Interactive Brokers announced Thursday that it has added access to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), enabling eligible clients to trade Romanian equities alongside products from more than 170 global markets available through its platform.

The automated global broker described the expansion as providing entry to one of Europe's strongest-performing emerging markets of 2025. Romania was elevated to MSCI's Advanced Frontier Market status, a reclassification that typically places a market on the radar of institutional investors tracking MSCI indices for portfolio allocation. The country's BET index reached record highs in 2025 and continued to grow through the first half of 2026.

Romania, an EU member state since 2007 and the largest economy in Southeast Europe, has attracted growing investor attention driven by fiscal reforms, infrastructure investment under EU recovery funding programmes, and a rapidly expanding technology sector. The BVB's strong recent performance comes amid broader interest in Central and Eastern European exchanges, where several markets have seen increased trading volumes and listings as investors seek growth opportunities outside more saturated Western European bourses.

Interactive Brokers, founded in 1978 and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, is one of the largest electronic brokerage firms in the United States, serving both retail and institutional clients worldwide. The firm is known for its automated, technology-driven approach to trade execution across global exchanges.

"Adding the Bucharest Stock Exchange expands the choices available to our clients and reinforces our commitment to providing the broadest possible access to global markets," stated Milan Galik, Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Brokers. "Romania is one of Europe's stronger emerging economies, and we're pleased to make this market available to our clients through the same platform they use to access exchanges around the world."

Bucharest Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Remus Vulpescu welcomed the broker to Romania's capital market, stating that every new gateway matters. He added that the market had channelled more than €5 billion into the Romanian economy over the past 12 months and delivered a total return of more than 80%, which he described as the highest among EU main market indices.

Access through a major international broker like Interactive Brokers lowers a practical barrier for overseas retail and institutional investors who previously may have needed local brokerage arrangements to trade Romanian equities. Increased participation from international investors could contribute to deeper liquidity on the BVB, a long-standing goal of the exchange's modernization efforts.

The Bucharest Stock Exchange, operated under the BVB brand, is the principal securities exchange in Romania, listing equities, bonds, and investment fund units. The exchange has undergone significant modernization efforts in recent years aimed at increasing liquidity and attracting international investors.