverytime I load their platform, the logo gives me a lewd gesture. What is up with that?! Not only that, I was slipped 10,000 pips! Scam!Fritzpro230106.02.16


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