Why Interactive Brokers Group Fell 14.7% in 2019
Shares of Interactive Brokers Group (NASDAQ: IBKR) fell 14.7% in 2019, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence . The discount broker suffered from a triple-whammy of headwinds during the year, making 2019 difficult even for this competitively advantaged business.
In the beginning of the year, founder and CEO Thomas Peterffy announced he would be stepping down. In addition, falling interest rates in 2019 harmed all discount brokers, most of whom make a majority of their revenue from margin lending and other interest rate-sensitive loans. Finally, competition heated up as Interactive Brokers' rivals all dropped their commission rates to zero, as disruption from free apps such as Robinhood set a new bar in the online brokerage industry.
The broker price wars hurt Interactive Brokers in 2019. Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com
