Our research is designed to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of personal finance services and products that best suit your needs. To help you in the decision-making process, our expert contributors compare common preferences and potential pain points, such as affordability, accessibility, and credibility. Merrill Wealth Management was founded in 1914 by Charles E. Merrill and Edmund C. Lynch and was acquired by Bank of America in 2009. For professional guidance, you can choose between the Merrill Edge Self-Directed and Merrill Guided Investing. Bank of America also offers Bank of America Private Bank for clients with $10 million or more.
As the sole account owner, you have complete control over the funds and investment decisions. Unlike many brokers, Public doesn’t participate in payment for order flow (PFOF). This means your orders are routed directly to the exchanges instead of to market makers, which helps Public execute orders at the best possible price. The firm also offers investments in Fidelity ETFs, mutual funds, and other products.
- Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University.
- We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
- Research several different companies and choose the one that aligns with your goals, preferences and level of experience.
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- A trading platform is an online, mobile, or desktop interface that your broker provides and you use to execute trade orders, monitor positions, and manage your account.
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The largest brokerage firms by assets under management
In comparison, a traditional broker may provide research and insights for you. The biggest benefit is that you get to draw on their years of experience, which can be beneficial for newer investors. Be sure to read online reviews to get a sense of a broker’s reputation and what the typical customer experience is like. It’s also a good idea to ask friends and family members for recommendations. Ally Invest is one of the best low-cost brokers on the market and is a good choice for traders of all skill levels. Current Ally customers can manage all their finances in one easy-to-use platform.
- A full-service brokerage firm will recommend investment options for you based on your financial profile.
- Merrill Lynch serves as the main brokerage option through Bank of America.
- Whether you’re a beginner, an active trader looking for institutional-grade tools, or a long-term investor building a retirement portfolio, a great broker can make all the difference.
- Beginners and buy-and-hold investors will likely find all the tools they need within the web platform, including screeners, educational content, and in-house and third-party research.
- Online brokerage firms take a self-directed approach—you’re responsible for setting up the account, choosing your investments and maintaining the account.
- The online platform provides clients with an automated experience, giving them access to a series of ETFs that rebalance per the client’s investment goals.
Once you’ve found a broker, you can begin plotting your way to a more secure financial future. The biggest firms in the U.S. are Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, and JPMorgan. The Fixed Income Advisory Program requires a minimum investment of $100,000 and has an annual fee of 0.70%. Stock and ETF trades have commissions of 1% of your principal, with a minimum commission of $25 and zero trading fees. JP Morgan personal account annual fees start at 0.6% for investments between $25,000 and $249,999.
What is an online brokerage account?
Charles Schwab has $10.33 trillion assets under management (AUM) as of January 31, 2025. Fractional shares are another feature to look for since they let you purchase stocks or ETFs by the dollar instead of basing them on a number of shares. Coinbase was founded in May 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in San Francisco, USA. Unlike all other brokerages on this list, Coinbase focuses on cryptocurrencies.
Pricing and Fees
The most highly rated brokers have a full range of investment offerings, low fees, a robust trading platform, a well-rounded collection of research tools, and excellent customer support. Brokers with limited product offerings, higher costs, basic trading technology, few research tools, and poor customer support receive the lowest scores. TradeStation is widely considered one of the top platforms for active, technical traders. It offers $0 stock and ETF trades, $0.60/contract options trades, and $1.50/contract futures trades. The robust TradeStation platform offers exceptional charting, fully customizable workspaces, 120+ technical indicators, a massive collection of historical data, and multiple order entry interfaces.
If you’re just starting out on your investment journey, you may be wondering where to buy stocks. We’ve picked the 10 best companies for you to consider, along largest online brokers with the criteria you should be looking at. Her work has been featured on several of the top finance and business sites in the country, including Insider, USA Today, Bankrate, Rocket Mortgage, Fox Business, Quicken Loans and The Balance. She covers a variety of personal finance topics including mortgages, loans, credit cards and insurance. When you’re ready to transfer stocks, contact your new broker (the receiving broker) to fill out a transfer initiation form and provide the required information. She has been writing for various non-profit organizations for 15+ years.
Can you transfer stocks between brokers?
Started by John Bogle in 1975, Vanguard’s business model is unique in that it is owned by its investors. Those who invest in funds managed by the firm become owners of the company. Well-known for its role in creating index mutual funds for individual investors, the brokerage firm was quickly mimicked by other firms.
