introducing broker (IB)

A broker who acts primarily as a sales and customer service representative for futures investors. An introducing broker is not registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), does not maintain floor operations, is not required to maintain minimum financial standards, and does not accept margin deposits used to secure clients' futures and options transactions. Instead, an introducing broker introduces customer accounts and orders to a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) for execution. See Guaranteed Introducing Broker; Independent Introducing Broker.