Required Minimums


Balance

The following minimums are required to open an account(1):

Category Required Deposit
All Individuals not listed below, Trading Group Masters, and Broker Masters USD 10,000 (or non-USD equivalent)
Indian residents(2) trading with an IB India account INR deposits only, equal or greater of USD 2,000
Indian residents(2) trading with an IBLLC-US account USD 5,000 (or non-USD equivalent)
IRAs(3) USD 5,000 (or non-USD equivalent)
Individuals age 21 or younger USD 3,000 (or non-USD equivalent)
Advisor and Broker Clients USD 5,000 (or non-USD equivalent)
Notes:
  • To Trade a margin account you must maintain at least USD 2,000 or non-USD equivalent. For details on margin requirements, see the Margin page.
  • Pattern Day Traders have higher minimum requirements, which are defined in the Day Trading section of margin requirements.


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  • 1Accounts that show no balance for 45 days will be closed. To reactivate an account that has been closed for having no balance, a new account deposit of USD 10,000 or non-USD equivalent is required.
  • 2Indian resident is an individual who resides in India for more than 182 days per year.
  • 3Because of contribution limits, IRA accounts will only be required to deposit USD 5,000 in order to open a new account. In addition, US Regulators require USD 25,000 (or non-USD equivalent) to Day Trade stocks and options.
Monthly Activity

As IB caters to active professional traders and investors, we require that each account generate a minimum of commissions per month. Accounts generating commissions less than the minimum as stated below in any given month will be assessed the difference as a monthly activity fee. Please note that the monthly activity fee is based on commissions only, and does not include fees related to third-party assessments such as market data subscriptions or order modification/cancellation fees.

In addition to monthly fee minimums, we pass through market data fees from the exchanges for any real-time market data service in which a customer subscribes. Customers choosing to subscribe to US non-professional real-time market data will have the USD 10 (or non-USD equivalent) monthly market data subscription fee waived if they spend USD 30 (or USD equivalent) or more in commission for the month.

Customer Type Activity Fee Minimum
All customers not listed below USD 10(1) (or non-USD equivalent)
Indian residents(2) trading with an IB India account USD 5(3) (or non-USD equivalent)
Age 25 or under USD 3 (or non-USD equivalent)  
Customer with equity balances < USD 2,000
(or USD equivalent) 		USD 20 (or non-USD equivalent)

Notes:
  • For the purpose of computing minimums for Advisors, Institutions, and Brokers, fees are considered on a consolidated basis. The number of accounts under an Advisor, Institution, and Broker structure are multiplied by the USD 10 minimum, and compared to the total commissions for all accounts. If the total commissions are greater than the minimum calculation, no activity minimum fee will be applied. If the total commissions are less than the minimum calculation, the minimum fee calculation will be applied to each individual account.

    As an example, I have one advisor master account and four client accounts. My minimum is five times USD 10, or USD 50. If all five accounts on a consolidated basis had commissions of USD 60, no minimum would be charged. If the consolidated commissions for all five accounts were USD 40, the USD 10/USD 20 minimum described in the Activity Fee Minimum column would be applied to each account (including advisor and master accounts).


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  • 1Waived for the first 3 full calendar months.
  • 2Indian resident is an individual who resides in India for more than 182 days per year.
  • 3Waived for the first 3 months.

Connection Minimums

Customers requiring any of the below connections are subject to the following connection minimums:

Connection Type TWS API CTCI
VPN $150 per month minimum $150 per month minimum $150 per month minimum + $700 one-time setup fee
Internet (Gateway Client for CTCI) $10 per month minimum
($3 for age 25 and under) 		$10 per month minimum
($3 for age 25 and under) 		$100 per month minimum + $500 one-time setup fee
Extranet (Radianz, TNS, Savvis) $500 per month minimum $500 per month minimum $1500 per month minimum for first line; $1000 per month minimum for any subsequent line(s)
Dedicated Leased Line
(Verizon, AT&T, etc) 		$500 per month minimum $500 per month minimum $1500 per month minimum for first line; $1000 per month minimum for any subsequent line(s)

Notes:
  • Minimum fees may also be satisfied in a non-USD equivalent.

See the API Solutions Comparison for more details.

Introducing Brokers Commission

A commission minimum of USD 2,000 (or non-USD equivalent) per month will be applied. In addition, a USD 10,000 (or non-USD equivalent) up front deposit will be required that will be applied against commissions during the first five months of business. The USD 2,000 (or non-USD equivalent) monthly minimum will be waived during this period.