Overview of Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers, founded in the United States, offers a wide array of trading assets including stocks, ETFs, forex, bonds, options, and futures, providing traders with various opportunities across global markets.

However, risks have been raised about its legitimacy, with reports of the platform being identified as a suspicious clone. Traders are directly impacted by the platform's regulatory status, influencing oversight, transparency, and legal protections. Adherence to regulatory standards instills confidence among traders regarding the platform's reliability and security, while any suspicion or regulatory ambiguity may undermine trust and deter participation, emphasizing the importance of due diligence.

Is Interactive Brokers legit or a scam？

Interactive Brokers is identified as Suspicious Clone under various regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

However, the presence of “Suspicious Clone” designations in some regions suggests potential regulatory risks. Traders on the platform are directly impacted by the regulatory status, as it influences the level of oversight, transparency, and legal protections afforded to their investments.

Adherence to regulatory standards instills confidence among traders regarding the platform's reliability and security, while any suspicion or regulatory ambiguity may undermine trust and deter participation. Thus, traders are likely to favor jurisdictions where Interactive Brokers maintains clear and reputable regulatory standing, ensuring a safer trading environment.

What are Clone Brokers？

The prevalence of clone brokers is increasingly alarming, as deceptive entities exploit the names of reputable firms to lure unsuspecting clients into believing they are trading with regulated forex firms.

These fraudulent companies go to great lengths, even utilizing the license numbers of legitimate brokers, to deceive traders into opening accounts with them. Remaining vigilant is paramount to avoid falling prey to such scams. Additionally, these unscrupulous entities resort to aggressive tactics, akin to boiler room operations, pressuring clients into opening accounts or increasing their deposits.

It's crucial to heed the adage: if something sounds too good to be true, it likely is. Traders must exercise caution and conduct thorough research before engaging with any brokerage firm to safeguard their investments and financial security.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Wide range of tradable assets: Interactive Brokers offers an extensive selection of tradable assets, including stocks, ETFs, forex, bonds, options, and futures. This diversity provides traders with ample opportunities to diversify their portfolios and explore various investment strategies, catering to different risk appetites and objectives.

• Access to global markets: The platform grants users access to a broad range of global markets, enabling them to trade securities and currencies from around the world. This global reach allows traders to capitalize on international market trends, economic developments, and geopolitical events, enhancing their trading flexibility and potential for profit.

Cons:

• Identified as Suspicious Clone: Some users have reported instances where Interactive Brokers was identified as a suspicious clone, potentially raising risks about the platform's legitimacy and trustworthiness. Such allegations can undermine user confidence and deter participation in trading activities.

• Limited customer support options: Interactive Brokers may offer limited options for customer support, which can lead to delays in addressing user inquiries, resolving issues, or providing assistance when needed. This lack of robust support channels may frustrate users and hinder their overall trading experience.

• Potential for technical glitches: Like any online platform, Interactive Brokers is susceptible to technical glitches or system failures, which can disrupt trading activities, cause delays in order execution, or lead to inaccuracies in account information. These technical issues may impede users' ability to trade effectively and impact their overall experience on the platform.

• Risk of exposure to scams: Users may face the risk of exposure to scams or fraudulent activities associated with Interactive Brokers, such as clone brokers attempting to deceive traders. Falling victim to such schemes can result in financial losses and damage to one's reputation, highlighting the importance of vigilance and due diligence when engaging with the platform.

Market Instruments

Interactive Brokers offers a wide range of tradable financial instruments on its platform.

Traders can access a variety of assets including Stocks, ETFs, Forex, Funds, Bonds, Options, Futures, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies, Warrants, and Structured Products.

This extensive selection provides traders with opportunities to diversify their investment portfolios and pursue different trading strategies across global markets.

With access to such a broad array of instruments, traders have the flexibility to capitalize on market opportunities and manage risk effectively.

Deposit & Withdrawal

Interactive Brokers offers a variety of payment methods to fund your account:

• Bank wire transfer: This is the most common and preferred method. It's free for most currencies.

• ACH transfer: This is another electronic transfer option available for US accounts. It's also free.

• Check: You can mail a check to Interactive Brokers. However, there may be processing fees and delays associated with this method.

• Wire transfer from another brokerage: You can transfer funds from another brokerage account to your Interactive Brokers account. This may be subject to fees from both brokers.

• Bill pay: This option is available for US accounts only. It allows you to pay your Interactive Brokers account from your bank's online bill pay service.

• Third-party deposits: Interactive Brokers generally discourages and rejects third-party deposits due to potential fraud and money laundering risks.

There is no minimum deposit required to open an Interactive Brokers account. This makes it a good option for beginners who want to start with a small amount of money.

