[SOLVED] I can not invest in US domiciled ETF anymore with IB

Investing / Brokers
23

Where did you see this?

24

I guess from a personal chat with IBKR?

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25

yes, you’re right :+1: today it’s fixed
 i can buy the us etf’s now

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26

Well looks like they solved it for you
 and transferred the problem to me!
I contacted the customer support, but received the same feedback about MiFID and missing KID on my language (VT and VTI affected)

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27

Did you indicate or set your language to anything other than English with IBKR? Or open your account from an EEA country?

I haven’t noticed any access issues to U.S. lately.

3 Likes
28

And transferred to me also, since today! Hope they solve it.

29

Why cant they transfair my problem to someone else too? I still can not trade them


30

My settings are on english and account was opened in CH.

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31

Account with 2 languages set: Italian and English. But i don’t think this is the problem, they clearly know i can speak/understand english. They also specifically referred that if i change my account to professional investor, then the limitation would be lifted.

32

same here. Casually change to professional investor. Just have 500k ready. Pocket change.

33

Same here. I need a KID in a language approved in my country.

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34

Same for me, had the surprise as of this morning.

35

I have the same problem since this morning. On a different note - people who have managed to contact IBKR, how did you do it? When I click on “contact us” all I get is an FAQ with a search function.

36

Yes, the same here. Any chance this will un-blocked?

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37

I had a chat with customer representative and they said they are working on it and that I would soon receive an email with some information. No indication whether it would be resolved or not. Best

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38

Hi all! Today Interactive Brokers removed trade permissions on US ETFs.

Are you experiencing the same?

39

Oops, now I am also getting the same message :grimacing:

40

Same here
 I hope they will revert it!

41

Response received from customer service doesn’t look very good
 Anyone else got this?

We are a global broker and we have different entities for different locations. Account are opened on the basis of the Country of Legal residence of a client.

We can see that your account is opened under IB - UK entity

European residents and residents of Switzerland whose account is opened under IB - UK entity classified as “Retail” investors are subject to MiFID regulations which prevent them from transacting in certain products where the issuer does not offer the required product disclosures (known as KIDS).

It is possible to be reclassified from Retail to Professional once certain qualitative, quantitative and procedural requirements are met.

Qualitative Requirements: we must conduct an assessment of your expertise, experience and knowledge to ensure that you are capable of making your own investment decisions and that you understand the risks involved.

Quantitative Requirements: we must ensure you have satisfied two of the following criteria:

1.You have carried out trades in significant size (EUR 200,000 or greater) on the relevant market at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous 4 quarters;

2.Your entire portfolio including cash (and positions not held with IBKR) exceeds EUR 500,000;

3.You have worked in the financial sector for at least 1 year in a professional position.

Procedural Requirements: if you believe you meet the requirements to be reclassified as a Professional, you can submit a request to change your status in Client Portal by selecting the Settings menu followed by Account Settings and Configuration. Click on the Configure (gear) icon next to “MiFID Client Category” and follow the steps on the screen. Please note:

Depending on your situation you might be requested to upload documentation of portfolios held or trades executed away from IBKR supporting your request;

You will be presented with the “Professional Client Notification” document which explains the protections and investor compensation rights you will lose from being classified as Professional.

If you believe that you would qualify as a professional then you can request to be re-categorized as a Professional Client in Account Management under Settings > Account Settings > MiFID Client Category.

However please note you can trade ETF’s other than U.S. ETF’s. You can use the “Advanced Market Scanner” in the TWS, select European Stocks and XETRA ETF as an exchange.

You can also visit online search engines for EU listed ETFs such as www.justetf.com or www.extraetf.com. Any ETF you finds there you will be able to trade, you would only needs to copy and paste the ISIN into the TWS.

Please refer to the following link for more information on MiFID categorization:
https://ibkr.info/node/3298

1 Like
42

So if I understand correctly, if we have less than 500k we will no longer be able to invest in all the US products that do not provide the necessary documentation?

18 years old, no salary now, 15k at IBKR
 it’s going to be a long time until 500k :sweat_smile:

1 Like