Market insight isn't about predicting the future — it's about understanding the present with enough clarity to make disciplined decisions. Since founding IBKR Investments in 2010, our team has published original research every single week the markets are open. Here's how we think about the markets, the risks, and the opportunities.
No crystal balls. No hot tips. Just the analytical rigor of six professionals who trade real capital every day, across equities, options, futures, and FX, and document what they learn so our clients can see exactly how decisions are made.
Every piece of research published on this page is written by someone who trades the strategies we describe. That's the foundational difference between what you'll read here and what you'll find on most financial media platforms. When Marcus Hale writes about position sizing, he's drawing on 16 years of managing real portfolios — not summarizing someone else's textbook. When Priya Chandrasekaran breaks down correlation risk, she's referencing the exact portfolio data she manages for clients.
We don't publish for clicks or impressions. We publish to educate, to build trust, and to give prospective clients an honest window into how we think. If you read three or four of our research pieces and disagree with everything, we've still done our job — you know who we are and how we operate, and you can make an informed decision about whether our active management approach is right for your capital.
You scroll through market commentary written by people who've never placed a trade. Here's the alternative — original analysis from our trading team in Vancouver, grounded in the same frameworks we use to manage client capital every day.
The illusion of diversification shatters when correlations converge during crisis. Here's what institutional traders do differently — and why active risk management outperforms passive 'stay the course' advice when it matters most. We break down the 2020 and 2022 correlation spikes with actual portfolio data, showing how our risk management overlay reduced drawdown by limiting correlated exposure before the damage was done.
YouTube made selling covered calls look like a money printer. It's not. Assignment risk, capped upside, and gamma risk in trending markets are real. Here's our framework for structuring options income with proper risk definition — the details they leave out of the 10-minute tutorials. We walk through three real scenarios where naive covered call writing would have cost you more than doing nothing.
Most retail traders obsess over entries and exits while ignoring the variable that most determines survival: how much to risk per trade. The Kelly Criterion, fixed-fractional sizing, and our proprietary heat-based model explained — with the math that actually matters. This piece draws on Marcus's 16 years of active management and explains why we cap portfolio heat at defined thresholds across all asset classes we trade.
A provocative question for anyone paying advisory fees. Sharpe, Sortino, Calmar — defined in plain language, and why you should demand these numbers. What they reveal about whether your advisor adds value or simply rides the market and collects a fee. If you're evaluating whether to work with us, this piece explains exactly which metrics we hold ourselves accountable to — and why we publish them in every quarterly review.
The market narrative says rate cuts equal equities up. History says otherwise — at least for the first 12 months. We examined every Fed cutting cycle since 1980 and overlaid it against S&P 500 forward returns, sector rotation patterns, and volatility regimes. The data tells a more nuanced story than the headline, and the implications for how we're positioning futures and equity portfolios are significant.
Kahneman and Tversky identified it. Shefrin and Statman named it. And it's probably costing you money right now. The disposition effect — the tendency to sell winning positions too early and hold losing positions too long — is the single most destructive behavioural bias in active trading. Jonas breaks down how our systematic exit rules and algorithmic execution framework are specifically designed to neutralize this bias.
You don't just get a quarterly check-in and a pre-printed deck. Every managed account includes ongoing research and reporting that keeps you inside the decision-making process — not watching from the outside wondering what's happening. This is what separates our managed account service from passive advisory models.
Every Monday before market open — macro outlook, key technical levels, earnings catalysts, and positioning adjustments. You start the week knowing exactly what we're watching, what we're worried about, and where the opportunities are. The tone is honest and direct: if we see risk, we say so. If there's nothing actionable, we say that too. No filler. Think of it as the pre-market briefing our own traders use — because it literally is. Each brief covers North American equities, listed options flow, and any relevant developments in the futures and FX markets we trade.
