Quote from jimrockford:
Nononsense,
My posting did not mean to imply that customer property would be unsafe, or would be unsafe during the trading day.
Property in an uninsured commodities account is generally less safe than SIPC-insured property in a securities account. This includes the commodities subaccount and securities subaccount of an Interactive Brokers Universal Account. Property in an SIPC-insured securities account is even safer where the broker, as it should, segregates and holds customer property separate from the broker's own assets (even though property held in individual customer accounts is co-mingled, and is not separated from property of other customers, and is instead held in an omnibus customer account covering all customers). An Interactive Brokers commodities account is still relatively safe, because of the various protections offered by IB, although it is not as safe as insured property in a securities account.
Interactive Brokers, on its website, explains that it keeps as much of your property as possible in your securities account, because this is safer. Funds are moved to your commodities account only to the extent needed to cover margin requirements in your commodities account. I believe that an IB commodities account is relatively safe, but less safe than an IB securities account. Funds are moved back to your IB securities account when changes in your commodities account reduce the margin required in your commodities account. It would be a little safer if this were done immediately, but IB instead does it every night. I think you misunderstood if you think this means a lack of safety.
I am not an employee of IB, and I have absolutely no authority to speak for them whatsoever. Any info I give about IB is purely a point at which you should start your own inquiries of IB. I agree with tomcole about being very careful to make sure that the information you are given comes from an employee who has the authority to give it to you.
Tomcole, is it safe to rely on a broker's website?
