What are the top 3 full service brokerage firms?
But three major firms stand out because of their name, offerings, total amount of client assets, and the number of clients they serve. They are often referred to as the "big four brokerages." Each of these firms—Charles Schwab, Fidelity Investments, and E*TRADE,—comprise the top in terms of customers and assets.
Stock Brokerage Firm | Assets under management* |
---|---|
Charles Schwab | $8.5 trillion |
Fidelity Investments | $4.4 trillion |
JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $3.9 trillion |
Merrill Wealth Management | $1.3 trillion |
Rank | Broker | Active Clients |
---|---|---|
ProStocks | - | |
1 | Groww | 9,185,024 |
2 | Zerodha | 7,223,525 |
3 | Angel One | 5,983,067 |
Fidelity has the top overall score in 2024, with an excellent app, clear navigation, and low fees. When it comes to fees, Fidelity skips many charges that are common among other brokers.
- Charles Schwab - Best for high net worth investors.
- Merrill Edge - Best rewards program.
- Fidelity - Best overall online broker.
- Interactive Brokers - Great overall, best for professionals.
- E*TRADE - Best web-based platform.
Top Brokerage Firms by AUM and Number of Accounts | ||
---|---|---|
1 | Fidelity Investments | $12.9 Trillion |
2 | Charles Schwab | $8.56 Trillion |
3 | Vanguard | $8.2 Trillion |
4 | E*Trade (Morgan Stanley) | $360 billion |
Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Learn more CTA below text |
---|---|---|
Interactive Brokers | 4.4 | Via InteractiveBrokers' Secure Website |
TD Ameritrade | 4.4 | Read Our Full Review |
Fidelity Investments | 4.4 | Read Our Full Review |
Charles Schwab | 4.3 | Read Our Full Review |
Charles Schwab is a discount broker with service, education, trading tools and research that put it in the top tier of investment firms. With the integration of TD Ameritrade, including that firm's highly recognized Thinkorswim platform, Schwab has established itself as the broker to beat.
In general, full-service brokers are suitable for investors that want a human touch and guidance and don't feel comfortable making investment decisions on their own. Discount brokers are more suited for investors who are looking for lower-cost investments and enjoy doing their investment research.
- Fidelity Investments.
- Interactive Brokers.
- Charles Schwab.
- Webull.
- J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing.
- Robinhood.
- SoFi Active Investing.
- E*TRADE.
What are the top ranked brokerage firms?
The largest brokerage firms are household names: Vanguard, Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Bank of America (specifically Merrill Lynch), and J.P. Morgan each manage trillions of assets and millions of accounts. Vanguard alone has $8.2 trillion assets under management (AUM) as of July 31, 2023.
Interactive Brokers continues to be our top pick for advanced day traders, as well. Its speed and efficiency specific to order execution complements its low rates on margin trading and provides advanced traders with a strong option to execute their strategies.
- Fidelity - Best overall.
- E*TRADE - Best for mobile trading.
- Charles Schwab - Best desktop stock trading platform.
- Merrill Edge - Best research experience.
- Interactive Brokers - Best for professional traders.
Examples of brokers with Lowest brokerage charges in India include Zerodha, Angel One & Kotak Securities . These platforms often appeal to traders and investors seeking cost-effective options with transparent fee structures, providing a variety of financial instruments at competitive rates.
- Jesse Livermore. Born in 1877 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Jesse Livermore got his taste of the stock market when he began posting quotes for a stockbroker at the age of 15 in Boston. ...
- George Soros. ...
- Paul Tudor Jones. ...
- Richard Dennis. ...
- John Paulson. ...
- Steven Cohen. ...
- Michael Burry. ...
- Conclusion.
From now, Schwab has two brands to manage its wealthiest clients, with their level of investible assets determining which they will be automatically enrolled into: Schwab Private Client Services for HNW ($1 million-plus of investible assets)
They must also have a certain amount of liquidity on hand, thus allowing them to cover funds in these cases. What this means is that even if you have more than $500,000 in one brokerage account, chances are high that you won't lose any of your money even if the broker is forced into liquidation.
Go big. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio owns only two ETFs. One of the two is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Buffett even instructed in his will that 90% of the cash his family inherits be invested in a low-cost S&P 500 fund -- and he recommended Vanguard's.
Overall Appeal
Fidelity and Schwab are both excellent choices. These investment firms offer thousands of funds. There are some nuances, such as Fidelity being better for crypto traders and Schwab being more optimal for futures traders.
1 Fidelity is larger still, with over 42 million individual investors and $11.1 trillion in total customer assets as of July 2023. 2 Though these two brokers have much in common, we'll look at some of their differences to help you determine which one is the right fit for your investment and trading needs.
Who owns Charles Schwab?
The ownership structure of Charles Schwab (SCHW) stock is a mix of institutional, retail and individual investors. Approximately 62.84% of the company's stock is owned by Institutional Investors, 6.14% is owned by Insiders and 31.02% is owned by Public Companies and Individual Investors.
Some investors choose to work with multiple brokerages to mitigate risk and protect their assets. Spreading your assets across different brokerage accounts can help protect you against potential fraud or unauthorized access, Roller says. If one broker has a breach, then you can still trade with another investment firm.
Your securities are protected at Schwab.
The securities in your Schwab account—including fully paid securities for stocks and bonds and excess margin securities—are segregated in compliance with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Customer Protection Rule.
While bank balances are insured by the FDIC, investments in a brokerage account are covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). It protects investors in the unlikely event that their brokerage firm fails. However, certain rules and conditions apply—and investment earnings are not insured.
Who is better, Schwab or Vanguard? Vanguard's services are highly rated by professionals and the financial media. Vanguard's brokerage services edged out Schwab with 4.8 stars out of 5 based on GOBankingRates reviews. Its mutual funds have industry-low expense ratios, making them more profitable for investors.