Australian (ASX) Stock Market Forum

Interactive Brokers

Does anyone participate in Interactive Brokers LLC Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program, also know as the Stock Yield Enhancement Program. It's where you allow your fully paid shares to be lent out by IB and in return they will provide you with the (almost) equivalent cash collateral (102% adjusted daily)) upon which you can earn interest. You still own the shares and can sell at any time. I have just read through the terms of this program and it seems ideal for investors who have a large holding in shares (I assume US shares) that would otherwise sit there doing nothing.

I am curious if anyone else has participated and whether they think it worth the effort.

Read more about it here (scroll down)

https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=14527

Looks interesting.
Is it much extra effort?
 
Looks interesting.
Is it much extra effort?

I don't think it requires you to do anything except tick a box. But I have never participated so don't have any personal experience. Also the interest rate you get appears dependent on the shares that are lent. The highest rate going to those that it describes as difficult to borrow (and hence IB can lend out a higher rate). All my US shares are AAPL (Apple), so I would assume that is an easy one to borrow as there are so many issued.
 
Does anyone participate in Interactive Brokers LLC Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program, also know as the Stock Yield Enhancement Program.

I have been informed by IB that this facility is not available to IB clients, but may be offered some time in the future. Pity.
 
As discussed elsewhere @bellenuit, in the pool already. (would think u will never get an invite to that party under current structure - they have no reason to do it)

New question for IB users:
Do you get access to "LIC Capitals Gains Deductions" when they are available? (for LIC holdings)
 
As discussed elsewhere @bellenuit, in the pool already. (would think u will never get an invite to that party under current structure - they have no reason to do it)

That is just speculation. The full reply that sent me seems to indicate that their current structure doesn’t allow shares to be lent for shorting.
 
Ummm.......I know they are a prime broker........and that they put all holdings in an omnibus account (which makes securities fungible)...........and that their terms and conditions specifically allow them to 'transfer' positions to to sub-custodians or affiliates (known as third party affiliates)........

If you are actually concerned that 'your' Apple shares are being used to short you can prevent this by putting a Sell Order on them (at a high price so they will not sell). This then removes those shares out of the short pool and locks them up.

Anyway...

Bump: New question for IB users:
Do you get access to "LIC Capitals Gains Deductions" when they are available? (for LIC holdings)
 
Anyone hit by portfolio value bug on IBKR platform today? It seems many customers' portfolio fell to zero due to a bug during Asian trading hours.

If it is just a display bug, it is not so bad. Just a mild heart attack. My greatest fear is that it led to erroneous auto-liquidation of portfolio. This will cause permanent damage to a person's wealth. Anyone encountered mistaken auto-liquidation due to the bug? It did not happen to me but I will be very concerned if it happens to anyone else. I hope IBKR be very careful with software updates going forward.

https://www.elitetrader.com/et/threads/ibkr-portfolio-value-broken-6am-gmt.318982/
 
Anyone hit by portfolio value bug on IBKR platform today?

Unless it happened and was subsequently rectified without me knowing, both my accounts are currently in order with all positions as they should be. One account, an individual, has already been migrated to the Australian company and the other account, a company account, has yet to be migrated.

One thing that happened to my individual account that others may need to watch out for (this is unrelated to your problem). My individual account got migrated to the Australian company late last year. However it seems my W8-BEN expired on January 1st 2018 and I was not reminded of or requested to complete a new one. This meant the withholding tax on my US dividends was at 30% when I received a US dividend mid February instead of the W8-BEN withholding rate of 15%. I have contacted support and managed to get the difference reimbursed, but if anyone else who has been migrated owns US dividend paying shares, it might be worth checking the status of your W8-BEN.
 
Yeh been like it for me for a few months

Open profit and loss is about as accurate as my snooker skills.
The portfolio tally is always correct fortunately.
 
Is anybody (IB AU account holder) able to hold foreign cash on the IB platform?

I was lead to believe foreign cash dividends were exempt from the AU regulatory restriction on holding foreign cash, now I see they are not and all non USD foreign cash is being swept back to base at end of day.

