Partner agreement
Definition
Partner agreement: The contract between a broker and an IB that sets how the IB is paid, which clients and trades count, what the IB may say, and what happens when it ends.
What it means
The partner agreement is where an IB plan actually lives; a broker's marketing page is a summary of it. It sets the plan — rebate, CPA or hybrid — with its rates, tiers and qualifying conditions; the rules on which trades count, such as minimum holding times; how and when commission is paid; and whether sub-IBs, markups and changes of plan are allowed.
Agreements also set obligations on the IB: how the broker's name and brand may be used, which claims are not allowed, where risk warnings must appear, and which countries the IB may market to. And they set the end: notice periods, and what happens to rebates on an existing book if the agreement is terminated.
Example
Two agreements can both advertise an illustrative $300 CPA and pay very differently. One counts a client who deposits and trades a few lots; the other also requires a minimum number of trades, each held past a minimum duration. The rate is equal; the plans are not.
Why it matters to an IB
Read it in full before the first referral, and keep a copy: every number an IB forecasts, and every claim they publish, rests on this document. Anything an IB publishes about their broker — on a website, in a post or in an advert — should match what this document says.