I decided to try Interactive Brokers…
I decided to try Interactive Brokers after hearing so many recommendations from experienced investors. The signup process was one of the worst, most frustrating onboarding experiences I've ever had. In about 90 minutes I encountered: • A maintenance window with no information or ETA. The only reason I discovered it was because I'm a software engineer who is used to checking status pages when something isn't working. Most users would have no idea what was happening. • Misleading logout errors instead of maintenance messages. • Inconsistent .ie and .co.uk signup flows. • Compliance questions asking for details most people simply don't know. • Security questions that feel like they're from 2005. • "Invalid MiFIR ID" errors without any explanation of what a MiFIR ID even is. • Session expiration after spending significant time filling out forms. • Marketing emails encouraging me to "start my application" while I was actively trying to complete it and being repeatedly blocked by errors. I don't mind maintenance. I don't mind compliance requirements. What I do mind is wasting my time because the system fails to communicate clearly. IBKR may be a great broker, but based on the onboarding experience alone, it feels like the software was designed by compliance teams with absolutely zero input from a product team. 1/5 stars. Will update this review if the actual post-signup experience turns out to be significantly better than the onboarding process.