Fennel.com Review: Key Takeaways
• Fennel Financials LLC is a newer broker-dealer offering stock and ETF trading through a mobile app and API access.
• Fennel does not offer personalized investment advice, portfolio management, or financial planning.
• Fennel is regulated by multiple watchdogs in the securities industry and is a member of FINRA and SIPC.
If you found Fennel online and are thinking about opening an account with this newer outfit, you’ve come to the right place in cyberspace. We’ve done a lot of research for you, and here are the results:
History of Fennel Investing
Fennel Financials was formed in 2021 and became registered with the SEC and FINRA in 2022 with the aim of building a more transparent brokerage experience. Obviously, this new broker is somewhat ideologically driven. It provides its customers with ESG data and shareholder voting information along with a trading app and trading API.
B Corp Status
Fennel has B Corp certification, which means it has passed through various tests by B Lab to evaluate its social, environmental, and business practices. Tests include:
- Commitment to stakeholders, not just shareholders
- Analysis of Fennel’s impact on workers, the environment, customers, and the community
- Compatibility with B Lab’s Theory of Change
B Corp certification does not tell us much about Fennel’s performance as a broker-dealer, although it does attest to Fennel’s legitimacy as a company. It has been certified since 2023.
Is Fennel Brokerage Safe?
Besides its certification with B Lab, Fennel is regulated by U.S. securities watchdogs. It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a broker-dealer. Its SEC registration number is 8-70779. It is also registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) with CRD number 316281.
On Fennel’s BrokerCheck profile, we see zero disclosures. This clean record is a positive sign, although it is also helped by Fennel’s short operating history.
Fennel is registered to do business in all 50 U.S. states plus Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Registration does not imply any skill or level of reliability, but it does mean the brokerage firm is being watched by the regulators. Such oversight provides a significant level of protection for the brokerage firm’s clients.
Fennel is not registered as an investment adviser because it does not provide managed accounts or financial planning.
Clearing Firm
Fennel has partnered with Apex Clearing Corporation to perform its back-office duties, including custody of client assets, execution support, account statements, and trade confirmations. Like Fennel, this clearing firm is registered with the SEC and FINRA (with IDs of 8-23522 and 13071, respectively). Apex is a well-known clearing firm in the brokerage industry.
Is Fennel.com Insured?
One more organization needs to be mentioned here: the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Fennel accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash claims. SIPC does not protect against market decline. Through Apex, Fennel clients may also have excess SIPC coverage for amounts above normal SIPC limits.
Fennel Brokerage Reviews
Fennel does not appear to have profiles at Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau. Its mobile app does have public reviews at the App Store and Google Play. The Apple App Store currently shows a 3.8-star rating with 134 ratings, while Google Play currently shows a 3.7-star rating with 53 reviews. We’ll keep you posted as more review data becomes available.
Is Fennel.com Safe Judgment
Fennel is a legitimate company doing business as a broker-dealer. There are many safeguards in place for its clients, although remember that securities investing always involves risk. And speaking of securities trading, let’s now take a look at how Fennel performs in this area.
Fennel Review Highlights
• Fennel offers securities trading through a mobile app and API access.
• There are no commissions at Fennel, although the broker does have a monthly subscription fee.
• Fennel does not accept payment for order flow (PFOF) and says it does not participate in securities lending for revenue.
Overview of Fennel Trading
A newer brokerage firm is on the scene: Fennel. With a basic mobile app and API access, customers can trade stocks and ETFs. Many other services are missing, though. Here’s the full scoop:
Investments Choices
Stocks and ETFs can be traded inside self-directed brokerage accounts at Fennel. There is no investment-advisory service or financial planning, and other asset classes, such as bonds and mutual funds, are missing in action.
Cash Management
Fennel offers no notable banking tools. An external checking or savings account can be linked for ACH transfers. Fennel also says it makes money on cash held in customer accounts and does not pay interest on those balances.
Opening an Account
Fennel provides brokerage services to U.S. resident retail investors over the age of 18. It also now refers to both cash and IRA accounts in its public materials, and its current fee schedule includes an IRA account termination fee. Joint accounts and more specialized tax-deferred account types are not prominently advertised.
