IBUK Services Guide

Forms and Disclosures

Forms and Disclosures

IBUK Services Guide

IBUK Guide to our Services (Retail Clients)

This reference guide provides a summary of our services, account types and other account features. This guide is for convenience only and is not a substitute for our terms and conditions. Please refer to the agreement that applies to your account type for the full terms and conditions that apply to your account and to your relationship with us.

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About Us

Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited (“IBUK”) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) to conduct investment business in the United Kingdom. IBUK’s firm reference number is 208159. IBUK’s principal place of business in the United Kingdom is located at: 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY.

IBUK is part of a global group of financial services companies that are under the common control of the Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (“IB Group”). Through its various operating subsidiaries around the world, the IB Group operates an automated global electronic brokerage business that provides access to over 150 exchanges world-wide and offers customers high-speed execution at low commission rates. Using the technology of the IB Group, IBUK provides non-advised online brokerage services to its customers.

For many services provided to IBUK customers, IBUK introduces clients to its US affiliate Interactive Brokers LLC (“IBLLC”).

IBLLC is regulated in the United States by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), and various self-regulatory organisations. IBLLC’s principal place of business in the United States is located at One Pickwick Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830.

Available Account Types

Principal Trading Account When IBUK introduces clients to IBLLC, IBLLC acts as the primary broker (sometimes referred to as the “carrying broker”) and IBUK acts as the introducing broker, and services are provided to customers via an agreement between the client, IBUK, and IBLLC (the IBUK and IBLLC Client Agreement). Your principal trading account at IBUK is governed by this agreement and you receive services from both IBUK and IBLLC, with IBLLC providing most of the brokerage services related to your account.

IBUK and IBLLC Client Agreement
Covered Products If you select to trade certain products such as non-US index futures and options and certain over-the-counter (“OTC”) products such as contracts for difference, precious metal derivatives and OTC metal futures (“Covered Products”), IBUK acts as the carrying broker for your account (with respect to trading and holding those products) and enters into a bilateral agreement with you (the Client Agreement for Products Carried IBUK) regarding that account. Your Covered Products trading account is linked to your principal trading account carried by IBLLC. It cannot be opened as a standalone account.

Client Agreement for Products Carried IBUK
Individual Savings Accounts IBUK is an HMRC approved ISA manager. IBUK offers its clients a flexible Stocks and Shares Individual Savings Account (“ISA”) and Junior Stocks and Shares ISA (“JISA”). IBUK acts as the primary (“carrying”) broker and has a direct agreement with UK customers regarding their ISA and/or JISA accounts (further details below).

IBUK General Terms of Business

If you open an ISA/JISA account with IBUK, your account is governed by the IBUK General Terms of Business. Your ISA account is a stand-alone account and can be opened without having a principal trading account with IBUK and IBLLC.

Specific Account Features

Margin-enabled account

When you purchase securities, you may pay for the securities in full or you may borrow part of the purchase price from IBLLC or IBUK (collectively “IB”). If you choose to borrow funds from IB, you will open a margin account with the firm. The securities purchased are IB’s collateral for the loan to you. If the securities or futures contracts in your account decline in value, so does the value of the collateral supporting your loan, and, as a result, IB can take action, such as sell securities or other assets in any of your accounts held with IB or issue a margin call, in order to maintain the required equity in the account.

We draw your attention to the fact that IB:

  • Does not generally issue margin calls.
  • Will not credit your account to meet intraday margin deficiencies.
  • Will generally liquidate positions in your account in order to satisfy margin requirements without prior notice to you and without an opportunity for you to choose the positions to be liquidated or the timing or order of liquidation.

Stock Yield Enhancement Programme

The Stock Yield Enhancement Program (“SYEP”) enables you to earn extra income on the fully-paid shares of stock held in your account by allowing IBLLC to borrow shares from you in exchange for collateral. IBLLC then lends the shares to traders who want to sell them short and are willing to pay interest to borrow them. Each day that your stock is on loan, you will be paid interest on the collateral (U.S Treasury or cash) value for the loan based on market rates.

If you have a principal trading account with us, you may be able to enrol the SYEP if you meet certain criteria. You can choose to enrol when opening an account with us account or at a later stage.

If you are eligible and decide to enrol, you will be required to review and accept the terms of two additional agreements with IBLLC:

  1. Master Securities Lending Agreement for Interactive Brokers LLC’s Fully-Paid Lending Program
  2. Securities Account Control Agreement

Stocks and Shares ISA

If you are a U.K. resident for tax purposes and aged 18 or over, you can open a Stocks and Shares Individual Savings Account (“ISA”). ISAs offer a tax-efficient opportunity to save up to £20,000 in each tax year (April 6 to April 5). There is no minimum deposit needed to open an ISA account although you must fund your account in GBP, as mandated by HMRC ISA rules. See more information about ISAs.

Stocks and Shares JISA

Junior ISAs (“JISAs”) are similar to our Stocks and Shares ISAs but are intended for those under 18. The maximum investment for a JISA in the current tax year is £9,000. If you are the parent or guardian of a junior (under the age of 18 years of age), you can open a JISA for them and then anyone can contribute to the JISA. JISA contributions are tax-free and can hold a broad range of financial products. See more information about JISAs.

Protecting Your Money and Assets

Your money and assets with Interactive Brokers are protected differently depending on whether custody services on your IBUK account are provided by either IBUK or IBLLC.

