Can an advisor client account trade for himself/herself?
Overview:
By default, client accounts do not have Trading Access and cannot sign into TWS or WebTrader. They are limited to Advisor Portal where they can view Statements and Trade Confirmations, as well as perform account administration tasks. However, there are occasionally requests by advisors that a client be given the ability to trade their own account.
Information:
There is a feature that allows the Advisor to give Trading Access to his Clients. This can be enabled by the Advisor in Advisor Portal in the Manage Clients section followed by Trading and Configuration. The Client would then need to subscribe to market data if they desire and would be able to trade only his/her own account.
Working orders would be accessible by either the client or the advisor.
How do I change the fees which I charge my clients?
Overview:
Advisor accounts have the ability to configure the fees which they assess to their clients.
Information:
The procedure for changing fees for a client account is as follows. You must log in to Advisor Portal and select Manage Clients -> Fees -> Configure. You will need to change the fees in this section online, but you still must have the client sign the fee change form and submit to us for processing.
Please see the Advisor Client Fees page for additional information, such as the available billing methods and the fee caps currently in place.
Can I upgrade my individual account to an advisor account?
Overview:
Clients often request that their individual accounts be converted to advisor accounts so they can take advantage of the advisor account structure.
Information:
Unfortunately, we cannot upgrade an Individual account to an Advisor Account. You must complete a new application, which can be accessed from our home page, by selecting Accounts -> New Accounts -> Advisor.
During the Advisor Account application, you will be given the opportunity to open a Trading Sub Account for yourself. If you do, and if you make sure that all aspects of this new Sub account (titles, tax IDs, trading permissions,e,mail addresses) match those of your existing individual account, you will be able to request a Positions and Funds move to your new account.
Please bear in mind:
- The Advisor Master account is only a shell account that is used to place trades on behalf of Advisor Client accounts.
- The Advisor Master account cannot hold positions.
- In order to trade, you must allocate trades to an Advisor Client account.
How do I move my current IBKR account underneath an advisor account?
Overview:
There are two possible methods which can be used to move an existing IBKR account underneath an advisor structure, dependent upon the situation of the account being linked.
Link Account to Advisor/Broker:
Interactive Brokers allows existing accounts to request their full account be 'linked' to a Friends Advisor, Non-Professional Advisor, a Professional Financial Advisor or a Fully Disclosed Introducing Broker. These linkages include all cash and positions and are available to accounts which are not currently Advisor or Broker clients. There are a number of checks which are performed which may prevent the linking of an account, such as, but not limited to, trading permission incompatibilities between the Advisor or Broker Master and the client account, commission schedule1 differences, etc.
To use this functionality, the user on the account requesting to be linked will need to log in to Client Portal and choose the User menu (head and shoulders icon in the top right corner) option followed by Account Settings. In the Configuration section click the gear icon next to the words "Create, Move, Link or Partition an Account". You will be presented with a variety of options, one of which is "Move my entire account to an account managed by an Advisor/Broker". Check this option and click Continue.
You will be prompted to enter the account ID and the title of the Advisor or Broker which you are attempting to link to. After submitting this information, users will be presented with any applicable agreements and will need to confirm the request.
Once confirmed, the advisor or broker will receive an email notifying them of the requested link. They will need to log into Advisor Portal to either accept or reject the request. IBKR will process accepted requests at approximately 3:00 p.m. every Friday.
1 Please note, accounts which are configured with an unbundled commission schedule will not be allowed to link to an Advisor or Broker account, unless the commission schedule is changed to bundled. In the Advisor and Broker account structures, commission schedules cannot be defined for client accounts. If not properly configured at the master level, changing your commission schedule to bundled may result in higher commission charges.
Transfer of Assets to Another IBKR Advisor Managed Account
For those clients which have an attached or additional account, in order to move under an Advisor, you must first open a new account directly under the Advisor, which duplicates the existing account. It is important to ensure that all aspects of the new account (account titles, tax IDs, trading permissions, etc.) match the existing account exactly. Client accounts can be created by the Advisor through Advisor Portal (click here for detail). Once the new account has been approved, clients will be able to log into Client Portal and select the Internal Transfer option as the Transfer Method in the Transfer Positions section of Transfer & Pay. Please keep in mind the following:
- The Advisor Master account is only a shell account that is used to place trades on behalf of Advisor Client accounts.
- The Advisor Master account cannot hold positions.
- In order to trade, you must allocate trades to an Advisor Client account.
Notes
- Transfers are processed on a daily basis, with the exception of US option expiration Friday.
- The new account should be allowed to close positions on the first day of transfer but will not be allowed to open positions as the new account will not have a previous day Equity With Loan value.
- The Cost Basis cannot be manipulated for Internal transfers, only for ACATs from outside sources.
Can I convert a long cash balance to a non-base currency or trade a position denominated in a non-base currency in my cash account?
