IBKR Sees Strong March Trading, Expands to Canada

Interactive Brokers has reported a significant surge in daily trading activity for March, alongside the expansion of its predictive markets trading services into Canada. The electronic brokerage firm saw a 44% year-over-year increase in Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) during the month, reaching 3.471 million.

While DARTs experienced a slight 4% decrease compared to February, the company's overall client equity and margin loan balances remained at high levels. Interactive Brokers ended March with 3.62 million client accounts, a 32% annual increase, with net account additions of 87,700. Total client equity reached $573.5 billion, up 23% from the previous year.

In a separate development, Interactive Brokers is extending its predictive markets offering to Canada. Customers of Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. will now be able to use the IBKR ForecastTrader web platform to place bets on the outcomes of market-moving events, such as economic data releases and political decisions.

"Forecast Contracts allow investors to engage with the most important questions driving today's markets, from inflation and interest rates to geopolitical developments and climate change," said Steve Sanders, the firm's Executive Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, in a statement. "They provide a direct and accessible way to manage risk and express market views through a focused, easy-to-use platform."

It was noted that clients in Canada will not be permitted to trade futures contracts tied to the upcoming Canadian election on April 28 due to regulatory reasons. Additionally, in March, Interactive Brokers added four new cryptocurrencies - Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Ripple (XRP), and Dogecoin (DOGE) - to its trading platform.