Securely Earn Extra Income with Your IBKR Account
Interactive Brokers Group and its affiliates have a strong capital position, conservative balance sheet and automated risk controls to protect IBKR and its clients from large trading losses.
We also offer programs to help our clients earn more with their IBKR account.
SEC Rule 15c3-3 and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC):
- Cash held in an IB securities account is subject to safeguarding under the SEC's Customer Protection Rule 15c3-3. IB goes beyond the regulatory requirements in safeguarding your cash.
- In addition to IB's safeguards, the first $250,000 in cash is covered by SIPC insurance.
Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program1
By joining the Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program, eligible IB clients can obtain up to $2,500,000 ($5,000,000 for joint accounts) of FDIC insurance in addition to the existing $250,000 SIPC coverage for total coverage of $2,750,000 ($5,250,000 for joint accounts). Clients continue earning the same competitive interest rates currently applied to cash held in IB accounts. IB sweeps each participating client's free credit balances daily to one or more banks, up to $246,500 ($493,000 for joint accounts) per bank, allowing for the accrual of interest and keeping within the FDIC protected threshold. Cash balances above $2,750,000 ($5,250,000 for joint accounts) remain subject to safeguarding under the SEC's Customer Protection Rule 15c3-3, backed by the firm's equity capital, https://investors.interactivebrokers.com/ir/main.php?file=latestEarningsPR.
Benefits
- Competitive interest rate, same as for cash deposits in your IB account;
- Convenience of having your IB account cash balance, FDIC-insured deposits and investments appear on one statement;
- Excess cash above the program limit of $2,500,000 ($5,000,000 for joint accounts) remains at IB and is protected under client protection regulations. Competitor programs often include a spill-over bank for excess funds, which are not FDIC-insured.
Who Is Eligible?
- Individual accounts without a designated transfer-on-death beneficiary, joint accounts, IRAs (excluding Interactive Advisors IRAs) and organizational accounts are eligible to participate in the program.
- In the future IB may, at its discretion, add additional account types to the program.
- Eligible IB clients can enroll in the program by logging into their account and accessing "Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program" under the account settings option. Activation generally takes place overnight.
How It Works
- When you join the Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program, deposits are made on your behalf into interest-bearing accounts at one or more FDIC-insured banks within the program. If your program balance nears the FDIC limit at one of these banks, additional cash is deposited at the next bank on a list of approved banks, thereby ensuring clients don't exceed current limits. By using multiple banks versus a single bank, the program is able to provide up to $2,500,000 ($5,000,000 for joint accounts) of FDIC insurance for your deposits.
- Eligible cash balances consist of USD free credits, generally defined as cash in your IB account in excess of margin requirements and short stock value, above the first $250,000 reserved for SIPC coverage and up to the program limit of $2,500,000 ($5,000,000 for joint accounts). We designed our proprietary sweep algorithm to seamlessly integrate with your IB account and optimize FDIC-insurance coverage without disrupting your regular trading activity. The daily sweep computation factors in your USD cash, account equity, margin requirements, short stock value, projected cash settlements, and initial $250,000 SIPC buffer to determine the maximum free credit excess to sweep.
FDIC Insurance
FDIC insurance limits apply to all of your eligible deposits at a bank. The FDIC insurance limit for all ownership categories in the Insured Bank Deposit Sweep Program is $250,000 ($500,000 for joint accounts) per program bank. This is why it is important clients monitor the assets they have at all banks and opt out of banks on the Priority Bank List so they may ensure IB does not sweep otherwise eligible balances into that bank. If you have other deposits at one or more of our program banks, you may exclude any bank from holding your program balances so you do not exceed current FDIC limits. For more information about FDIC coverage and different FDIC-defined ownership categories, visit the FDIC website.
Notes:
- Prime accounts, portfolio managers and pattern day traders require a minimum equity balance of $1,000,000, $150,000 and $25,000, respectively, to participate.