Who Interactive Brokers is
Interactive Brokers is a global broker founded by Thomas Peterffy and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. Its parent, Interactive Brokers Group, is listed on Nasdaq and is a member of the S&P 500, and the group is regulated by the SEC, FINRA, NYSE, FCA and other regulators. In the EU, Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited is an investment firm authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.
It offers stocks, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds on markets worldwide, and serves regulated brokers through introducing broker accounts with white-branded technology. That reach, behind one Web API, is why it is one of the brokers our portfolio module connects to.
What it does in your platform
Portfolios
Executes your investors' orders and holds their assets across global markets, under your introducing broker relationship. The module keeps positions, cash and activity in sync with Interactive Brokers and shows them as holdings, performance and statements.
How the connection works
One connector in the portfolio module talks to the IBKR Web API: Account Management for opening and funding accounts, Trading for orders and positions, and a WebSocket for live updates. It authenticates with OAuth 2.0, signing each token request with a private key that stays in the platform's secrets.
The account is registered
After your KYC checks, the module submits the client registration through Account Management, with the documents and agreements Interactive Brokers requires.
Money arrives
Deposits and withdrawals go through the Account Management funding services.
An order goes in
The module places the order through the Trading API, in the investor's account within your broker structure.
Updates stream back
Order status and portfolio changes arrive over the Web API's WebSocket as they happen.
The portfolio updates
Positions, cash and performance update in the app, and statements and account activity, dividends included, come from IBKR's reporting on a schedule.
Next to other providers
Interactive Brokers sits next to Alpaca, DriveWealth, Saxo and Upvest in the portfolio module. It suits clients who are already regulated brokers and want global markets; reference data providers such as Twelve Data describe the instruments, while IBKR's records decide what each investor holds.
The investor experience belongs to the module. Moving to another broker later leaves your app unchanged; existing holdings move by transfer between the brokers, which we plan with you.
When Interactive Brokers fits best
A strong fit when
- You are a regulated broker or wealth manager and want a partner for execution, clearing and custody.
- Your investors want many markets and asset classes from one account.
- You want white-branded technology and back-office tools for your clients' accounts.
Also worth a look
- A broker-as-a-service partner such as Alpaca, DriveWealth or Upvest, when you do not hold a licence yourself.
- Saxo, another multi-asset broker that works with banks, brokers and wealth managers.
How we get you live
The contract
We help you get your Interactive Brokers introducing broker account and contract in place, with the structure your licence and clients need.
The account structure
We set up the structure with you: the master account, how client accounts are opened and which products each client can trade.
The keys
The private key and OAuth credentials go into your platform's secrets and nowhere else; apps never call Interactive Brokers directly.
A full test run
Orders and portfolio updates run against an IBKR paper account before your first real investor.
