IB accrued interest

Quote from IBj:

We have a $2.5 price. We converted to other currencies at some rate in the past when the dollar was stronger. Since then rates moved pretty sharply so the pricing in other currencies is no longer equal (roughly) to $2.50. Hence 'legacy'.

'Soon' means it is begin actively worked on now. I cannot say if that means 2 weeks or 2 months.

Thanks for your answer.

Regarding legacy rates, approxmiately when did you take these rates?
 
Good suggestion! Any small trader with less than 500K should move to another brokers because IB doesn't want you.
"we want traders of the semi-pro and pro variety, not hobbyist investors."

I now know I am not the only one being charged INSANE interest at IB. And that's because they deliberately want to discourage me. :D

I am discouraged. :p


Quote from IBj:


* IB's approach to tiered rates is intended to discourage small accounts. Small capital usually means less trading and we want traders of the semi-pro and pro variety, not hobbyist investors. If you have 15K with IB, you get a poor effective rate. If you have 500K, you get a pretty nice one.

As with everything in life, we can't be all things to all people. If you plan on trading and putting your money in the market, then commissions and brokerage services are the key points (and where IB has focused). If you want interest returns, then maybe look for better rates in tbills or money markets funds at your bank. [/B]
:p
 
Quote from YMT:
I now know I am not the only one being charged INSANE interest at IB. And that's because they deliberately want to discourage me. :D

Yes, the actual interest rate may even be lower than Tradestation if your account size is small. You are being charged insane interest in this regard.

However if you have a very big account, the loss of $10,000 will be spread accross the whole sum, the interest rate is okay.

But I agree the advertised interest rate may give people false impression.
 
Has anything changed in interest calculation?
I am going to start trade my ib account
and this calculations giving me a headache
 
Does anyone have a breakdown on what IB pays/charges during rollover for the following pairs per standard lot?

USD/CHF

GBP/JPY


If you could give the rate for going long and short on each pair it would be helpful. I'm trying to compare them with Dukscopy and HotspotFX in regards to the fairness of their rollover/swap policy. Anyone have any information on this?



Edit: Just give the date of the quote if you wouldn't mind as well. Thanks.
 
Quote from YMT:

Good suggestion! Any small trader with less than 500K should move to another brokers because IB doesn't want you.
"we want traders of the semi-pro and pro variety, not hobbyist investors."

I now know I am not the only one being charged INSANE interest at IB. And that's because they deliberately want to discourage me. :D

I am discouraged. :p


:p
not only IB doesn't want you. We don't want armature IB whiners either. If you are going to whine about IB, be a pro, whine like a crybaby.
 
Quote from mmccormac:

Does anyone have a breakdown on what IB pays/charges during rollover for the following pairs per standard lot?

USD/CHF

GBP/JPY


If you could give the rate for going long and short on each pair it would be helpful. I'm trying to compare them with Dukscopy and HotspotFX in regards to the fairness of their rollover/swap policy. Anyone have any information on this?



Edit: Just give the date of the quote if you wouldn't mind as well. Thanks.

This question cannot be answered without additionally specifying both the size and price of each position.

http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/fees/interest.php

Pick your size and price, convert the base currency into the counter / quote currency, then look up the long and short side in the tables called "Interest Earned Rates" and "Interest Expense Rates", respectively. For example:

1) long 200,000 GBP/JPY @238.00.

2a) long GBP 200,000 --> [0% x 5,500 + 4.853% x (55,000 - 5,500) + 5.103% x (200,000 - 55,000)] / 200,000 = +4.90% APR ~= GBP 26.85 daily ~= USD 52.89 daily @1.97.

2b) short JPY 238 x 200,000 = JPY 47,600,000 --> - [1.966% x 11,905,000 + 1.466% x (47,600,000 - 11,905,000)] / 47,600,000 = -1.10% APR ~= - JPY 1,435 daily ~= - USD 11.86 daily @121.00.

3) net = +3.80% APR ~= USD 41.03 daily, at current exchange and interest rates.

Because of those tiers, you'll get more than 3.80% for larger amounts, less for smaller amounts. Also, don't forget to take into account any tiered interest paid on the account balance itself, as shown in the top line of the "Interest Earned Rates" table.

By comparison, say, Oanda pays 5.1% - 0.47% = +4.63% APR, for any amount of long GBP/JPY, at current rates (= USD 50.01 daily for 200,000, as above), as well as +4.825% APR on the entire account balance:

http://www.oanda.com/products/fxmath/interest.shtml

I'll let you work out the other 3 cases and/or different sizes. If this sort of thing is important to the way you trade, put the calculations in Excel, a simple task. Have fun.
 
Quote from siki13:

Would be possible to bypass negative net interest if i close
position on 1655 EST and the reenter on 1705 ?

Quote from IBj:

Yes. The whole basis for interrest calculations is settled cash positions and the end of the clearing day is 17:00 EST.
Trades done after 17:00 are treated as next day transactions and settle one business day later than trades done at, say 16:55 EST.

What happens in the flip side of that question? Say you want to earn the IRD with the least amount of exposure. Could you enter AUD.JPY at 16:55 EST and exit at 17:15 EST and lock-in one day's worth of settlement/interest?

I realize that paying the spread and commission would eat away at most of the interest, but I'm just curious if that example is possible.
 
Quote from Trader KGB:

What happens in the flip side of that question? Say you want to earn the IRD with the least amount of exposure. Could you enter AUD.JPY at 16:55 EST and exit at 17:15 EST and lock-in one day's worth of settlement/interest?

I realize that paying the spread and commission would eat away at most of the interest, but I'm just curious if that example is possible.

Yes to both.
17:00 is the break for settlement day determination so whatever position one has at 17:00 will be the settled position 2 business days later. One has to be a little careful to understand settlement date counting (see the holiday calendar on the web site under the Help menu point, http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/general/currencyHoliday.php) since a USD/GBP trade and a EUR/GBP trade may settle on different dates in case of a US or EUR holiday.

One thing everyone should realize is that the pricing of the pairs already take the settlement cycle and interest rate differentials into account. The banks who represent most of the liquidity in forex spot fully understand interest issues. This is what they understand and control better than most other market participants so there probably isn't 'free' money in this space and if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.
 
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