ProRealTime Trading

When you open a ProRealTime Trading account, you are both a ProRealTime customer and an Interactive Brokers customer:

• ProRealTime, as an investment company, is responsible for receiving and transmitting your orders (RTO) submitted via the ProRealTime platforms and for communicating information from the executing broker regarding the status of your orders (executions, rejections, etc.).
• Interactive Brokers, as the executing broker, is responsible for the final execution of your orders on exchanges, as well as for maintaining your account (which includes generating your account statements, trade confirmations, margin management, corporate actions, etc.).

ProRealTime also acts as your main point of contact, assisting you with all account-related procedures and support requests.

In addition to your ProRealTime login details, you will also receive Interactive Brokers Ireland login details, allowing you to log directly into their account management interface to deposit/withdraw funds, view your account statements and trade confirmations, exercise your rights, etc.

With the “ProRealTime + Interactive Brokers” service, your funds are deposited with the account holder Interactive Brokers Ireland.

Investors often wonder about the level of guarantee for funds in the event of account holder default. While this is a legitimate question - the answer to which you will find below - it is equally important to consider other factors that contribute to a broker's reliability and soundness, in order to avoid opening an account with a player that is likely to default.

A regulated, solid, and recognized player

• Interactive Brokers Ireland is a company regulated in Ireland and therefore subject to European MiFIR and MiFID II requirements.
• Interactive Brokers serves more than 4 million clients worldwide and holds more than $781 billion in client assets in 2025.
• Interactive Brokers Group (IBG LLC) has consolidated equity of over $19.5 billion, making it one of the most capitalized retail brokers in the world with a regulatory capital surplus of $13.3 billion (figures for 2025).
• IB manages its brokerage and market activities in two separate companies.

Interactive Brokers Ireland does not make directional investments on its own behalf.

Speculative proprietary trading by account holders has been the cause of two of the most significant bankruptcies in recent years.

Interactive Brokers Ireland does not make directional investments on its own behalf. Its own cash is invested in very short-term investments with a maturity of a few months, and IBKR does not hold any significant positions in OTC securities or derivatives, CDOs, MBS, or CDS.

A brokerage firm that is majority-owned by its founder

Only ~26% of Interactive Brokers' capital is listed on the stock exchanges. The remaining 74% is majority-owned by the founder, but also by his employees and subsidiaries.

Interactive Brokers highlights this significant capital investment as a guarantee of its commitment to sustainable business practices and prudent decision-making.

Margin requirements and automatic liquidations

In the recent past, exceptional market conditions have revealed the vulnerability of certain brokers who were faced with excessive indebtedness of their clients due to excessive leverage and were therefore exposed to the risk of default by some of their clients (whose accounts had a negative balance).

In order to minimize the risk of such a situation occurring as much as possible:

• Interactive Brokers sets high margin requirements for its clients and regularly reviews margins to adjust them to risks and volatility.
• Interactive Brokers continuously determines the valuation of client positions in order to identify any margin violations without delay, unlike some market participants who only perform these checks once a day at the end of the day.
• In the event of insufficient margin on a client account, Interactive Brokers will usually automatically liquidate positions on that account to end the deficit situation. This differs from some other market participants who issue margin calls, which can significantly exacerbate a client's losses before their positions are liquidated.

Segregation of funds and assets

Funds in individual accounts are held in segregated client accounts that are completely separate from Interactive Brokers' assets.

They can never be used to cover any debts incurred by the company.

Fully paid securities held by clients are kept in custody accounts and with custodians for the exclusive use of the client.

Thanks to this strict segregation of client assets, clients will be fully reimbursed in the event of default or bankruptcy of the broker. Please note that cash loans, securities loans, and positions on futures contracts are not assets belonging to clients.

Client funds are deposited in joint accounts and distributed among several reliable banks located within and outside the European Economic Area. This measure reduces the concentration risk associated with depositing client funds with a small number of banks.

Deposit guarantee

Interactive Brokers Ireland is a member of the Investor Compensation Scheme (ICS) in Ireland.

Retail clients of Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited who do not have professional status are protected by the Irish Investor Compensation Scheme (ICS). Compensation under the ICS is limited to 90% of the amount lost, up to a maximum of €20,000 per investor. The coverage provides protection in the event of the investment firm's insolvency, but not against the loss of the market value of financial products.

For more information on the ICS and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit the following website: Irish Investor Compensation Scheme

Please note that ProRealTime is a multi-broker platform that also offers the “ProRealTime + Saxo Bank” service, where the account manager – “Saxo Bank A/S” – is a member of the Danish Guarantee Fund, which offers deposit protection for private clients of up to €100,000. Some of our clients have chosen to open both a “ProRealTime + Saxo Bank A/S” and a “ProRealTime + Interactive Brokers” account.

About ProRealTime platforms

ProRealTime offers free and unlimited access to the following applications:

• ProRealTime Mobile: view prices and trade from your smartphone.
• ProRealTime Web: all the essential features of ProRealTime accessible directly in your browser.

Optionally, you can also subscribe to ProRealTime Complete, a version of ProRealTime that you can install on your computer and which offers additional features.

About data feeds

Access to real-time data is free - for an unlimited time - on:

• US Stocks*
• European stocks* (France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, UK, etc.)
• Forex
• Cryptocurrencies
• Gold & Silver Spot

*Data source: CBOE. Free access reserved for non-professional users as defined by the CBOE.