Deep-dive analysis on individual securities, sectors, and thematic opportunities — full fundamental and technical assessment. These aren't generic analyst notes rehashed from a newswire. Each report reflects original research by Marcus, Priya, or Jonas, with defined risk/reward, position sizing guidance, and the specific thesis that would invalidate the trade. You get the same document our desk uses to make allocation decisions. Reports typically run 8–15 pages and include scenario analysis covering best-case, base-case, and worst-case outcomes with corresponding probability weights.
Real-time performance metrics, attribution analysis, risk exposure, and portfolio heat — accessible 24/7 through your client portal. Sharpe ratio, Sortino ratio, maximum drawdown, win rate, R-multiple distribution, sector exposure, correlation matrix, and Greek exposures all updated continuously. You never wonder what's happening. You open the dashboard and you see it, in real time, with every trade accounted for. Client feedback consistently tells us this visibility is the single most valued feature of working with IBKR Investments — and it's included with every managed account, not sold as a premium add-on.
Comprehensive performance attribution, lessons learned documentation, and forward-looking strategy adjustments — delivered with full transparency. Every winning trade and every losing trade, documented. What worked, what didn't, and what we're changing. These reviews include detailed third-party due diligence packages on request and are presented by Sienna Marchetti, our Head of Client Strategy, who walks you through every page. Nothing is hidden. If we underperformed in a quarter, we explain why and what structural changes we're implementing — not vague promises, but specific, documented adjustments.
You don't need to be a professional trader to work with us — but if you're curious about the terminology in our reports, here's a quick reference. And honestly, we'd love it if you asked us to explain any of these in more depth. That's kind of our thing.
Measures risk-adjusted return — how much excess return you receive for each unit of volatility. Higher is better. We target consistently above 1.5.
Like the Sharpe ratio, but only penalizes downside volatility. A more honest measure of risk-adjusted performance because upside volatility is something you want.
The largest peak-to-trough decline in portfolio value. Tells you the worst-case pain you would have experienced — the number passive benchmarks often obscure.
Return generated above the benchmark, attributable to the manager's skill. Positive alpha means we added value beyond what you'd get from a passive index fund.
How closely a portfolio tracks the market. A beta of 1.0 moves with the market; we dynamically adjust beta to reduce exposure during high-risk regimes.
An option's price sensitivity to a $1 move in the underlying. Central to how we structure and hedge every options position in client portfolios.
The rate at which delta changes. High gamma means a position's risk profile shifts rapidly — critical for managing options near expiration.
Time decay — how much value an option loses each day. In our income strategies, theta works for us. In directional trades, it works against us. We track it obsessively.
Sensitivity to changes in implied volatility. When the VIX spikes, vega tells us exactly how much our options positions will be impacted — and whether that's a feature or a risk.
The market's expectation of future price movement, priced into options. We compare implied versus realized volatility to identify mispriced opportunities across asset classes.
Return expressed as a multiple of the initial risk taken. A 3R trade means you made three times what you risked. We track R-multiple distribution across every strategy.
Total capital at risk across all open positions, expressed as a percentage. Our proprietary heat model ensures we never exceed defined thresholds regardless of conviction level.
The difference between expected execution price and actual fill price. Our institutional-grade infrastructure and smart order routing minimize slippage on every trade.
A four-leg options strategy that profits from low volatility. We use iron condors within our income strategies when implied volatility is elevated relative to historical norms.
Annualized return divided by maximum drawdown. Measures how much return you're getting for the worst pain endured — arguably the most practical risk metric for most investors.
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Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investment performance figures cited on this website represent historical data and do not guarantee future outcomes.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Active trading strategies carry additional risks including, but not limited to, market risk, liquidity risk, and execution risk.
IBKR Investments Inc. is registered as a Portfolio Manager and Investment Fund Manager with the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), Registration No. 2010-PMRD-00847. Member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Member ID: CIRO-4192, operating under National Instrument 31-103.
The content on this website is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Please consult with a qualified professional before making investment decisions.