Your principal IBUK trading account is “carried” by IBLLC, which means that IBLLC provides you with custody services. When IBLLC provides custody services to you, your money and assets are protected in accordance with US law, under either the U.S. Securities Investor Protection Act or the CFTC customer funds segregation rules.

If you either trade Covered Products and/or open an ISA/JISA with IBUK, it means that IBUK provides your custody services. When IBUK provides you with custody services, your money and assets are protected under the UK rules and your eligible assets will be protected under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Read our guide How your assets are protected for a more detailed explanation of how your money and assets are protected in your different accounts.

Investing with IBKR

When you open an account with IBUK, we tell you about some of the risks applicable to different types of financial instruments and to the services that we make available to you, as well as more general risks associated with the investment markets. In addition to general risk disclosure, we deliver specific risk disclosures that are relevant to certain products or services, which apply to your account, as appropriate.

Our risk disclosures cannot cover every risk you should consider and other significant aspects of those instruments, services, or markets. You should ensure you are comfortable with the risks involved before using our services. You may wish to seek professional advice before investing.

The Fees You Will Pay

Commissions, fees, and interest rates for direct clients are as specified on the IBUK website. You might also be required to pay commissions, fees and interests that are charged to you by third parties (for example by a broker that introduces you to us or a financial advisor for your IBUK account).

Interest accrues daily and is paid or deducted from your account monthly. For clients who use an intermediary, your intermediary may also retain some or all of the interest that would otherwise be payable to your account. You should check with your intermediary the level of fees applicable, and the rates of interest charged or paid.

Our Costs and Charges Guide provides more information on the commissions, fees and interest that we may apply to your account.

Data Privacy and Confidentiality

When you open an IBUK account or use our products, services, and/or applications, we will use your personal data to provide those services to you. We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal data, and we have developed specific policies and practices as part of a global privacy program designed to protect the privacy and security of your personal data. For further details about how we process your personal data we refer you to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

How to Make a Complaint

Information about our complaints handling procedures is set out in the IBUK Complaints Handling Policy and Procedures Summary. You have the right to request further information in relation to those procedures. If you would like to make a formal complaint, the best way to contact us is by submitting a WebTicket in Account Management on the IBUK Website. Alternatively, you can send a letter to us at Complaints Handling, Interactive Brokers, 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3BY or email ibukcomplaints@interactivebrokers.co.uk. You can also call IBUK Client Services using the telephone numbers provided on the IBUK website.

You also may potentially be able to complain to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service. Details of who is an eligible complainant, and the procedures to make a complaint can be found on the Financial Ombudsman Service website.

Changing Your Mind / Cancellation Rights

You have 14 days from the signing of your account application to change your mind. If you wish to cancel, you must inform us in writing using any of the methods listed in the agreement applicable to your account. There is no fee applicable to the exercise of your cancellation rights. However, you remain responsible for any transactions, shortfall or market movements that might have impacted your account before exercising cancellation rights. You are also responsible for paying any costs and charges related to any transaction or service we have provided. You can also close your account with us at any time (see below).

Closing Your Account

Unless we have told you that restrictions apply to a particular service or product, you can end your relationship with us at any time by using the “Close Account” page in the Client Portal. You will need to close or transfer out all open positions and withdraw any remaining balance before your IBUK Account can be closed. More information about how you can close your account is available in our Close Your Account guide. We will not charge you a fee for exercising your right to close your account(s) with us.

Supporting Our Clients

Consumer Duty

The FCA Consumer Duty is a regulatory framework aimed at ensuring that financial firms prioritise the interests of their customers and provide them with fair treatment. It sets out a range of requirements and expectations for firms, including the obligation to consider the needs of vulnerable customers and provide appropriate support and assistance to deliver good outcomes.

IBKR is committed to adhering to the FCA Consumer Duty and has developed policies and procedures to support vulnerable customers and, where possible, provide them with appropriate support and accommodation

You should refer to Frequently Asked Questions webpage to learn more about the support available to our customers

Education

IBKR Campus was created by Interactive Brokers to provide a wide variety of financial education offerings to our clients and the public. You can learn more about trading, financial markets and Interactive Brokers trading tools by visiting IBKR Campus.

Accessibility

We are always trying to find ways to make our trading platforms and online services easier to use. Our accessibility options include, screen reader support, keyboard navigation and ARIA landmarks to help you navigate pages more easily. For more information refer to our Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions.

Protect Yourself Against Fraud and Scams

Anyone can be the target of financial fraud and scams. Your best defence is to stay informed, alert and secure. Our warning on frauds and scams webpage has more information on how you can protect yourself.

The risk of loss in online trading of stocks, options, futures, currencies, foreign equities, and fixed income can be substantial. Options are not suitable for all investors. For more information, read the "Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options".

Your capital is at risk and your losses may exceed the value of your original investment.

Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Reference Number 208159.

Cryptoassets are unregulated in the UK. Interactive Brokers (U.K) Limited ("IBUK") is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a cryptoassets firm under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.

Interactive Brokers LLC is regulated by the US SEC and CFTC and is a member of the SIPC (www.sipc.org) compensation scheme;
products are only covered by the UK FSCS in limited circumstances.

Before trading, customers must read the relevant risk disclosure statements on our Warnings and Disclaimers page.

For a list of IBG memberships worldwide, see our exchange listings.