What Brokerage Do Most Millionaires Use? – Top Brokerage Firms for High-Net-Worth Individuals

If you are a high-net-worth individual, you should rely on a reputable brokerage firm to invest your hard-earned money and protect your wealth. After deep research, I found out that these are the best options to consider this year:

• Fidelity Investments

• TD Ameritrade

• Interactive Brokers

• Tastyworks

• Charles Schwab

• SoFi Invest

• Public Investing

• Stockpile

• E*TRADE

• Merrill Edge

I considered different aspects when ranking these brokerage firms, including costs, available investment options, uses for international trading, whether they’re suitable for beginners or advanced traders, and more.

However, you should review each one on your own to determine which is the best brokerage firm to work with according to your situation, personal criteria, and investment strategy. That’s what I always advise my readers!

Let’s learn more about each option I included in this list of the top 10 brokerage firms.

#1 Fidelity Investments

The total value of assets under a firm’s management can help us know if it’s a trustworthy option, as it shows that other people have trusted these brokers. This factor is one of the reasons why I put Fidelity Investments at the top of this list.

This Boston-based company manages over $4.5 trillion in assets. That impressive amount shows us that many high-net-worth clients trust this firm’s services and have chosen it as the primary option for their investments.

However, there are many other reasons why I believe Fidelity is one of the best brokerage firms you can find in 2023. The company was founded in 1946, which means it has been in business for almost 80 years, serving over 40 million customers ever since.

In addition, Fidelity Investments is seen as the best low-cost brokerage firm since this company doesn’t charge account fees and offers trades without commissions. Also, there’s no minimum requirement to open a brokerage account, but it’s fully committed to delivering value to all clients.

Fidelity has over 50,000 associates and 300 investor centers in nine countries, driving its global presence. Moreover, the firm is in charge of managing employee benefit programs for over 20,000 businesses.

Fidelity’s Offerings

These are some of Fidelity’s offerings:

• Fidelity Go: It’s the company’s online platform for investment accounts management.

• Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice: Through this option, the company offers access to coaching with a seasoned financial advisor.

• Fidelity Wealth Management: The firm offers ongoing coaching to help clients manage their wealth through expert financial advisors.

• Fidelity Private Wealth Management: A team led by an advisor from the firm offers comprehensive advisory services.

Fidelity Products

In addition, this brokerage firm offers the following investment products to its clients:

• Mutual funds

• Stocks and trading

• Retirement accounts, such as IRAs

• Health and college savings accounts

• ETFs, including the new Fidelity Total Bond (FBND)

• Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

• Fixed-income options

• Insurance

• Annuities

The firm offers Fidfolios for direct indexing, which can be built and managed by clients or by Fidelity, as well as flexibility and customization across multiple digital trading platforms and a digital assets account with access to cryptocurrencies.

As the best online broker, Fidelity offers access to different tools to favor retirement investments, such as calculators, with the same list of options that a regular taxable brokerage account has.

Finally, Investopedia has rated Fidelity as the Best Broker for Low Costs.

Also Read:  10 Things Millionaires Don’t Spend Money On

#2 TD Ameritrade

Founded by Joe Ricketts in Omaha, Nebraska, TD Ameritrade is a full-service online broker that provides investors with all the tools they need to make complex trades, offering a consistent experience across platforms.

This company was born in 1975 but was acquired by the financial services firm Charles Schwab in 2020. The web-based and mobile trading platform Thinkorswim is one of its subsidiaries.

TD Ameritrade has been in business for almost 50 years. The company has over $1 trillion in assets under management, serving 11 million customers. Around 6,000 registered investment advisors have chosen this firm for custodial services.

Products

These are some of the investment products that TD Ameritrade offers:

• ETFs

• Mutual funds

• Forex

• Futures

• Stocks

• Options

• Margin trading

• Annuities

• Cryptocurrency trading

• Bonds and fixed income

Those who choose TD Ameritrade can also enjoy a lending program. Essentially, it allows investors to lend their shares to earn extra income. In addition, the firm offers low pricing and no balance requirements.

Investopedia has rated TD Ameritrade as the Best Broker for Beginners and Best Broker for Mobile.

#3 Interactive Brokers

Founded by Thomas Peterffy in New York City 45 years ago, Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is another top high-net-worth broker. The firm operates the country’s largest online trading platform.

Now, IBKR serves over one million customers, allowing cryptocurrency trades as of 2021. We can trade in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.

According to its website’s information, IBKR is expected to be our gateway to the world’s markets. Based on what I could see, it’s very close to reality, as the firm offers access to 150 global markets. Also, as investors, we can trade multiple assets in 24 different currencies.

Products

The following are some of the investment products that IBKR offers:

• Mutual funds

• ETFs

• Options

• Stocks

• Bonds

• Futures

Note: If we use this company, we must pay between 0.12% to 0.18% of the traded amount as commission.

In addition, the firm offers IBKR Pro, which is a service designed for advanced traders who want to access IB SmartRoutingSM to find options, stocks, or combinations at the best price.

