Northwestern Mutual vs. Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard
Highlights:
• Financial planning and investment accounts can be obtained at Vanguard, Schwab, Northwestern Mutual, and Fidelity.
• High-level trading software is available only at Fidelity and Schwab.
• Self-directed accounts can be opened at Vanguard, Schwab, and Fidelity.
A great deal of financial help can be found at Vanguard, Schwab, Fidelity, and Northwestern Mutual. We have the lowdown on these four investing titans.
Investment Services
At all four investment firms in this survey, it's possible to trade the following financial products:
- Stocks
- Bonds and other fixed-income securities
- Option contracts
- Funds (mutual, closed-end, and exchange-traded)
Everyone except Vanguard offers annuities. Fidelity is the only company in this faceoff with cryptocurrencies. Only Schwab has futures and forex. Both Schwab and Fidelity offer trading in foreign equities. Northwestern Mutual offers alternative assets, which are things like private equity and hedge funds. Not all investments can be obtained in all accounts.
All four companies offer self-directed and managed strategies. These accounts can be opened in a variety of tax shelters, including educational and retirement accounts.
Wealth management, which is the most comprehensive form of investment management, is available at all
four firms. Vanguard is the only company without branch locations. Northwestern Mutual is the only firm without robo accounts.
Winner: Pretty even between Fidelity and Schwab
Cash Management
Brokerage customers at all four investment firms have access to various banking tools. Northwestern
Mutual offers checkwriting on both taxable and retirement accounts. It also has an FDIC-sweep program
that moves uninvested cash in its securities accounts to program banks. Here, cash balances earn
2.68% APY. Examples of participating banks include Citibank, Capital One, and HSBC Bank. Northwestern Mutual may charge a fee for this program, however, so customers should pay attention to their monthly statements.
Vanguard and Fidelity both have FDIC sweeps, too, although they don't charge any fees for them. Vanguard's
cash account yields 3.65% but doesn't have a debit card
or a checkbook. Fidelity's cash account drops to 2.21% APY
but it comes with a Visa debit card with unlimited ATM fee refunds around the world.
Schwab doesn't have an FDIC sweep because it operates its own bank. Schwab Bank has FDIC insurance and a
good list of bank products, including a savings account with a debit card that has the same great benefit
that Fidelity's card has. A brokerage account at Schwab has access to a lengthy list of money market funds
with competitive yields.
Winner: Charles Schwab
Websites
Websites begin the software competition. The Vanguard and Northwestern Mutual websites are rather simple
without a lot of sophisticated tools.
Vanguard does manage to deliver large charts (albeit not full-screen charts) with several important tools; we found (only) seven technical studies. The site's order ticket has links to various educational resources on how to place a trade; beginners will really benefit from these materials.
Fidelity's simple web-based trade ticket (there is more than one on the site) has a link to a collection of videos that show how to place a trade. Charting is on a high level with more than a hundred indicators (not to mention many other gadgets and gizmos) in full-screen mode.
Moving onto Schwab, we finally get a discrete web-browser platform (in addition to the regular website). The platform, named thinkorswim, delivers advanced charting, a pro-level order form, and simulated trading. The website proper has many more tools. For instance, there is a basket order tool called Investing Themes. With this gadget, it's possible to trade up to 30 stocks at once, all in fractional shares.
Winner: Schwab
Desktop Programs
Vanguard and Northwestern Mutual emphasize long-term investing. As such, it should come as no surprise that neither firm has a desktop program. Schwab and Fidelity do.
Schwab continues the thinkorswim name with a very advanced program. During our test drive of the platform, we were quite impressed with these features:
- Right-click trading
- Forex and futures dealing boxes
- Scanners for options and equities
- Many pro-level trade types
- Several trade tickets
- Paper trading
Fidelity customers can trade on Active Trader Pro. The program has a lot of the same features that thinkorswim has, but some are missing. For example, ATP doesn't have simulated trading, and there is no backtesting tool. Nevertheless, we did like Fidelity's platform better for options trading (look under the Options tab for lots of links).
Winner: Schwab
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are available at all four securities firms in this four-way faceoff. The Northwestern Mutual app is the only one of the four without actual trade capability. The NWM app focuses on account management and delivers account details, such as positions and balances.
The Vanguard app is one step above the NWM app; it has an actual trade ticket with four order types (market, limit, stop, and stop limit). Only Vanguard-branded mutual funds can be traded on the app, though, and charts are rudimentary. Option contracts cannot be traded on the app.
Fidelity solves this oversight with option chains not only for calls and puts but for integrated strategies as well; iron condors and butterflies are a couple of examples. Another advantage Fidelity has over Vanguard here is better charting.
Schwab goes a step further than Fidelity with pro-level charting through its thinkorswim app. Here, we found over 400 technical studies, an enormous count. The brokerage house also has a regular app with a large cornucopia of its own tools. Examples include live video news, option chains, and a mutual-fund order ticket.
Winner: Schwab
Margin
Brokerage accounts can be enabled for margin trading at all four broker-dealers in this showdown. In all four cases, interest is charged on a sliding scale:
| Firm | Margin Rates |
|---|
| Northwestern Mutual | 9% to 7% |
| Schwab | 12.575% to 10.825% |
| Fidelity | 12.575% to 10.825% |
| Vanguard | 12.75% to 10.75% |
Schwab's website shows the maintenance margin for an entered ticker symbol. Fidelity's website has a margin calculator that displays all sorts of details on a hypothetical trade. Examples include house call, intraday buying power, and margin equity.
Winner: Northwestern Mutual
Find a Financial Advisor
If you are looking for a professional money management service in your area, you can
find a Financial Advisor on the Wiser Advisor
(or read
Wiser Advisor review).
Visit Wiser Advisor
Our Recommendations
Mutual-Fund Trading: Schwab and Fidelity have great resources on their websites for mutual funds.
Besides screeners, both brokerage firms have links to curated selections of funds, fund ratings, a fund
comparison tool, and more.
Small Accounts: Fidelity has the lowest minimum for an advisory account; it is $0. A brokerage
account at any of the three discount brokers (Schwab, Fidelity, or Vanguard) has no minimum.
Frequent Equity Trading: Charles Schwab
with its great desktop program is an excellent idea (not to mention foreign stock exchanges, margin, and
fractional shares).
Beginners: An advisory account at any firm in this competition is a good way to begin.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Schwab and Fidelity have the best resources for do-it-yourself
investors. For advisory folks, we would go with Schwab, Fidelity, or Northwestern Mutual. We leave out
Vanguard because it doesn't have branch locations.
Decision
With only rudimentary software, Vanguard lags behind its rivals. And without discount trading, Northwestern
Mutual just isn't competitive. Charles Schwab is hard to beat.
Charles Schwab Website
Visit Schwab Website
Updated on 3/23/2025.
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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