Customer Support

Interactive Brokers provides the following contact information for customer support:

1. Twitter: @IBKR

2. Facebook: Interactive Brokers

3. Instagram: Interactive Brokers

4. YouTube: Interactive Brokers

5. LinkedIn: Interactive Brokers

These social media platforms serve as channels for reaching out to Interactive Brokers for support and assistance. However, Interactive Brokers' customer support lacks efficiency and responsiveness. Traders often encounter significant delays in receiving assistance, with support tickets remaining unresolved for extended periods. Communication channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn are available, but their effectiveness in addressing customer risks is questionable.

Exposure

Users have reported a single instance of exposure related to a pyramid scheme complaint, which unveiled a potential scam on the Interactive Brokers platform.

The complaint alleges that the platform induced clients to participate in activities, promising withdrawal options upon event completion. However, upon attempting to withdraw profits, users encountered obstacles, including unexpected tax requirements not deducted from the platform. The inability to access funds and unresponsive customer service exacerbates the situation for affected users. Such exposure to fraudulent activities undermines trust and confidence in the platform, potentially dissuading traders from engaging in further transactions.

Conclusion

This instance of Interactive Brokers is suspected to be a clone operated by a company known as Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. Notably, this particular iteration of Interactive Brokers lacks regulation, posing potential risks for traders. Therefore, it is advisable for traders to refrain from engaging with this broker.

General Information & Regulation

Spread Co Limited is a limited liability company registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 22 Bruton Street, London W1J 6QE. Company No. 05614477. Spread Co is an online spread betting and CFD broker specialising in forex, commodities, equities and indices. Spread Co Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with regulatory license no. 446677.

Market Instruments

With a Spread Co account, investors can trade on a wide range of global markets, from major indices and global equities to foreign exchange currency pairs, commodities, crude oil, precious metals, and bitcoin, to meet a wide range of investment needs.

Account Types

Spread Co has two different types of accounts, the spread trading account and the CFD account. Minimum deposits depend on account types. To open a spread trading account, traders are required a minimum initial deposit of £200 and £250 for a CFD account.

Demo Account

Spread Co does offer a demo trading account for beginners to practice forex trading in a 100% risk-free environment. The Spread Co demo account does not have a specific expiry date. Some features of the Spread Co demo accounts include the following:

• Practice trading with £25,000 virtual funds

• Develope you strategies with no risk

• Learn how risk management tools work

Leverage

Leverage level offered by Spread Co do depends on the regulatory requirement you trading with and the brokerage operates. This applies due to various safety measures applied to eliminate the risks involved while trading, specially for retail traders.

With Spread Co, LverageTrading leverage vary by different instruments:

• 1:30 for Forex currency pairs,

• 1:10 for commodities

• 1:20 for indices

• 1:5 for enquities

Spreads & Commissions

Spread Co offers commission-free trading, and the broker only takes its cut from the spread. EURUSD spreads start from 0.8 pips, 4 pips for US Crude Oil, 4 pips for Gold, and 40 pips for Bitcoin/USD.

There are no other fee indicated for Spread Co, but traders are advised to verified fees pertainning to the following：

• Account maintenance and management

• Inactivity fees and Conversion fees

Trading Platforms

What Spread Co offers traders is not the MT4 trading platform, which is currently the most popular one, but its in-house developed online trading platform. This online trading platform requires no download and allows traders to customize their trading experience for experienced traders and novice traders. Anyway, lack of widely used MT4 & MT5 trading platforms really a drawback for such a big broker.

Deposit and Withdrawal of Spread Co

Spread Co allows traders to deposit and withdraw funds from their investment accounts via the following methods:

• Credit Card;

• UK Credit Card;

• Bank Transfer;

• Skrill

Spread Co does not charge traders any fees for withdrawals or deposits . Spread Co has no limit to how much you can fund via the platform, but the maximum amount which it can accept for your first payment is GBP500 via the phone. Successfully authorized payments will be available immediately.

Spread Co suppports the following deposit currencies when deposits and withdrawals are made to end from the trading account: GBP, USD, EUR.

Customer Support

Customer services are available in several options: email, whatapp, Live chat, and telephone.

Here are some contact details:

Telephone: 0800 078 9398

Email: info@spreadco.com

Or you can also follow this broker on some social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

Educational Resources

Spread Co provides clients support through relationship managers that provide assistance as well as providing eucation. The broker provides educational library with multiple guides and video updates along with the market overview, platform, news and economic calendars.

Pros & Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Spread Co legal ？

Yes, Spread Co is a legal broker that adheres to rules and regulations stipulated by the FCA.

Does Spread Co offer a demo account？

Yes, Spread Co does offer a demo account that is valid for 2 weeks.

What is the maximum trading leverage offered by Spread Co？

The maximum trading leverage offered by Spread Co is up to 1:30.

What are the deposit and withdrawal methods supported by Spread Co ？

Payment methods supported by Spread Co include Bank Wire Transfer, Credit/Debit Cards, Skrill.

What is the overall rating for Spread Co ？

The overall rating for Spread Co is 7.06/10 based on its License Index, Business Index, Risk Management Index, Software Index and Regulatory Index.