Interactive Brokers ForecastEx

What Is ForecastEx?

ForecastEx LLC is a prediction markets exchange owned by Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (Nasdaq: IBKR). The IBKR ForecastTrader is the interface inside Interactive Brokers accounts, which clients use to place orders.

IBKR Forecast Trader, ForecastEx Interactive Brokers, and Interactive Brokers ForecastEx subsidiary are all variants of the same search. Every naming variant resolves to one of the three things.

ForecastEx and Interactive Brokers

To make things easier for users to understand, ForecastEx LLC is the exchange. Interactive Brokers Group is the owner. The ForecastEx exchange works via an interface accessible through your Interactive Brokers account.

ForecastEx vs ForecastTrader

Access for ForecastEx runs through existing Interactive Brokers accounts. It doesn’t require a different sign-up, and no separate self-registration service is available at forecastex.com.

Interactive Brokers is a CFTC-regulated futures commission merchant that carries the ForecastEx account.

This is important to understand before starting, and it shapes everything else on this page, including funding, fees, and settlement. Everything goes through the same IBKR account instead of a separate wallet.

Who Can Trade on It

Users with active Interactive Brokers accounts can trade ForecastEx contracts. You don’t need to sign-up for a separate account on ForecastEx itself.

Is ForecastEx Regulated?

Yes, ForecastEx Interactive Brokers is CFTC-regulated. 

The CFTC Designation

Like many exchanges licensed in the US, ForecastEx has a CFTC-designated contract market designation, with an additional Derivatives Clearing Organization registration. It has the same regulatory status as Kalshi, but compared to competitors, it was the first venue to hold both designations.

Access is provided by Interactive Brokers LLC, which is another CFTC-registered venue. Players can verify this license directly via the CFTC’s own register, instead of taking the exchange’s word, as things change quickly.

What Clearing Means Here

Some users might be confused about what clearing means here. What it means is that ForecastEx clears its own contracts, as it has the green light to do so thanks to the DCO registration.

Brokerage-wise, it answers the question: “Where does counterparty risk actually sit?”. It also works quite differently than other exchanges, which rely on outside clearinghouses for contracts.

Where You Can Trade

Availability for futures trading exchanges is federal, so it’s not licensed at a state level. Traders should confirm market availability directly, as some states don’t allow for all trading categories.

The same contracts are distributed to Robinhood customers and Robinhood Derivatives, which is a second access point beyond an Interactive Brokers account.

For a broader look at the current federal status, see the prediction markets tracker.

What You Can Trade on ForecastEx

The IBKR Forecast Trader exchange offers several categories to trade on. They’re led by economic forecast contracts, with additional categories covered.

The Categories Covered

Economics and economic indicators lead the catalog of categories available at ForecastEx. Climate and weather contracts, as well as politics markets, are popular, too.

Interactive Broker is the only venue that provides access to CME Group’s own event-contract listings. It works through the same account, and effectively widens the catalog beyond ForecastEx’s native markets.

How a Forecast Contract Works

Forecast or prediction contracts split the options into Yes or No. They’re typically priced between $0.00 and $1.00. The price is the market’s implied probability.

Contracts settle at one dollar or nothing when the event resolves. Positions can be closed before resolution, which is a major advantage for ForecastEx Interactive Brokers traders.

Volume and Liquidity

Liquidity at ForecastEx is thinner than Kalshi or Polymarket. ForecastEx targets active and institutional traders, as market breadth is narrow.

Fees, Interest and Settlement

Fees Per Contract

There are no separate commissions on the platform’s contracts through Interactive Brokers. The cost runs through the spread. Yes and No contracts sum to slightly over a dollar while the market is actively trading. At resolution, one side settles: $1 for the correct contract, $0 for the wrong one.

CME event contracts are a different product, and rely on standard IBKR futures commissions schedules and prices.

Interest on Open Positions

Collateral held against open forecast contracts earns interest at Interactive Brokers. This unique feature is not available at other platforms in this vertical. In this way, the cost of carry runs in the trader’s favor rather than against it.

How a Market Settles

Contracts at ForecastEx settle against sources named in the rulebook, official stats for economic contracts, and named agency data for climate or weather contracts.

For example, if you take a Housing Starts contract, settled against US Census Bureau data, you buy it at, say, 76 cents. When the actual figure is published, and it clears the threshold, the contract resolves Yes and settles at $1.00.

Position Limits

Position limits are set per contract in the rulebook, not as a single account-wide cap. Traders should verify the specific limits before sizing a trade on ForecastEx.

Funding and Withdrawing

Funding From Your Brokerage Account

ForecastEx doesn’t have a separate wallet or deposit process. Everything is routed through the existing Interactive Brokers cash balance, and settled back into the same account.

Accepted rails include ACH and wire. No crypto rails are available for this venue.

Where ForecastTrader Sits in the Platform

Desktop, Web and Mobile Access

There’s no standalone ForecastEx app. Contracts trade through IBKR desktop, the client portal via web browsers, and the IBKR mobile app, all available via the ForecastTrader interface.

Stocks, options, and futures are available in the same account, in addition to a Trader Workstation (TWS) and a professional-grade API for users who trade programmatically.