Interactive Brokers is launching a trading app geared to novice investors that’s poised to compete with rivals like Robinhood.
The Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm announced the new platform called IBKR GlobalTrader, which allows customers to make deposits in up to 23 different currencies, according to a Tuesday release.
The app is a new frontier for Interactive Brokers, which has long catered to experienced self-guided traders as well as hedge funds and other money managers. The firm hasn’t had as much traction with investors new to financial markets, who’ve gravitated instead to platforms such as Robinhood and Webull Financial due to their simple design and easy sign-up process.
“We view it as a way to attract a new audience that’s used to something simpler,” said Steve Sanders, executive vice president of marketing and product development at Interactive Brokers. “Our other platforms have lots of features, but some people may find them complex.”
Interactive Brokers has more than 1.75 million accounts in more than 200 countries and territories. The median account holder is 42 years old, and the average account balance is around $200,000, according to Sanders.
Bloomberg Intelligence estimates show that retail traders slid to about 18.5% of U.S. equity volume in the fourth quarter, compared to a peak of 24% in the first quarter of 2021, when a
