ProRealTime with Interactive Brokers - Brokerage fees Glossary

ADR (American Depository Receipt)

American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are instruments listed in the United States that represent shares in foreign companies.
They enable these shares to be bought and sold on US markets in dollars.

Entry / Exit

Refers to executing a transaction that opens a position (entry), then executing a transaction that closes that position (exit).

Bid / Ask

The bid (or “offer”) is the highest price at which a buyer is willing to purchase a financial instrument on the market at a given moment.
The ask (or “demand”) is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell that same financial instrument on the market at a given moment.

Multi-currency accounts

A multi-currency account allows you to hold and manage cash in multiple currencies in a single account.

Contract

A contract refers to a standardized financial instrument that defines the terms and conditions for trading an asset (price, quantity, maturity).
It is often used for derivatives (futures, options).

PRT Credits

See the dedicated page: PRT credits

Brokerage fees

Brokerage fees are the fees charged for transmitting and executing buy or sell orders on financial markets. They are charged directly by the broker when each order is executed.

Exchange and clearing fees

Exchange fees and clearing fees are fees charged by the stock exchange and clearing organizations.
When rates indicate “+exchange fees,” these fees are charged in addition to brokerage fees.

Negative interest rates / Financing fees

If you invest with leverage or in an instrument quoted in a currency without holding sufficient funds in that currency, the account holder may lend you the amount necessary to obtain the desired position.
This loan is subject to “negative balance interest,” which is also sometimes referred to as “financing fees,” “debit interest,” or “borrowing interest.”
In most cases, this interest applies only to loans held overnight (i.e., from one day to the next, after the market closes).

Available cash

Cash refers to the money available in cash in a securities account.
Please note that certain investments in your account, such as the purchase or sale of futures contracts, may tie up part of your cash as margin to cover this ongoing investment. The portion of cash in your account that is not tied up is referred to as “available cash.”

Order

An order is an instruction to buy or sell a financial instrument, according to conditions such as: instrument, type, price, quantity, validity, etc.

Margins

The margin is the amount tied up in the account to open or maintain a position on an instrument that allows leverage. It serves as collateral to cover the position.

Mark-up

Commission applied in addition to a reference rate.
Example: the reference rate is 1.5%. The mark-up is 0.5%. The rate applied is therefore 2%.

Smart Routing

Most stocks can be traded on several exchanges.
Smart Routing refers to a system whereby your orders are automatically sent to the exchange offering the best execution conditions at that specific moment. To determine the best execution conditions, Smart Routing may take several factors into account, such as: the best purchase or sale price, speed, probability of execution, the size and type of your order, and the costs associated with execution.

Negative balance

A negative balance in a given currency means that your account balance in that currency is less than zero.
It is equivalent to borrowing that amount from the broker, on which an interest rate specified in the fee schedule applies.

Spread

The spread is the difference between the best bid price and the best ask price available on the market at a given time for a financial instrument.
It naturally results from the difference between the price offered by buyers (bid) and the price requested by sellers (ask).
Some brokers or banks modify the spread to include their commission. This is not the case with ProRealTime, which charges brokerage fees separately from your transactions without adding any spread.

Benchmark rate

A reference rate (often called a “benchmark rate”) is a public, standard rate used as the basis for calculating certain interest rates. It is set by an official body or by the market.
The reference rates used are specific to each currency.

Financial Transaction Tax / FTT

The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) is a tax applied to certain transactions.
It is collected on behalf of the tax authorities of the country that introduced it.
Learn more

Transaction

A transaction corresponds to the purchase or sale of a financial instrument. A transaction is therefore an order that has been executed.
Opening a position is a transaction. Closing this position is another transaction.

Trade value

The trade value is the total amount of a transaction.
It corresponds to the price of the instrument (nominal value) multiplied by the quantity traded, excluding fees.

Short selling

Short selling involves selling an instrument that you do not own.
It is based on borrowing the instrument beforehand.

Trading volume

Trading volume (or transaction volume) can refer to:

  • the total quantity of assets (shares, contracts, etc.) traded on a specific market or security during a given period (e.g., hour, day, session).
  • the number of transactions carried out by a given person over a given period (e.g., volume per day, volume per month).

ProRealTime offers reception and transmission of orders services on leveraged financial instruments with the broker Interactive Brokers who provides order execution services. Trading on leveraged instruments (Futures, selling options, short selling) exposes you to risk of loss greater than your deposits and is only suitable for experienced clients who have sufficient financial means to bear such risk. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 60% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with Interactive Brokers. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. No information on this site is investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument.