Interactive Brokers

I’m officially Interactive Brokers — IBKR fan now.

Previously I wrote about Tiger Brokers and why I’m using it but deep down I knew it wasn’t “the one”. That is why I didn’t include my referral link in the article because I wasn’t 100% sure I will be using it for long term.

After 2 months I found IBKR and decided to switch for the following reasons:

  • Low transaction fee - Here's a quick comparison from my past transaction with similar stock price and quantity
  1. UOB Kay Hian: $21.40
  2. Tiger Brokers: $1.99
  3. IBKR: $1.00
  • Joint account - In case I KOed, the entire account goes to my wife
  • Protected by SIPC for up to $500,000 (For US stocks)
  • Established since 1978
  • US based company
  • Setup a Singapore office in 2020
  • No maintenance fee
  • Clean interface for Web Portal - But their desktop and mobile app sucks

The only two things I don’t like is their mobile app and delayed price. Their mobile app UI looks dated and information displayed is not as optimise as Tiger Brokers app. Here’s my rating on the 3 brokerage's mobile apps I’ve used.

  1. UOB Kay Hian: 1/5
  2. Tiger Brokers: 4/5
  3. IBKR: 2/5

I avoid IBKR horrible mobile app by using their desktop Web Portal to trade instead. Fortunately the Web Portal UI is a lot cleaner and usable.

IBKR Web Portal

The 2nd issue is lack of real-time price data. There is a delay of 15 mins. Almost a deal breaker for me since I’ve been enjoying real-time price from Tiger Brokers app. So my work around for now is use Tiger Brokers app to monitor real-time price. Luckily stock purchase in IBKR is based on real-time market price even though the display shows delayed price.

Now I’m comfortable in recommending you Interactive Brokers because I foresee I will be in it for a long time.

Here’s my referral link, use it and get free IBKR stock.