FCM Name: Interactive Brokers LLC
CEO Name: Thomas Peterffy, Chairman & CEO
Head of Risk Name: Thomas Frank, EVP & CIO and Jonathan Chait, COO
Do you have a risk committee? Yes.
If yes, who is the head of your risk committee?
The IB Group Steering Committee meets weekly and addresses risk topics. It is chaired by Milan Galik, President of IB Group.
If yes, what matters does your risk committee consider?
• Systematic risk due to potential market dislocations.
• Concentration and large position risk.
• Risk and margin algorithms.
What is your general approach to risk management?
IBKR controls risk by advanced automated methods supervised by teams of Risk Managers. IBKR’s risk management methods and software systems are continually being improved to support changing market conditions and new products. Some general features are:
• Accounts are margined in real-time.
• Positions are automatically reduced to bring accounts into margin compliance.
• Clients and the Risk Managers are provided with comprehensive risk and stress test reports.
• Clients and the Risk Managers are provided with sophisticated, real-time risk management tools.
How is pre-trade risk management handled?
IBKR’s software calculates the Net Liquidation Value (NLV) and the statutory and house margin requirements for each account whenever an order is placed or a trade report is received. In addition, NLV is calculated on an ongoing basis with up-to-date mark-to-market values. Any order that would result in the account being in a margin deficiency if the order were executed in whole, is rejected.
What additional procedures are in place for large traders?
Large traders with outsized exposure are monitored on daily reports and are subject to special review by Risk Managers.
Do you have a policy on auto-liquidation of accounts at risk of debit?
Yes. As noted above, the NLV and margin requirement for each account are computed intra-day on a regular basis and when the account becomes margin deficient, one or more orders are automatically placed in order to bring the account into margin compliance.
What risk parameters/procedures are in place for extreme market volatility; i.e., recent Swiss Franc?
House margin intervals are adjusted based on the standard deviation of the underlying price as well as market action and fundamental data. In addition, stress scenarios are used to increase margin above statutory levels when warranted.
Do all accounts on your book go through a formal credit review?
All accounts are subject to a real-time credit review whenever an order is entered and intra-day as prices are updated.
If no, what procedures are in place to ensure that the risk for those accounts is being managed?
Risk is managed by automatic calculation of account margin requirements and NLV and automatic closing of positions in order to keep accounts in margin compliance. IBKR’s regional risk management teams use real-time tools to supervise the status of accounts that are approaching or have reached a margin deficiency. Stress test, Historical Value at Risk, Covariant Value at Risk and Event Risk reports are generated each evening for individual accounts as well as in the aggregate for the firm’s risk management. Risk (the potential loss to an account) and exposure (the potential loss to an account in excess of their NLV) are both considered. Accounts with high exposure in each product category are highlighted to the risk managers.
What risk management software do you use internally to manage risk? Is that software also available to your Introducing Brokers?
IBRK writes all of its own risk analysis software. The daily Stress Test, Historical Value at Risk, Covariant Value at Risk reports are made available to all clients including Introducing Brokers and their clients. IBKR also provides, at no charge, its Risk Navigator software as part of its Trader Workstation trading front-end. Risk Navigator provides the following information.
• Contract and position “greeks”: delta, gamma, vega and theta.
• Bond contract and position “greeks”: duration, convexity, DV01.
• P&L curves over user definable price ranges including volatility shifted curves.
• Beta Weighted Portfolio Analysis.
• Custom analysis for Equity, Foreign Exchange, Commodity, Fixed Income, etc. products.
• What-If Scenario Analysis that allows users see how potential trades could affect the risk characteristics of their portfolios.
Please describe your cyber security policy and how risk is managed?
IBKR has a risk-based Information Security Policy that addresses cyber security and the overall topic of information security. IBKR has deployed state-of-the-art technologies to protect client confidentiality and client assets. And it has ongoing programs to introduce new technologies as they become viable.
Has your firm ever been hacked? If so what steps were taken to rectify the situation?
Along with much of the industry, IBRK was subject to the “pump and dump” attacks that occurred more than a decade ago. In response, IBKR became a pioneer in the industry of two-factor authentication technology. It is currently deploying its fourth generation of two-factor security devices so that clients have the highest levels of login security available. Clients are provided with credit card form factor devices that incorporate keypads, LDC displays and cryptographic technology in order to prove their identity when they log in. In addition a two-factor authentication application is available for use by clients on their smart phones.
Additional Comments:
Mike Brady Institutional Sales
Office: (312) 542-6851
Mobile: (312) 550-4761
Fax: (312) 984-1005
209 South LaSalle Street
Eleventh Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60604-1219