There must be a way to circumvent this restriction
 
I have USD in a non-margin individual account, with AUD as the base currency. I believe they only sweep if it is less than some very small amount (USD 5, USD 10 ?)
 
I have USD in a non-margin individual account, with AUD as the base currency. I believe they only sweep if it is less than some very small amount (USD 5, USD 10 ?)

Sweep is probably the wrong term, they are automatically converting foreign cash holdings at end of day, stating it is out of their control, a measure imposed by AU regulators
 
They aren't sweeping my USD (a high % of the cash in the account) but are sweeping small amounts of EUR. I stopped trading EUR with them as it is so annoying.
 
They're doing this with all non USD foreign cash holdings, no matter the amount. Im not concerned about amounts under $5. I receive SGD, HKD, CAD, EUR, GBP, USD, everything but USD gets converted back to base every day.

Its doubly disappointing because I was told several times this would not happen, I made sure to check before I opened the account.

The situation is completely ridiculous, there must be a workaround, currency risk is a real thing, unnecessary commissions are just as real, this is a major issue for anyone wanting to hold a basket of currencies.

Especially considering I now need to convert the AUD back into foreign currency in order to accumulate more foreign stocks. I'm not sure if they're pulling my chain, they say AU is the only country that imposes this restriction, I've lodged a support ticket to try and find their documentation that supports this claim.

I see the big 4 all offer multi currency accounts, so maybe these regs aren't imposed on domestic brokerage houses.
 
got the answer from support today,

Currency conversions between AUD and USD will be allowed in the new account. As a background, Australian law (Part 7.8 of the Corporations Act), requires banks and brokers to maintain one or more Trust/segregated client money accounts (Client Money Accounts held in Trust) with a bank, for the holding of monies it receives on behalf of clients, in each specific currency.

Initially, we have only setup the Trust/Client Money Accounts in Australian dollars (AUD) and U.S. dollars (USD). Hence, your new IB Australia account will be allowed to hold both AUD and USD, and convert currency between AUD and USD.

Our management is fully aware that offering only two currencies for holding or conversion is limiting, and we are evaluating the possibility of adding new bank accounts held in Trust for other currencies. At this time, we cannot provide a time frame for the addition of new currencies, however we do plan to evaluate additional currency offerings in the future.

Leveraged trading of spot FX cannot be offered at this time, although we continue to review this matter for future implementation.

 
Some people have asked what protection we have since being migrated to IB Australia. I received this from IB Australia when I asked that question:

As an AFSL holder, Market Particpant and Clearing Participant Interactive Brokers Australia requires to maintain one or more Trust/segregated client money accounts (Client Money Accounts held in Trust) with a bank, for the holding of monies it receives on behalf of clients. This means it is protected in the case of insolvency from IBA's creditors. Client money is segregated from house money and IBA only uses client money as directed by Clients or as allowed under the Corporations Act 2001.

In addition, IB Australia is a participant of ASX. For securities traded on ASX, clients may be able to access the National Guarantee Fund (NGF) if you suffer losses in certain circumstances (but not due for instance to market losses). However, claiming from NGF would be subject to their guideline. For further details, you should read the material or contact NGF directly.

The financial services offered by IBA are covered by a professional indemnity insurance policy which satisfies the requirements for compensations arrangements set out under section 912B of the Corporations Act. The IB Australia Financial Services Guide can be found here: https://www.interactivebrokers.com.au/en/index.php?f=legalDocs&p=disclosures
You will need to scroll down to access it.

Please note IB AU is a part of Interactive Brokers Group which has an equity capital of more than US$6 billion, is risk adverse and has reported solid earnings in the past 20 consecutive years. We believe IB's conservative approach to margin, strong capital and solid history of earnings along with the strict client money rules in all markets in which we are regulated should provide confidence to our clients.
 
Can an Individual Investor still trade options with IB given they no longer allow margin for Aus clients? Cant seem to find the answer on their website
 
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