It is the right first question to ask. You are sending money to a broker in another country. Here is how the protection works, from the layer that matters most to the one people over-rate.
1. The account is yours
Your account at Interactive Brokers is opened in your own name, with your own login. We can see it and build your portfolio in it, but we cannot withdraw money from it. Withdrawals go only to a bank account in your name. If we disappeared tomorrow, your account and your investments would carry on as they are.
2. Your assets are kept separate from the broker’s
US rules require brokers to segregate client securities and cash from their own money. Interactive Brokers calculates what it owes clients every day and sets those assets aside for their exclusive benefit. If a broker fails, segregated client assets are not available to its creditors.
3. The broker itself
Interactive Brokers Group is listed on Nasdaq and is one of the world’s largest electronic brokers, regulated in the US by the SEC and FINRA. Its accounts for global trading are carried by Interactive Brokers LLC, the US entity.
4. SIPC and excess cover
Interactive Brokers LLC is a member of SIPC, which protects client accounts up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 in cash, if a member broker fails and client assets are missing. On top of that, Interactive Brokers carries excess cover through Lloyd’s of London of up to $30 million per account, with a cash limit of $900,000, subject to an overall limit of $150 million.
What none of this protects
- Market falls. SIPC replaces missing assets. It does not cover a fall in their value.
- Currency moves. A stronger rupee reduces the rupee value of your holdings.
- Indian regulatory remedies. An overseas account is outside SEBI’s jurisdiction, so SEBI’s investor protection mechanisms don’t extend to it.
What you can do
- Turn on two-factor authentication on your Interactive Brokers login.
- Keep your email and phone number current, so you receive every alert.
- Check your statements yourself. You don’t need us to see your own account.
Protection limits are as published by Interactive Brokers in October 2026. Confirm the carrying entity in your account agreement.