International Brokerage Account: IBKR and Alternatives

For globally mobile capital, an international brokerage account has become basic infrastructure: a single platform provides access to exchanges in the US, Europe, and Asia, to multiple currencies and instruments at once. The best-known example is Interactive Brokers (IBKR); alongside it stand Saxo Bank, Swissquote, and international divisions of major banks.

What it is

A brokerage account with a regulated broker gives the holder direct access to securities markets: stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, and often the foreign exchange market. Unlike a local broker, an international platform combines dozens of exchanges and currencies in one interface, which is convenient for those whose assets and expenses are distributed across different countries.

What the account provides

• Access to global markets from a single account in real time.
• Multi-currency functionality: storage and trading in different currencies, conversion close to interbank rates.
• Margin lending against the portfolio—leverage and liquidity without selling assets.
• Low commissions and fractional shares, which lower the entry threshold for diversification.

Asset protection and regulation

The level of protection depends on which regulated legal entity services the account, and brokers typically distribute clients across subsidiaries depending on country of residence. In the US, SIPC operates: compensation up to $500,000 per account, including up to $250,000 in cash, if the broker goes bankrupt. In the UK, FSCS operates with an investment limit of £85,000: the increase to £120,000 from 1 December 2025 applied only to bank deposits and does not extend to brokerage claims. The basic principle is the same everywhere—segregation of client assets from the broker's own funds, so in the event of the intermediary's bankruptcy, the client's securities are returned to them in most cases.

Reporting and taxes

The broker is a financial institution under CRS and FATCA: it transmits data on balances and income to the client's country of tax residence. A non-US resident signs form W-8BEN to apply the reduced treaty rate to dividends (by default, 30% is withheld from US dividends). Capital gains are generally taxed in the owner's country of residence.

Access restrictions

Opening and maintaining an account depend on KYC and sanctions compliance. Some brokers restrict service by citizenship or country of residence, and after 2022, many clients with Russian ties faced freezes and refusals. Therefore, the choice of broker and servicing entity should be verified in advance, before transferring assets.

Where direct access to global markets came from

Back in the 1990s, a private client accessed NYSE, LSE, or HKEX almost always through private banking: high entry threshold, personal banker oversight, and commissions embedded in the spread. Electronic brokers lowered this threshold. Interactive Brokers grew out of Timber Hill—a market maker that was one of the first to move options trading to electronic rails in the late 1970s, and in the 1990s opened direct exchange access to external clients. By the 2010s, mobile apps, fractional shares, and multi-currency accounts were added.

For globally mobile capital, the result is simple: one account with a regulated broker replaces several local ones. Money and securities in different currencies are kept in one place, conversion happens at exchange rates, and portfolio reporting is centralized. The same market access that was once presented as a private banking privilege is now available directly; the bank's role in this scheme is reduced to custody and portfolio lending.

Broker landscape: IBKR and alternatives

IBKR is usually taken as the benchmark due to its coverage: dozens of exchanges in one interface, a wide list of currencies and instruments, margin lending against the portfolio. Alternatives fall into two groups. Brokers with banking licenses—Swissquote and Saxo Bank (a Danish bank with a premium platform)—provide storage comfort and a familiar banking perimeter. Specialized brokers like Exante or local players cover specific niches: exotic markets, specific asset classes, work with particular passports.

For a family office, the practical question comes down to one thing: through which legal entity is the account opened. IBKR itself has different entities—US-based IBKR LLC, UK-based IB UK, Ireland-based Interactive Brokers Ireland (which has serviced all EU and EEA residents since August 1, 2024). The choice of entity determines the asset protection regime, sanctions exposure, and the set of available markets.

Compensation schemes by jurisdiction

It's important to understand what these schemes actually protect against. They are triggered in the event of the broker's bankruptcy and the loss of client assets, i.e., when the custody function fails. They never cover a decline in the portfolio's market value—SIPC explicitly states that it does not compensate for losses from falling quotes. And the compensation limits themselves are modest compared to a large portfolio.

What the limits cover by country

In the US, SIPC covers up to $500,000 per account (including up to $250,000 in cash), and IBKR LLC maintains an excess SIPC policy with Lloyd's underwriters on top of that—another $30 million per account with a cumulative limit of $150 million. In the UK, FSCS compensates up to £85,000 on investment claims — that limit was left unchanged, unlike the deposit one. The Irish ICS pays 90% of losses, but no more than €20,000 per investor. In Switzerland, esisuisse insures deposits up to 100,000 francs, while securities under Swiss law are segregated and returned to the client regardless of the bank's fate.

Russian resident: narrowing corridor

For holders with Russian tax residency, the access corridor has narrowed significantly after 2022. IBKR first suspended some operations for clients from Russia, and in November 2024 sent notices of account closure within 30 days even to those with EU residence permits. Euro-denominated securities and instruments traded on European venues fell under EU sanctions sensitivity.

In parallel, an infrastructure freeze occurred: after EU sanctions against NSD in summer 2022, the assets of Russian investors accounted for through the Euroclear–NSD bridge were blocked. Automatic exchange of tax information under the CRS standard with Russia was suspended by a number of jurisdictions. At the same time, Russian requirements have not gone anywhere: a Russian tax resident is obliged to notify the Federal Tax Service about opening and closing an account with a foreign broker and submit an annual report on the movement of funds (the exact list of exceptions depends on the current version of currency legislation).

Where this is heading

The trend of recent years is consistent: KYC and sanctions compliance are tightening, and account access increasingly depends on the holder's passport and tax residency—the size of capital takes a back seat. A single multi-currency account remains a basic tool for a global portfolio, but its opening and maintenance are now planned in advance, together with the choice of entity, custody jurisdiction, and ownership structure. For family capital, a brokerage account makes sense to consider as one node of the overall structure—in conjunction with private banking, multi-currency functionality, and tax planning through residency.

This material is for informational and analytical purposes only and does not replace individual investment, legal, or tax advice.