Morgan Stanley vs. Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab: Highlights
• Investing and financial planning are just the beginning at Morgan Stanley, Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity.
• Vanguard is the only brokerage firm of the four without branch locations.
• Morgan Stanley focuses on full-service investing, which generally makes it the most expensive of the four, at least on the investing side.
If you’re thinking about opening a brokerage or bank account, you should take a close look at what
Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley bring to the table. You’ll probably find more
than you expected.
Morgan Stanley and Competitors: Fees
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Margin
Rate |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
11.825%
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Fidelity
|
$0
|
$49.95
|
11.825%
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
|
12%
|
$25*
|
$25*
|
|
Morgan Stanley
|
varies
|
varies
|
10.95%
|
$175
|
$175
|
Morgan Stanley and Competitors: Services
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Visit Schwab Website
Fidelity, Vanguard, and Morgan Stanley: none
Financial Planning and Investing
Every company in this contest offers financial-planning services through licensed investment advisor
representatives. Vanguard is the only firm without any local offices, so everything it offers is
online. The other three have financial planners at brick-and-mortar locations. The range of possible
services is almost unlimited and depends more on the specific advisor selected than the firm.
All four investment firms also offer wealth-management programs. Vanguard’s wealth-management service starts at 0.30% and steps down at higher asset levels, reaching 0.05% above $25 million, and it requires at least $5 million in Vanguard funds and ETFs. Schwab’s wealth-management minimum is $500k, while Fidelity offers advisory services with lower program minimums, although dedicated-advisor access often starts around higher asset levels. Morgan Stanley’s minimums vary by program and advisor relationship.
Beyond wealth management and financial planning, there are brokerage and investment-advisory accounts.
All four companies offer both setups. Because Morgan Stanley focuses on full-service investing, it has one of the longest lists of tradable products. These include not only securities but also alternative investments, such as real estate, managed futures, and hedge funds. But Morgan Stanley’s accounts, being full-service accounts, are also the most expensive.
Schwab offers self-directed trading in futures and forex, while Fidelity has crypto trading. Insurance and annuity products are available through Fidelity, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley.
Winner: Three-way tie among Fidelity, Schwab, and Morgan Stanley
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Banking
Now we move to cash management. The four investing powerhouses in this contest offer some type of bank service for their clients. Vanguard has a simple cash-management account called the Cash Plus Account. It provides access to 5 Vanguard money market funds, and it also has an FDIC sweep with a 3.1% APY.
Schwab and Morgan Stanley actually operate their own banks. These deliver checking and savings accounts with lower interest rates than Vanguard’s cash account, although they have more perks, such as checkwriting and debit cards. Morgan Stanley, but not Schwab, also offers hybrid bank-brokerage accounts that combine investing capability with a long list of perks, such as no foreign transaction fees and unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide. There are monthly fees for these accounts, however.
Fidelity has cash-management options without monthly fees. These accounts combine brokerage features with money-movement tools like FDIC sweep, debit cards, checkwriting, bill pay, and ATM fee reimbursements.
Winner: Another three-way draw
Margin Services
Trading on margin is possible at any of the four brokerage firms presented here. Some uses of margin,
such as spread trading or short positions, are restricted in some accounts at Morgan Stanley. It does
have the lowest starting margin rate, however. It is 10.95%.
The other firms are at 11.5% to 12.5%, at least for the starting rates. Morgan Stanley also has the lowest ending rate, although Schwab negotiates rates above debit balances of $500,000.
Winner: Morgan Stanley
Mobile Apps
Now that we understand the investing systems, we can start actual trading. Our four contestants have mobile apps that deliver not only trading tools but also account-management features such as document download and security research. Vanguard’s app is the simplest and does not offer the ability to trade non-Vanguard funds. Charts on its app are very plain with only one plot style.
Schwab is the exact opposite of Vanguard. It has very sophisticated charting, and mutual funds from multiple families can be traded on it. Options have integrated spreads. And by the way, there are two apps in total, just in case one app isn’t enough.
Fidelity also has strong mobile software. Its main app has a lot of advanced tools, along with mobile check deposit, charting, order entry, and a large amount of market news.
Winner: Schwab
Websites
Fidelity and Schwab only have one website, although Schwab has a browser platform with some advanced tools. Both the Fidelity and Schwab websites by themselves are quite advanced with some really good trading features (like full-screen charting and integrated option spreads). Schwab’s website, but not Fidelity’s, also has a trade bar. The Vanguard and Morgan Stanley websites, by comparison, are simpler with fewer trading tools.
Winner: Schwab
Desktop Software
Vanguard has skipped desktop trading altogether, and Morgan Stanley’s full-service side does not emphasize it. Fidelity and Schwab, however, have desktop platforms with some nice features that experienced traders will enjoy using, and E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley also has a pro-level desktop platform for active traders.
Fidelity’s platform, for example, offers direct-access routing for option trades. Other advanced features include time & sales data and a conditional order ticket. Schwab’s platform has an economic calendar, a lot of graphing tools, and a simulated-trading mode.
Winner: Schwab
Extra Services
Recurring Mutual Fund Purchases: It’s possible to establish a recurring schedule of mutual-fund purchases at Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity. Morgan Stanley’s subsidiary E*TRADE also has the service.
IPO Service: Stock releases on the primary market are available at Schwab, Morgan Stanley, and Fidelity.
Extended Hours: Every brokerage firm in this survey has a post-market session. Vanguard doesn’t have a pre-market period, but the other three do. Schwab and Morgan Stanley both have overnight trading in at least some securities, and Fidelity has extended crypto trading hours.
Dividend Reinvestment Plan: All four of them have one.
Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Ditto.
Fractional Shares: All four firms offer some form of fractional investing, although the details vary. Fidelity has the most liberal service.
Individual Retirement Accounts: IRAs are on tap at all four investment firms. Vanguard and Morgan Stanley can have fees in some situations.
Winner: Pretty close between Fidelity and Schwab
Recommendations
Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: We would go with Schwab, Fidelity, or Morgan Stanley with an investment advisor at a local branch.
Mutual-Fund Trading: We suggest either Fidelity or Schwab. The latter brokerage firm has the better screener, but the former has more funds.
Small Accounts: Because Morgan Stanley is a full-service firm, it is not a good choice for folks with small amounts to invest. Fidelity’s robo service has no minimums, and its brokerage accounts have no minimums with fractional-share trading in more than 7,000 securities. The minimum per trade is just $1.
Beginning Investors: We propose a managed account at any of the four.
Active Stock Trading: A desktop program at either Schwab or Fidelity will deliver a pro-level experience.
Find a Financial Advisor
Find a Financial Advisor
Judgment
Morgan Stanley has a lot of great services, but steep fees and minimums will put it out of reach for
many investors. Charles Schwab, on the other hand, delivers many of the same features and sometimes
more with lower fees and minimums, which brings us to the inevitable conclusion of this comparison.
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + ACAT rebate + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Visit Schwab Website
Fidelity, Vanguard, and Morgan Stanley: none
Updated on 4/2/2026.
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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