I'm an existing IB client planning to open an F & F Advisor Account for myself as well as family members, free of management charges.
I understand that the Master Account is called an F account, while all sub-accounts (including the Advisor's own trading sub-account) are U accounts with no TWS access privileges.
Quote from IB Salvatore:
The advisor account can initiate a withdrawal if the sub account has entered instructions through Account Management. The advisor can only initiate withdrawals to that destination.
I am a little confused by the above quotation. Does it mean that a sub-account client can enter prior instructions through Account Management to allow transfer out to (a) the advisor's F account, (b) any bank account, or (c) a bank account in the name of the sub-account client only? If (c) is correct, does it mean that an advisor can initiate a withdrawal from a client's sub-account for wire transfer to this client's bank account?
On a related matter, how many security tokens will be needed for maximum security? Say there are one F account and three U sub-accounts (one of which belongs to the advisor himself), will four identity tokens be required for maximum security? In other words, does an F account also needs a security token for maximum security? This question is raised because a US$100,000 minimum account balance is required to obtain a security token, but I understand that an F account only needs a very small account balance (which the advisor can presumably transfer internally from his own sub-account) to cover data subscription fees, while trade commissions and margin interest will be debted from the U accounts directly.
On a different note, in one of the Advisor Account opening web pages, it is stated that "clients will be charged a fee per trade commission for execution and clearing services provided by Interactive Brokers". Is this fee simply the normal trade commission sub-divided based on pre-set clients' trade allocation methods, or is there an additional charge levied by IB on Advisor Account sub-account clients for each transaction?
In terms of account protection, are sub-accounts (each belonging to a different individual) regarded as separate accounts for SIPC protection and Lloyd's policy cover purposes, such that each sub-account holder will have the full benefit afforded a normal individual account holder? Whether a person is resident in the US or a US citizen is irrelevant for account protection/insurance purposes, isn't it?
Regarding withdrawal fees, can each sub-account client withdraw once from his (or her) sub-account free of charge per month?
I'd appreciate it if someone from IB could clarify the above issues.
Thanks!