Interactive Brokers Goes zero

These are good times for Interactive Brokers’ clients as the company announces new development. The giant broker has announced a new move to eliminate the monthly inactivity fee. The new changes have been taking effect from July 1, 2021.

This is probably the only time the broker is coming through for its clients in a big way, right? Wrong. Interactive brokers, for the longest time, have been known for their low costs with commissions from as low as $0 and wider product offering for their global clients.

Taking it Back

Interactive brokers have been around since 1977, when founder Thomas Peterffy started it as an online broker. This was decades before the popularization of personal computers.

The giant broker has grown from what seemed like a humble beginning to the market giant it is today. It is now conducting its broker and dealer operations in more than 135 markets worldwide.

Interactive Brokers clients can trade Forex, options, stocks, funds (mutual funds), fixed income securities; currently, they are reporting 2 million transactions every day with over 2100 employees, which makes them one of the most popular brokers on Wall Street.

The company headquarters reside just outside New York City at Greenwich, Connecticut while also having offices across North America and Asia as well!

The only other times IB’s made headlines was earlier this year when they had to file bankruptcy but returned triumphantly after acquiring rival Merrill Lynch together with its market share-leading positions on Wall Street trading floors across America: NYSE Euronext Board Room, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Interactive Brokers is a regulated broker that operates under the jurisdiction of major financial agencies. These include SEC, NYSE, FINRA, and FCA.

They scooped 7 awards this year alone; among them being The Barron’s Best Broker Award, StockBrokers annual review for best online brokers in America, and Benzinga’s award for top bonds brokerage firms.

The New Wave

The new move by Interactive Brokers will see it scrap off the monthly account inactivity fee. The broker has been charging clients $10 as a minimum balance to maintain their trading accounts.

In its official statement, Interactive Broker said the new changes will be reflected in the August 2021 client account statements. The broker also mentioned that the move to scrap the inactivity fee was so the broker can align with industry standards.

The official statement further adds that the move is also a reflection of their commitment to providing clients with affordable trading solutions.

If the latest interactive Brokers news is anything to go by, then the broker has been having the numbers in its favor.

From an influx of new clients to reporting higher Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs), of up to 10% more than the previous months, the broker has had a lot to smile about. This year only, 1.41 million client accounts have been created on the broker’s platform.

The ending client equity as of June, was $363.5 billion, recording a 79% increase from last year’s.

The broker also anticipates rolling out crypto trading soon as per the constant requests from crypto enthusiasts.