Overview:
Yes, albeit, with certain limitations. IBKR provides cash accounts the ability to trade products denominated in a currency other than the designated base currency of the account as long as the account is classified as a multi-currency cash account (i.e., maintains Forex trading permissions). To trade a security denominated in a non-base currency, the account holder must either first deposit the appropriate currency into their account or perform a currency conversion via the IdealPro venue. Regardless of the method selected, one needs to ensure that a sufficient balance of the appropriate currency exists in order to cover the purchase price of the applicable security including commissions prior to submitting the order or it will be rejected. This implies that IdealPro currency conversions must settle prior to the converted funds being available for a subsequent transaction (e.g., if you are converting USD into EUR for the purpose of purchasing a EUR denominated stock, you would not be able to enter the stock order until the conversion trade had settled two business days later).
Individuals trading futures in a cash account should note that futures variation is settled in cash and any variation which serves to generate a cash deficit in any given currency type (i.e. variation exceeds available cash margin) will result in a forced position liquidation in an amount sufficient to eliminate the cash deficit.
Finally, note that cash accounts are restricted from holding a short balance in any non-base currency as this would constitute a margin loan. In addition, clients of IB India are not allowed to maintain a multi-currency cash account and may only maintain assets which are denominated in INR.
How do I change my mailing address?
To change your mailing address, you will first need to submit the request through Client Portal. Once logged in to Client Portal, go to the Settings section followed by Account Settings. Click the gear icon next to the user you wish to modify in the Profile section. If you just wish to change your mailing address, select "No" where it asks "is your mailing address the same as the one provided above?" Enter the new mailing address and click Continue at the bottom of the page.
Please note that your changes are subject to Compliance review prior to taking effect, and for security purposes you may also be required to provide documentation which verifies your new address.
How do I change my email address?
Overview:
To change your email address, you will first need to submit the request through Client Portal. From within Client Portal select Settings followed by User Settings and then click the gear icon next to Email Address in the Communication section. If you have access to your old email, we will send a secure confirmation number to your existing email address. You will then be prompted to enter the confirmation number and your new email. If you do not have access to your old email, you will be prompted to enter your current password along with your new email address. Click Submit to complete the request.
Glossary terms:
Links:
Are non-US residents subject to withholding for tax purposes?
Overview:
Information relating to tax obligations is reported as required to the tax authorities within your country of residence as well as other countries if trading products subject to any local withholding requirements. Unless specifically directed by a taxing authority, IBKR does not withhold taxes on proceeds from security sales. We are required by US tax law, for example, to withhold US taxes on dividends paid by US corporations to foreign persons at a rate of 30%. This rate may be lower if the US has entered into a tax treaty with your country. In addition, investment interest income is not subject to US withholding. All withholdings for non-US persons and most entities will be reported on Form 1042-S at the close of each year. For further information refer to IRS publication 901 and/or your tax advisor.
A/B SIGNATORY OVERVIEW
Overview:
The concept of multiple, or A/B, signatories is intended to provide multi-user institutional accounts with an internal fraud and error control typically employed by these institutions in other operational facets of their business. This control mechanism requires that multiple individuals provide confirmation of a given request prior to IBKR acting upon it. Control is accomplished through the three steps outlined below.:
Background:
- Defining those functions which require control via a multi-user authorization process.
- IBKR has defined two functions, the creation or modification of additional users and funds management as those which may be controlled via multi-user authorization.
- Specifying the number of account users necessary to provide adequate control.
- For a given function, up to 3 users, or Authorizers, may be specified as being required to provide approval prior to the processing of a request.
- The number of Authorizers specified logically cannot exceed the number of users associated with the account.
- For control purposes (i.e. do not want to allow a given user to circumvent the authorization process by unilaterally making changes), the number of Authorizers can never be decreased only increased.
- This process is managed through the Account Administration/Authorizations menu options within Account Management
- Delineating levels of authority for each Authorizer.
- One of 2 levels of authority, either ‘A’ – high or ‘B’ – low, must be specified for each Authorizer.
- For any function requiring control, a minimum number of ‘A’ Authorizers who are required to provide approval before a request can be processed must be specified
- The minimum number of ‘A’ Authorizers specified for a particular function cannot logically exceed the number of ‘A’ Authorizers set up for that function.
- When the required number of Authorizers that is required to provide approval exceeds the minimum number of ‘A’ Authorizers specified, either ‘A’ or ‘B’ Authorizers are eligible to provide the balance of approval.
- This process is managed through the Account Administration/User Access Rights menu options within Account Management
- The table below illustrates the authorization scenarios which are possible based upon the set-up criteria (# of Authorizers and minimum ‘A’ signatories required) established by the account holder.
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POSSIBLE A/B AUTHORIZATION SCENARIOS
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# of Authorizers
Specified
|
Minimum # of ‘A’
Signatories
Specified
|
# of ‘A’
Signatories Required to Authorize
|
# of ‘B’
Signatories Required to Authorize
|
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
|
2
|
1
|
1 or 2
|
1 if only 1 ‘A’ has signed, 0 if 2 ‘A’s have signed
|
|
3
|
1
|
1, 2 or 3
|
2 if only 1 ‘A’ has signed, 1 if only 2 ‘A’s have signed,0 if 3 ‘A’s have signed
|
|
3
|
2
|
2 or 3
|
1 if only 2 ‘A’s have signed, 0 if 3 ‘A’s have signed
|
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