Investors can also use IBKR GlobalAnalyst to search for stocks worldwide and find valuable online investing courses at its Traders’ Academy.

Investopedia rated Interactive Brokers the Best Broker for Advanced Traders and Best Broker for International Trading. It’s also a great option for active traders.

#4 Tastyworks

The parent company of Tastyworks, Tastytrade, was acquired by IG Group in 2021 for $1 billion, 10 years after its founding in 2011.

However, this firm has been promising since it was born. Actually, the brokerage company’s founders were traders on the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1981 and became pioneers in options trading technology.

Product Offerings

In 2021, Tastyworks launched crypto trading. Moreover, the company offers the following products:

• Options

• Stocks

• Futures

• Commodities

• ETFs

• Indices

Another of the greatest advantages of Tastyworks is that the firm offers trading options for desktops and through browsers and mobile platforms.

Also, this broker’s trading platform has a Follow Feed option that allows investors to follow the trades performed by their favorite traders.

Users can also view an in-platform video feed showing real traders working on their investments, which provides inspiration for research and more strategies. According to Investopedia, Tastyworks is the Best Broker for Options.

#5 Charles Schwab

Considered one of the US largest investment management firms and top discount brokers, Charles Schwab offers different products and a wide range of brokerage accounts. The company hopes to deliver solutions for every investor’s needs.

Charles Schwab stands out for different reasons. First, customers don’t have to pay recurring fees or meet minimum balance requirements to use the firm’s brokerage accounts.

That’s why Charles Schwab is considered a leader in low-cost pricing and has been praised as one of the brokerage firms with the lowest commissions. These are two of the accounts that we can open with this company:

• Basic Schwab self-directed brokerage account

• Managed Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account

In addition, Charles Schwab offers the following:

• Fractional shares

• Mutual funds

• ETFs

• Cryptocurrency trusts

• Cryptocurrency stocks

• Bitcoin futures

• Schwab Precious Metals IRAs

#6 SoFi Invest

Although SoFi Invest doesn’t have an extensive history like other reputable brokerages, this firm offers innovative features and excellent technology to newer investors.

SoFi started as a student lender but grew to include other options, such as insurance, banking, investing, and multiple financial products. In addition, the firm charges very low fees for its investment account, which include:

• Self-directed investing account, also known as an active investing account (no fees to trade ETFs, stocks, and cryptocurrencies)

• Automated investing or managed portfolios

I also think Sofi Invest is one of the best online brokers because it offers an easy-to-navigate dashboard, different collections of stock, and other investments. Moreover, both the online platform and its mobile app have integrated links to educational pages.

SoFi Invest also offers access to banking and lending services, the finance data aggregator SoFi Relay, career coaching, and financial planning sessions.

#7 Public Investing

As an investment app using a mobile-first experience, Public has a unique and easy-to-navigate interface ideal for beginners and experienced investors.

Public’s app allows users to connect with other investors and share insights or investment ideas. Also, there’s a group chat for live interaction with other people. It works like a built-in social network.

This online brokerage also makes investments easier by grouping stocks by industry. In addition, it uses a commission-free pricing model, which makes Public an excellent option for those who want to start with a small investment.

Public also offers fractional investing, supported by over 2,800 ETFs and stocks. The company recently launched cryptocurrency trading, offering over 25 digital assets, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin.

#8 Stockpile

Compared to other firms offering online brokerage accounts, Stockpile is newer and smaller. However, it’s one of the best options for beginners, as there are no minimums or recurring fees.

In addition, Stockpile offers custodial and brokerage accounts, fractional shares starting with a 5$ investment, and free trades. Since it has an easy-to-navigate and intuitive platform, Stockpile is an excellent choice for kids and teens.

Also, I could fund my online brokerage account with my bank account or stock gift cards. It was one of the things that I liked the most about Stockpile.

When you work with this online broker, you can make gifts and trades in round dollar amounts, as fractional shares are supported for over 1,000 stocks and ETFs.

Additionally, both adults and children can find built-in educational resources with “mini-lessons” on stock market basics.

#9 E*TRADE

Considered another of the best online brokers, E*TRADE offers a great trading platform and an amazing mobile app that provides usability and depth to active traders. It was recently acquired by Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street powerhouse.

In addition, E*TRADE has a top-notch suite of research providers with everything high-net-worth customers need to make long-term investments.

While it doesn’t offer as much educational material as other brokerages, E*TRADE is a large online broker that supports most investment options and multiple accounts. Therefore, it’s still a good alternative for experienced investors.

#10 Merrill Edge

With an easy-to-navigate mobile app and website, Merrill Edge is another of the best brokerages for high-net-worth individuals. It offers details on customers’ wealth, stock and fund histories, and portfolio insights to help sophisticated investors make smart decisions.

Also, those who want to manage their banking and investment at the same time can rely on Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program, which accounts balance at Merrill Edge.

Getting its name from the renowned brokerage Merrill Lynch, Merrill Edge is an excellent choice for loyal customers. However, those with smaller balances might not be as excited about its pricing and features.