You can open a self-directed brokerage account, work with a dedicated advisor, or invest using a robo-advisor. If you qualify for Chase Private Client based on minimum balance or platinum business checking account, a J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor can help you build a personalized investment portfolio.
Fidelity Investments
Beginners and buy-and-hold investors will likely find all the tools they need within the web platform, including screeners, educational content, and in-house and third-party research. More advanced and frequent traders can use Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro platform, which offers more bells and whistles and a customizable layout. Our research team meticulously collected data on every feature of importance to a wide range of customer profiles, including beginners, casual investors, passive investors, and active traders. Online brokerage firms take a self-directed approach—you’re responsible for setting up the account, choosing your investments and maintaining the account.
Today, the company is the largest publicly traded investment services firm in the U.S., with about $7.65 trillion in client assets. It offers $0 stock & ETF trades; $0.65/contract options trades; $2.25/contract futures trades; $0 OneSource mutual fund trades. Besides Charles Schwab ETFs, you can access over 2,000 third-party, commission-free ETFs covering a broad range of asset classes—and its ETF screeners are best-in-class. Whether you’re a beginner, an active trader looking for institutional-grade tools, or a long-term investor building a retirement portfolio, a great broker can make all the difference. I spent hundreds of hours testing online trading platforms and mobile apps, placing trades, exploring tools, and gathering thousands of data points; here are my picks for the best stock brokers of 2025. Any online broker you choose should offer a wide variety of investment options, like stocks, ETFs, real estate investment trusts (REITs), mutual funds and bonds.
While there are many brokerage houses in the U.S., the largest are Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, and JP Morgan. These are huge asset managers with millions of customers investing trillions of dollars. The Core Advisory Portfolio has a fee of 1.45% with a minimum investment of $10,000. The Mutual Fund Advisory Portfolio and Advisory Program each has minimum investments of $50,000 and a fee of 1.45%. Accounts with $5 million or more are charged $0 for the first 100 trades, and $1 per contract for all following contracts.
The largest brokerage firms have seen solid AUM growth over the past year, driven by strong market returns and an increase in users. E-Trade has one of the highest-rated mobile trading apps available, providing real-time market insights and extensive research. It’s a good choice for all investors, regardless of your level of experience.
Along with years of experience in media distribution at a global newsroom, Jeff has a versatile knowledge base encompassing the technology and financial markets. He is a long-time active investor and engages in research on emerging markets like cryptocurrency. Jeff holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature with a minor in Philosophy from San Francisco State University. Jessica Inskip is Director of Investor Research at StockBrokers.com, bringing 15 years of experience in brokerage and trading strategy. Jessica focuses on investor education and brokerage industry research, appears regularly on CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg, and hosts the Market MakeHer podcast. Jessica focuses on investor education and brokerage industry research, appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, The Schwab Network, Fox Business, and Yahoo! Finance, and hosts the Market MakeHer podcast.
Some may provide access to the forex market, cryptocurrencies and retirement accounts. Having lots of options to choose from allows you to create a well-rounded portfolio and diversify your risk across different investments. It offers $0 stock and ETF trades, $0.65/contract options trades, $0 Fidelity mutual fund trades, and some 3,300 NTF mutual funds.
The exact features you need will depend on your preferences, experience and financial situation, but most investors will benefit from the following factors. A margin account lets you borrow money from the brokerage firm to purchase your investments, and it’s the only type of account that lets investors engage in short selling. Your portfolio serves as collateral for the loan, and you’ll incur interest charges. Vanguard has been around for a long time, and it’s the best online broker for long-term investing thanks to its low costs and a large variety of investments to pick from. Plus, Vanguard’s expense ratio on mutual funds falls well below the industry standard.
With an online broker, you’ll sign up for an account and choose the investment options you want. You can pick from things like stocks, ETFs and options trades, and you’ll track and manage the portfolio yourself. Finding an online broker with excellent customer service is a must—the best brokerage accounts provide 24/7 phone support and online chat options. Accessible customer support ensures you’ll get your questions answered in a timely manner and can prevent a lot of frustration down the road. Some online brokers have been around for decades, while others are newer to the investment scene. You don’t need to rule out new brokers, but you do want to understand their track record and overall financial stability.