Thomas Peterffy

Thomas Peterffy founded Interactive Brokers in 1978, beginning as a floor trader on the American Stock Exchange where he was among the first to use handheld computers for options pricing. Over four decades, he built the company into the world's most technologically advanced brokerage platform, providing access to stocks, options, futures, forex, bonds, and funds across 150+ markets in 34 countries — all through a single, unified account. His engineering-first approach to brokerage has produced a platform with remarkably low operating costs. Peterffy's foundational insight was that trading should be automated, and that technology could reduce the cost of execution to near zero while improving quality. Interactive Brokers consistently offers the lowest commissions and tightest margin lending rates in the industry — often 50-80% below competitors — because its automated systems require a fraction of the human workforce that traditional brokerages employ. The platform particularly appeals to professional traders, hedge funds, financial advisors, and active retail investors who value execution quality and global market access. As founder and chairman with a controlling stake, Peterffy's views on technology investment, international expansion, margin lending policies, and competitive positioning are the dominant drivers of Interactive Brokers' strategy and stock performance. The secular growth of global retail trading, cross-border investment, and the migration from traditional brokerages to electronic platforms provides structural tailwinds.