There has been a financial counseling branch of Interactive Brokers since 2007, but the name "Interactive Advisers" (IA) wasn't picked until 2019. At first, the firm offered a free service that attempted to assist customers in attaining the same outcomes as paid money managers by emulating their behaviors

Although the name "Interactive Advisers" (IA) wasn't officially chosen until 2019, the financial advice division of Interactive Brokers (IB) began operations in 2007. Initially, the company provided a no-cost service that mimicked the actions of professional money managers to help clients achieve similar results. In 2015, when Interactive Brokers Group bought the robo-advisor Covestor, the first mainstream robo-advisory platform appeared.

Creating An Account

Opening an Interactive Brokers account is a prerequisite to joining Interactive Advisors. Then, you'll fill out a brief questionnaire with information about your investment objectives, time horizon, and comfort level with risk, just like with any other robo-advisor.

Call-in customers can reach customer support agents Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET). Questions can be asked via chat or emailed to the support team. In addition, investors can consult authorized investment advisors.

Investing in the IA portfolios may start with as little as $100, whereas managed portfolios may require more money from new investors. Only portfolios suitable for the level of risk you are willing to take will be available to you.

Establishing Objectives

IA uses a Goal Tracker application to plan and keep tabs on their progress. You have several savings options: retirement, healthcare, property, travel, and more. The program then displays a screen with a summary of the first and subsequent contributions and a graph of the average predicted returns and risk, including best and worst-case scenario outcomes. You can see how the likelihood of success varies as you modify the parameters contributing to it, such as donations, accurate target dates, and expenses.

Services for Accounts

Self-directed trading and a wide selection of financial products are available through the more significant Interactive Brokers business but not on the Interactive Advisers platform.

If a customer already has a robo-advisor account with IA, they may convert it to an IB Universal Account and have access to all of IB's self-trading tools. Although support is provided, this service is appropriate for those who want hands-off digital investment management.

The platform's unique aspect is its wide variety of investment options. Customers of IA have no access to margin, and the firm's portfolios don't use this financial instrument in their investment methods.

Handling Money

The IA platform does not offer Cash Management Accounts at this time. As a result, there are no sweeps for automatically managing cash available through Interactive Advisors. Interactive Brokers provides customers with access to Cash Management Accounts.

Building a Portfolio

The digital customer looking for various management methods and low-cost managed investment portfolios can find what they need in Interactive Advisors. It will be discussed in depth in the subsequent Portfolio Management portion of this evaluation that the accessible portfolios contain both IA-designed offerings and scores of externally managed assets.

Interactive Advisors provides access to 78 separate portfolios managed by 25 fund managers. The many ESG investments cover a wide range of socially responsible topics, from environmental protection to social equality and women empowerment.

Security

When it comes to safety, Interactive Brokers is among the finest. Users can request a security gadget to use alongside two-factor authentication. Throughout the past month, there have been zero data theft or loss incidents.

The SIPC provides the typical level of protection of $500,000, including $250,000 for cash, for client securities accounts. Lloyds of London provides Interactive Brokers $30,000,000 in extra insurance and $900,000. Broker-dealer insolvency risk is covered, but investment value fluctuations are not.

Education

When learning about investing in general, Interactive Advisors' instructional materials are more concerned with the specific portfolios you choose from. The Smarter Investing blog is where most of IA's instructional materials can be found in one convenient location.

The blog aims to educate readers on how to make wise financial decisions by discussing macroeconomic trends, trading techniques, and investment best practices. Investing, tactics, and forecasting are the primary subject areas covered here.

The diversity of lesson plans makes them useful for investors of all experience levels, from newcomers who want to learn about volatility to seasoned pros who want to know more about the connection between thin-margin corporations and inflation.

Income from Commissions and Other Sources

Clients pay nothing beyond the asset management fees and the underlying fund management expenses. Trading is commission free, and so are withdrawals from your account. The percentage of assets under management (AUM) fees varies per portfolio.

Several IA-managed portfolios have costs starting at 0.08% AUM, making them competitive with the cheapest robo-advisors.  The highest-priced managed portfolios cost 1.5 percent AUM. Portfolios with higher fees often employ more complicated and speculative investing techniques.