IBKR: Internalization Trading Execution

T

tonyf

Dear Client,


We are writing to advise you of a change in how IBKR will handle certain orders to buy or sell stocks.


Up until now, IBKR has always acted solely as the customer’s agent in executing all customer orders in exchange-traded products (except for fractional shares of stock), meaning that a third-party was the counter-party to all orders.


Please note that IBKR may now internalize certain customer stock orders (or portions of those orders). “Internalization” is when a broker or its affiliate acts as the counter-party to a customer’s order. IBKR is making this change to improve execution quality (i.e., increase price improvement) and/or reduce customer execution costs without reducing execution quality.


In addition, please note that IBKR must provide “best execution” for every customer order regardless of whether it internalizes the order or executes it as the customer’s agent. IBKR therefore will only internalize an order if it determines that internalization offers the best available execution. If it does not, IBKR will execute the order with a third-party on an agency basis, as it has done so in the past.

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So is this good or bad?
 
When IB says: "or its affiliate acts as the counter-party to a customer’s order" then this certainly not good, as they can act as market maker and can trade against the client. So they would profit from a customer loss on his positions instead of only taking commissions for his trades.

What I do not understand is, how they can say to all exchange traded products they can do this internalization - on stocks they say here ? Because this would mean even on trading common stocks the orders could not get a match on the exchange itself but internalized within IB as counter party on it ? Really ? That looks like a scandal to me. And what do you get as execution prices here if there is no match and you cannot see on Level 2 any change. Anybody else ?
 
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Another step more to confirm that Level 2 data is useless.
What they are really saying is "we will use our own dark pool to improve orders' executions".
You don't care about any of this if you just use top of the book data, but if you are a market footprint trader then they are hiding pending orders from you. They did that before with third party pools but now it is in-house.

You can't do anything, because that is a common practice for every broker anyway.
 
Hey Tonyf-Do you know if this is for all equity SMART orders or only from those using LITE?

tonyf said:
Dear Client,


We are writing to advise you of a change in how IBKR will handle certain orders to buy or sell stocks.


Up until now, IBKR has always acted solely as the customer’s agent in executing all customer orders in exchange-traded products (except for fractional shares of stock), meaning that a third-party was the counter-party to all orders.


Please note that IBKR may now internalize certain customer stock orders (or portions of those orders). “Internalization” is when a broker or its affiliate acts as the counter-party to a customer’s order. IBKR is making this change to improve execution quality (i.e., increase price improvement) and/or reduce customer execution costs without reducing execution quality.


In addition, please note that IBKR must provide “best execution” for every customer order regardless of whether it internalizes the order or executes it as the customer’s agent. IBKR therefore will only internalize an order if it determines that internalization offers the best available execution. If it does not, IBKR will execute the order with a third-party on an agency basis, as it has done so in the past.

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So is this good or bad?
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