The following steps summarize how to open an Interactive Brokers Registered Advisor account from our website.
From our website home page, click OPEN AN ACCOUNT, then click Registered Advisor, and then click START APPLICATION. This opens a new online application for a Registered Advisor master account.
You will be required to create a username and password at the beginning of the online application. This ensures that all of the information that you submit is secure. Record your login information; you will need it to access your saved applications and your live account once it has been approved. In many cases, the information provided electronically during the application is sufficient. However, we may require additional documentation.
During the master account application process, you will be asked if you would like to open a trading account for your own personal trading. If you choose to create a trading account at this time, you will be guided through a number of screens related to its creation. Since this trading account will be permanently associated with your master account, we will reuse information from the master account application to eliminate the need for duplicate entry. Your master account is only used for placing trades on behalf of your clients, fee processing, collecting fees from clients, and paying fees to IB.
Funding Methods
IB offers a variety of methods which can be used to fund your trading account:
The following methods can be used to fund client accounts but CANNOT be used to fund your master account.
*Checks or bank drafts are not available for IB Canada customers.
Note: Any deposit instruction submitted for accounts that have not been funded 45 days from approval will be closed.
To ensure that you have completed all of the initial tasks required in the application process, you can log back into your application and review your entries and status. Click OPEN ACCOUNT > Finish an Application from our website menu. Only those applicants who have completed all required portions of the application will have their applications considered for review.
Fully completed applications are generally processed within 48 hours. You will be notified by email and through the Customer Service Message Center inside Account Management if any additional information is required.
If you chose to open a Trading Account during the master account application process. you will be able to begin trading once funds have been deposited into the Trading Account. In order to prevent potential delays in having funds credited to your account, we recommend that you deposit all funds for your own trading directly into the Trading Account. Funds received by 16:00 ET are available for trading the next business day under normal business circumstances. View the current status of your deposit or transfer in Account Management by clicking Funding > Transaction History.
You can initiate account applications for your clients in one of two ways: electronically or semi-electronically with paper signature. Both methods are accessible from Account Management.
You can also create client account templates in Account Management to save and re-use application information for new client accounts.
You can log into Account Management at any time to see the status of your clients' applications. Advisors who want to open additional accounts for themselves at a later time must use one of the three methods listed above.
IB offers the same funding methods for client accounts. If we do not receive your client funds in 45 days from approval the account will be closed.
*Checks or bank drafts are not available for IB Canada customers.
As the Advisor, you will be notified by email and through the Customer Service Message Center inside Account Management of the results of your client's application. IB will also notify your clients via postal mail of these results. Clients whose accounts have been approved will receive a welcome letter which contains instructions on how to access their accounts.
Once your client funds his or her account and the funds have been credited, you may begin to trade. Funds received by 16:00 ET are available for trading the next business day under normal business circumstances. View the current status of deposits or transfers in Account Management by clicking Funding > Transaction History.
Advisors who function as Wealth Managers select registered Money Managers and assign client accounts to them for trading purposes. Select Money Managers on the Money Managers Assignment page in Account Management. After you select Money Managers, assign client accounts to them, set client trading permissions and set client fees.
Visit the Investors' Marketplace on our website or inside Account Management to search for and contact Money Managers.