Does IBKR offer trading on Forex products other than futures?
Background:
Yes, IBKR does offer trading on multiple Forex products. The most heavily traded market is Forex cash, which is commonly known as the Spot Market. This is an unregulated, decentralized market that does not have an exchange or standardized contracts. It is a system of banks and interbank dealers that offer prices (liquidity) for various institutions and individuals to access and trade. IBKR has access to numerous liquidity providers, including several of the largest in the world, through our IdealPro trading platform. Since there are no standardized contracts in the Forex cash market, traders can place orders for various cash amounts, provided they use only whole numbers. The minimum order size to access the Ideal Pro system is USD 25,000 or the equivalent in other currencies.
IBKR also offers trading in Forex futures and options as well as a number of currency related products listed on the US securities option markets.
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.
What does the Cash FX Translation Gain/Loss line on my Daily Activity Statement represent and how is it calculated?
Overview:
In order to provide a comprehensive snapshot of your account equity for statement generation purposes, any long or short cash balance in your account which is denominated in a currency other than that which you have designated as your Base Currency must be converted at the then prevailing exchange rate. As exchange rates tend to vary from one period to another, this conversion process is likely to result in a Cash FX Translation balance that is either positive (i.e., a gain) or negative (i.e., a loss). It should be noted that these gains or losses represent a mark to market calculation (i.e., as if all non-Base Currency balances had been closed out at the end of day exchange rate) and the actual gain or loss, if any, cannot be determined until such time the non-Base Currency balance has been closed.
The Cash FX Translation Gain/Loss for any given non-Base Currency is determined by first calculating the difference between the Base Currency exchange rates as of the current and prior daily statement periods (exchange rateC – exchange rateP , where rates are made available in the Base Currency Exchange Rate section of each statement;). This difference, positive or negative, is then multiplied by the Starting Cash balance for the current statement period to determine the Cash FX Translation gain (if positive) or loss (if negative). As all other non-Base Currency details (e.g., net trade sales and purchases, commissions, interest, etc.) are booked as of the end of day for currency translation purposes, they have, by definition, no translation gain or loss.
Glossary terms:
Why does the Cash Report section of my statement reflect a reduction in cash despite no trade activity or withdrawals?
Overview:
The Cash Report section details how each period's cash balance changes from beginning to end. If your account holds a long or short balance in a non-base currency, such balances will be translated (but not converted) into your base currency for statement reporting and account equity aggregation purposes. The rates at which these non-base balances have been converted are detailed in the Exchange Rates section located towards the bottom of your Daily Activity Statement. All other things being equal, any change in an exchange rate from one statement period to another will result in either an increase or decrease in your ending cash balance with the net change across all non-Base currencies being reflected in the Cash FX Translation Gain/Loss line. This does not reflect a realized gain or loss on these open currency positions but rather a mark-to-market calculation across statement periods.
Glossary terms:
