Interactive Brokers Reviews

The other comments about customer service (customer what?!?) are spot on. The software is very limited. You need to write your own custom features in either Java or C++. On the other hand, they pay interest on accounts of size and commissions are very competitive. The dangerous knock is that the IB data feed misses/fails to report/ignores a large fraction of the trades. This means tick volume (you have to write your own routine for tick volume) is off, actual volume is off, and, of course, you're never sure whether the unreported trades would matter to your trading.

Interactive Brokers (IB) is ALMOST the Wal*Mart of Securities trading (one-stop shopping), with stocks, commodities, options, forex, including crude futures. However, they DON'T OFFER CRUDE OPTIONS, the lack of which transforms futures trading from a calculated risk into an unmitigated gamble. And, since I'm not playing horseshoes nor throwing hand grenades, I need to find another broker. John Sutton jssutton@cox.net

I love the buttontrader plugin. Fast execution and the commissions are very competitive. I highly recommend these guys for semi-pro traders.

I ran multiple accounts at IB after hearing big talk from a buddy how great it is. I find out setting up manager-client accounts are a pain without any guidance. Had to do paperwork twice. The interface is awful and I lost serious money when orders would stick on the platform and not execute or execute well after it hit my past target price. I brought this up to their rep. They give me excuses with east coast "I don't give a $#@*" attitude. They act like they are doing you a favor. They have their own trading desk, that trade against your position. I used way more leverage than I should have without any guidance. I lost serious $$$. Charting, look elsewhere. Don't believe me? Call their customer service and ask questions. They act like you are stupid or bothering them. Way better brokers out there. I can name ActiveTraderPro from Fidelity or StreetSmartPro from Schwab for stocks. Now searching, testing brokers for futures, fx.

The "Professional Services" group that handles advisor customers is terrible. They are a bunch of email jockeys who continually try to email problems away rather to help you. Do not do business with these people. Beware and stay away.