To open an account, you first need to download the Fennel mobile app. Fennel also offers API access that allows customers to place trades, retrieve account information, and access market data programmatically. All API usage is self-directed and does not include investment advice or recommendations.
Fennel Trading Software
Trading and research at Fennel occur mainly on the broker’s mobile app. The website is used mostly for advertising and disclosures, although API access is available through the website. There are no full desktop or browser trading platforms comparable to those offered by larger brokers.
During our test drive of Fennel’s mobile app, we found it user-friendly and intuitive. At the bottom, the main menu contains five icons:
Portfolio:
Here, information on the account will be found. Details include positions, ESG averages for the entire portfolio, market-cap breakdown, and more.
Watchlist:
Self-explanatory. Multiple lists can be created.
Explore:
On this tab, Fennel presents categories of potential investments. It’s easy to scroll through and tap on a sector. Examples include:
- Cybersecurity
- Outer Space
- Infrastructure
- Consumer Staples
Within a category, tap on an entry and you’ll get the security’s profile. Basic information is shown, such as market cap and industry. There are news articles and analyst ratings. Every stock has ESG data. A chart at the top has no tools and cannot be rotated horizontally. A trade button sits at the bottom for order entry.
Voting:
This tab displays information on executive decision-making and shareholder voting at various companies.
Profile:
This is where settings for the app can be specified.
Pricing Schedule
In return for its investing service, Fennel charges $4.99 per month per account after a 30-day trial period. If a monthly subscription payment fails, Fennel charges a $9.99 fee per occurrence. Accounts have no minimums, and trades are commission-free. An outgoing ACAT transfer costs $75. Premium API service costs $19.99 per user per month in addition to the monthly subscription fee.
Margin Service
Fennel does not offer margin accounts. All trades are placed on a cash basis.
Security Research
Fennel has a great emphasis on security research, particularly in the realm of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues. The brokerage firm’s mobile app can be used to dig into all sorts of particulars on companies.
The Voting tab in the main menu, for example, shows how shareholders have voted in the past on all sorts of company measures, such as executive pay and worker-driven social responsibility (WSR) principles.
A stock’s profile has three important sub-tabs (below the chart) with some really useful information. They are News, Analytics, and Impact. News, of course, shows news articles from around cyberspace. They come from a variety of sources and have thumbnails.
The Analytics tab has all sorts of financial metrics from company statements. Examples include EPS, revenue growth, book value per share, and much more. Some of these important points are in graphical format. Near the bottom is a tile of analysts’ trade recommendations with an average price target. These numbers are, of course, really helpful.
The Impact tab is where a company’s ESG data will be found. Fennel says it covers more than 200 ESG indicators, such as carbon footprint, shareholder rights, and human-rights protections.
Miscellaneous Services
DRIP Service: Unknown at time of publication.
Individual Retirement Accounts: Fennel now refers to IRA accounts in its current fee schedule and public materials, although retirement features appear limited compared with larger brokers.
Initial Public Offerings: Unknown at time of publication.
Fractional Shares: Fennel’s public materials emphasize stock and ETF trading, but they do not clearly promote fractional-share trading as a core feature.
Fully-Paid Securities Lending Program: Not available at Fennel. Fennel says it does not participate in securities lending for revenue.
Extended Hours Trading: Unknown at time of publication.
Our Recommendations
Mutual Funds: Although Fennel doesn’t offer trading in mutual funds, Charles Schwab does.
Long-Term Investors and Retirement Savers: Fennel’s retirement lineup appears limited compared with full-service brokers.
Charles Schwab has a broader retirement lineup plus investment advice, branch locations, annuities, and much more.
Beginning Investors: Fennel does not offer robo accounts or personalized financial assistance.
We suggest Schwab, which offers automated accounts, simulated trading, full-service advisory programs, and much more.
Active Stock Trading: Fennel can be used for frequent equity trading, although desktop traders will
be left out in the cold. Many pro-level tools, such as Level II quotes and technical analysis, are
missing in action at Fennel.
Small Accounts: Because of Fennel’s flat monthly fee, it is not a good pick for very small investors.
Webull is, though.
Fennel Investments Review Judgment
Legitimacy as a business does not necessarily translate into strong performance as a broker-dealer. Fennel has more work to do if it hopes to compete against America’s top brokerage firms.
Updated on 6/10/2026.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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