Access to real-time data on official stock/ETF exchanges, futures and options markets is available as an optional service starting at €3/month.

PRT Credits

When you place orders with ProRealTime, you accumulate “PRT Credits” that allow you to access ProRealTime Complete and optional market data for free or at a reduced rate.

Useful links:

All brokerage fees applicable to your “ProRealTime + Interactive Brokers” trading account can be found on the corresponding page Brokerage Fees on our website.

These brokerage fees are charged directly by Interactive Brokers at the time each order is executed.

Any interest will be debited once a month by Interactive Brokers.

Leverage on stocks is available with a “margin” account.

Leverage on indices (Futures) is available on both “cash” accounts and “margin” accounts.

For more information, refer to the question: What is the difference between a “cash” account and a “margin” account?

Yes, with a ProRealTime + Interactive Brokers account, short selling is available* on a wide range of instruments, including:

• EU Stocks**
• US Stocks**
• Futures
• Cryptocurrencies (futures)
• Options
• Currencies (Forex)
• Precious metals

* Except for securities for which short selling is restricted or prohibited by regulations.
** Subject to availability of securities at the time of your transaction.

Please note, however, that short selling on certain instruments (particularly stocks) is only available with a "margin" account. For more information, see the question: What is the difference between a “cash” account and a “margin” account?

Since ProRealTime + Interactive Brokers accounts are multi-currency accounts, you can deposit (or withdraw) funds in different currencies, including EUR, USD, CHF, and GBP. If you wish to deposit or withdraw funds in a currency not listed here, please contact us.

Regarding deposits/funding

Deposits can be made to your account:

• by SEPA bank transfer (euro zone) or by traditional bank wire transfer
• by transferring securities from another broker
• by internal transfer from another Interactive Brokers account

Depending on your country of residence and the currency you have selected, some payment methods may not be available.

Important: funds must be deposited exclusively from an account in the name of the account holder.

ProRealTime will send you your account number and the bank details you need to make your deposit. This information is sent to you by email from an “@prorealtime.com” address to the email address you used to create your ProRealTime account.

Regarding withdrawals

The withdrawal methods offered are the same as for deposits. The SEPA method is recommended for the euro zone. The first withdrawal of each month is free of charge for withdrawals in EUR, USD, CHF, and GBP.

Additional withdrawals are charged at €1 for SEPA transfers. For more information, see our fees page.

With the exception of the fees mentioned above, neither ProRealTime nor Interactive Brokers charge any additional fees.

You can transfer securities from your bank or broker provided that the securities in question are offered for trading by Interactive Brokers.

Please contact us for more information on the steps to take.

To fund your account by bank transfer, the transfer must be made from a standard bank account (excluding securities accounts) held in the name of the account holder.

With ProRealTime, you benefit from our in-house customer service in multiple languages, provided by qualified representatives based in Paris, Lille, and the Netherlands.

We never use external service providers or call centers to respond to your support requests.

For general questions, a personal account manager is available to assist you. You can reach them via their direct extension number or by email to ensure efficient service and better processing of your inquiries.

With regard to order placement and execution, a team of experts continuously monitors the smooth functioning of our systems so that they can intervene proactively in the event of an incident and handle any complaints you may have with optimal responsiveness.

In the event that you make a complaint to the account holder Interactive Brokers, we will assist you in ensuring that it has the best chance of success. You are also free to contact the account holder directly.

Regarding customer support

ProRealTime provides support and acts as your main point of contact.

Specifically, you can contact ProRealTime with any questions you may have on the following topics:

• Use of our various trading platforms
• order transmission
• the Interactive Brokers* account management interface and all related features (deposits/withdrawals, trading permissions, account maintenance, account statements, etc.)
• the final execution of orders*

*For these topics, you also have the option of contacting Interactive Brokers directly via the message center in the account management interface.

Regarding complaints related to the transmission and/or execution of orders

The following document explains the procedure to follow for complaints.

In the event that you make a complaint related to the execution of an order, the ProRealTime teams will conduct an initial analysis to determine whether the follow-up to your complaint is the responsibility of ProRealTime or Interactive Brokers.

• ProRealTime will inform you whether or not it is responsible for the incident in the context of providing the RTO service. If this is the case, ProRealTime will be solely responsible for handling your complaint.
• If Interactive Brokers or the stock exchange is responsible, you can either file your complaint directly with Interactive Brokers or ask ProRealTime to forward the details of your complaint to them. In addition, we will assist you in your efforts by providing you and Interactive Brokers with all relevant information to give you the best chance of success.

Furthermore, for any claim involving a significant amount, we advise you to send your initial request directly to ProRealTime and to Interactive Brokers.

Closing a position and/or canceling a pending order

If you urgently need to close a position or cancel an order, the following page provides various solutions and useful contacts:

Closing a position and/or canceling a pending order

If you have an account with Interactive Brokers Ireland, you can connect it to ProRealTime.

If you have an account with another Interactive Brokers entity, the options available to you will vary depending on your country of residence.

Please contact us for more information.

Yes, you also have access to the platforms offered on interactivebrokers.ie. This includes TWS and the IBKR mobile application.