Interactive Brokers Requirements

A couple of you had recommended getting started with Interactive Brokers as a student in college. I went to go create an account and it said you must have 1. $20,000+ in total assets 2. $20,000+ in liquid assets

I can satisfy the first requirement but i'm nowhere near the second. Did any of you get asked this question or did you just put down an accepted answer to get around it?

9 Comments
 

use think or swim...

They let you test the desktop software with paper money and they give the most for your money, in my oppinion.

For minimum of 3,500, you get what other discount brokers only provide with a minimum of 20k plus in an account...

 
Best Response

Not a big fan of IBKR - I use it for option trading since it's $1 a contract.

Not a big fan of Think or Swim...platform is expensive for options imo.
What do you want to trade first? Options, stocks, futures, forex? If you can give me a better idea on what you would like to do...I can steer you toward the best platform. As a matter of fact....I just thought of something. Go to Assent - get Series 7 licensed and your costs will be a buck a trade for options and then $1 per hundred shares. Platform is good...but you have to pay for the monthly platform...or you can call your orders into the desk.

2ndly - if you want to trade futures/forex...there are a ton of places - forex is free - they just take the spread and futures are about $2.75 in and $2.75 out.

ideatingYou can lie about the asset reqs - they don't check.

Surprisingly false. This is what I thought until they asked for proof. Luckily I just used my SA pay stub to show them I had the reqs.

Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 
Revsly
ideatingYou can lie about the asset reqs - they don't check.

Surprisingly false. This is what I thought until they asked for proof. Luckily I just used my SA pay stub to show them I had the reqs.

Perhaps it is on a case by case basis....they didn't check with me.

However I did ace (above 90%) the options trading quiz so perhaps they thought that I was knowledgeable enough about trading such that they didn't feel a need to check.

CLGCTrader....I just thought of something. Go to Assent - get Series 7 licensed and your costs will be a buck a trade for options and then $1 per hundred shares. Platform is good...but you have to pay for the monthly platform...or you can call your orders into the desk.

yea thats a brilliant idea...go bust your ass studying and find a firm to sponsor you for a series 7 license, and pay monthly all for recreational/practice trading!

youll be spending more money then you will be investing...

I would also reccomend ThinkorSwin...take a look at their platform and download it to your desktop...worst case is you dont like it and you delete it from your computer.

check out what they have to offer:

https://www.thinkorswim.com/tos/displayPage.tos?webpage=clientApplicati…

 

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Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock

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