Interactive Brokers Reports Fewer DARTs for August 2021
Interactive Brokers LLC (NASDAQ:IBKR) saw 2.17 million daily average revenue trades, or DARTS, in August 2021 compared to 2.36 million in July. One thing to note is that there was 1 day less in August.
Although the figure is higher by nearly 25 percent on a yearly basis, the listed broker had seen this metric down by 8 percent relative to its July counterpart. Interactive Brokers is hardly the only platform seeing such sluggish growth last month as all of its publicly traded rivals have also reduced their trading volume from their July’s totals.
Although most US brokers now offer commission-free trades on almost all exchange-traded products, the so-called DARTs are still a key brokerage industry standard for measuring their clients’ activity.
Furthermore, Interactive Brokers has won more clients, with total August’s active accounts up to 1.49 million accounts the previous month. The figure was higher by 3 percent from 1.45 million accounts reported in the month prior and 54 percent year-over-year when compared to August 2020.
Interactive Brokers seemingly loosens its grip on borrowed margins, which were reduced last month amid fears over the impact of the spreading coronavirus on its traders’ bets. The company’s client margin loans rose to a record $49.7 billion in August 2021 from $47.9 billion in July.
On average, in August 2021, Interactive Brokers charged clients commission fees of $2.39 per order, relative to $2.38 in July. This figure includes exchange, clearing and regulatory fees, with the key products metrics coming out at $1.68 for stocks, $3.46 for equity options, and $4.31 for futures orders.
2020 and 2021 have been the busiest trading years on record in the US, with almost all big brokers and major exchanges sensing the intensity of the huge turnover that was only seen in the depths of the financial crisis in 2008., However, the rapid shifts in the retail scene resulted in Robinhood’s turnover to outperform all of the incumbent brokerage firms.
Ranked as the largest electronic broker in the US by some metrics, Interactive Brokers has been expanding its presence in Europe in 2021 as it continues to grow its international business. The discount broker expects to expand its staffing substantially this year to accommodate its recently-established offices in Hungary and Ireland.
