IC Markets vs Interactive Brokers

IC Markets or Interactive Brokers?

Access to MT4 or low spreads?

• Written by Marcus Taylor
• Founder & CEO

If you’re a trader looking for a broker that offers the popular MT4 trading platform, IC Markets is likely a better fit. However, if you want a broker with lower spreads on currency pairs like EUR/USD, Interactive Brokers may be more appropriate.

Which broker is more reliable?

You can determine a broker’s reliability & trustworthiness by looking at eight factors:

• Who are they regulated by?
• How long have they been around for?
• Do they hold your money in a separate bank account?
• Do they use reputable “tier-1” banks like Barclays, Goldman Sachs or HSBC?
• Have they been fined or penalised in the last five years?
• The popularity of their service/website
• Are they publicly listed?
• Where are they located?

Based on these eight factors, we consider IC Markets to be the more reliable broker. We’ve broken down why below:

Who are they regulated by?

IC Markets is regulated by ASIC, while Interactive Brokers is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority.

AvaTrade are regulated by Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, IIROC, FSA, FSB, UAE and BVI

How long have they been around for?

If a broker has been around for a long period of time, they’re likely to be more reliable (in comparison, most scam brokers only exist for several years before they disappear).

This also suggests that a broker has good risk management processes that have prevented them being caught out by major financial events, as was the case with Alpari UK going bust when they were there was a policy reversal of capping the Swiss Franc against the Euro.

IC Markets has been around for 13 years, while Interactive Brokers have been around for 43 years. Our third alternative broker, AvaTrade, have been around for 14 years.

Do they hold your money in a separate bank account?

You wouldn’t want your broker paying their staff out of the same bank account account that you’re depositing your trading funds into, would you?

Fortunately, all regulated brokers must use segregated bank accounts to hold client money. This is one of the reasons why we only feature regulated brokers here on BrokerNotes.

All three brokers above will hold your money in a separate bank account.

Do they use reputable “tier-1” banks like Barclays, Goldman Sachs or HSBC?

Most tier-1 banks like Barclays and HSBC have been around for over 100 years and manage trillions of dollars of assets, proving that they have stood the test of time.

Both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers use tier one banks, but we are not sure of which bank specifically.

Have they been fined or penalised in the last five years?

If a broker has been penalised by a regulator in the past five years, it may mean that they were caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing - which may be of concern to you as an end client.

We’re not aware of any penalties or fines imposed by regulators on IC Markets or Interactive Brokers in the past five years.

How popular is their service/website?

While not always the case, the number of traders a broker has can be a good metric for understanding how reputable a brokers is.

Are they publicly listed?

Companies that are publicly listed on a stock exchange tend to be considered more reputable as they will be required to disclose their financials, and aspects of their operations, to the public.

IC Markets is a privately owned company, while on the other hand Interactive Brokers is still a publicly listed company.

Where are they located?

Most reputable brokers tend to be headquartered in a major capital city or a financial hub such as Cyprus.

IC Markets are based in Sydney, Australia, while Interactive Brokers are based in Level 20 Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AY .

Do they offer the features you need?

Assuming the brokers you’re choosing between are reputable, the next point to consider is whether they offer all of the features you require to trade.

This can be broken down into three categories:

• Services & instruments
• Platforms & account types
• Trading features, risk management tools & funding methods

Services and Instruments

If you’re looking to trade currency pairs, both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers offer forex trading. IC Markets have a slightly larger variety of currency pairs with 60 pairs, compared to 22 offered by Interactive Brokers. Also, if you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies, IC Markets offers a handful of cryptocurrency CFDs to trade, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple.

neither IC Markets nor IC Markets offer commodity trading.

IC Markets also offer social trading, which allows you to follow the trading activity, engage in discussion, and even copy the trades of other traders.

Platforms & Account Types

IC Markets also offer social trading, which allows you to follow the trading activity, engage in discussion, and even copy the trades of other traders.

In addition to the platform, you’ll also want to ensure that the broker you choose offers the account type best suited to your needs. Interactive Brokers, for example, offer a mini account, standard account and VIP account.

Trading features, risk management tools & funding methods

If you have a certain trading style (e.g. scalping, hedging, or using EAs), you’ll want to double check that the broker you choose allows this, as not all of them do.

IC Markets does allow scalping and hedging. While Interactive Brokers also allows scalping and hedging. You can trade with EAs (expert advisors) on both IC Markets and Interactive Brokers.

In terms of risk management tools, neither IC Markets or Interactive Brokers offers negative balance protection. Negative balance protection prevents you owing your broker more than you’ve deposited.

IC Markets also offer stop losses, limit orders, and price alerts to help you automate aspects of your trading strategy.

IC Markets accept Paypal.

Are they affordable for what you need?

Comparing the fee structures of different brokers can be a minefield at times. The important thing to consider is what the spreads & fees are on the specific instruments and account type that you will be using.

For trading EUR/USD, IC Markets and Interactive Brokers both charge points. Therefore, both brokers are equally affordable for this instrument. You can jump back up to our comparison of their currency pair & indice spreads above.

Another consideration is whether or not your broker charges inactivity, deposit/withdrawal fees, or commissions on trades. If you’re a frequent trader, inactivity fees are unlikely to be an issue.

The Verdict: IC Markets or Interactive Brokers?

There’s no such thing as a perfect broker, but some are going to be a better fit for you than others.

Objectively, IC Markets is more reliable based on our criteria above. Interactive Brokers has a wider range of instruments to trade. IC Markets offer lower spreads on popular forex instruments like EUR/USD and are used by more traders.

Both brokers offer demo accounts, allowing you to test their platforms to see which is suitable for you. You can test drive their demos using the links below:

• Try IC Markets’s demo account
• Try Interactive Brokers’s demo account
• Try AvaTrade’s demo account

Finally, if you’re really not sure you can always use our free tool (takes 15 seconds) that will help you find a suitable broker based on your precise requirements here.