|
2 Best Brokerage Firms in 2024
The 2 best brokerage accounts in 2024 that offer low trading commissions and the
highest quality of investment services
|
Best Brokerage Companies in 2024
In 2024, we named Charles Schwab and Robinhood the 2 Best Brokerage Firms for
self-directed (do-it-yourself) investors. Below you will find their commissions and fees, ratings in various
categories, promotions as well as brokerage account review links.
Pricing
| Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF
Commission |
Mutual Fund
Commission |
Margin
Rate |
Maintenance
Fee |
Annual IRA
Fee |
|
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
13.575%
|
$0
|
$0
|
|
Robinhood
|
$0
|
na
|
6.75%
|
$0
|
$0
|
Services
| Broker Review |
Cost |
Investment Products |
Trading Tools |
Customer Service |
Research |
Overall Rating |
|
Charles Schwab
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robinhood
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Robinhood: 1% IRA match and up to $200 FREE stock at Robinhood.
Key Takeaways
• Both Robinhood and Schwab have many great financial services that customers will want to be aware of.
• Only Schwab has investment-advisory accounts.
• Robinhood, but not Schwab, has cryptocurrency trading.
|
Schwab has a very different than Robinhood style of investing and trading (and of money management in general). Nevertheless, the company succeeds in delivering many benefits, including:
Large selection of securities: In addition to the securities that Robinhood offers, Schwab offers
trading in bonds, preferred securities, mutual funds, annuities, and closed-end funds. The fixed-income category includes many securities, such as commercial paper, Treasuries, TIPS and STRIPS, foreign bonds, corporate debt, and mortgage-backed securities. Many asset classes have zero commissions, and those that don’t are pretty reasonable ($1 per bond, for example).
Global and OTC stocks: Schwab’s equity lineup includes global and over-the-counter securities. The former service offers trading on many stock exchanges worldwide. Examples include the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Exchange. Trades can be placed either in U.S. dollars or in the local currency. Trades in the latter will require a forex conversion. In either case, trades are never commission-free, although they tend to be reasonable (less than US$15). OTC trades are $6.95 each.
Futures and forex: Schwab doesn’t stop with securities. It has branched out to futures and forex trading, and here too, commissions are reasonable. Trades of futures, for example, cost $2.25 per contract, per side, with the same commission on futures options. Forex trades have no commissions at all, although compensation for Schwab is built into the bid-ask spread.
Lots of account types: Schwab has done an excellent job of providing its clients with a large assortment of tax structures. Besides individual and joint accounts, Schwab offers IRAs (including SEP and SIMPLE plans), custodial accounts, trusts, charitable accounts, 529 plans, Coverdell accounts, estate accounts, and more.
International accounts: Schwab is one of the few investment firms based in the United States today
that will open accounts for non-U.S. residents. This international-account service is available to residents of many countries around the world. Although a U.S. address is not required to open one of these accounts, a digital copy of a passport is.
High-powered software: For both American and foreign clients, Schwab offers some very advanced
digital tools. Its thinkorswim platform is available in web-browser, mobile, and desktop versions. The latter is the most sophisticated with all sorts of innovative tools. Backtesting, direct-access routing, and pairs trading are just a few examples.
Advisory service: For clients who would rather leave the trading to the pros, Schwab has an
extensive investment-advisory service. It comes with both robo and human advisors and a variety of fees and minimums, all of which are very competitive based on industry standards. Financial planning is available through old-school packages. And for the most affluent investors out there, Schwab has a Wealth Advisory program that comes with a dedicated advisor and lots of services that wealthy folks tend to need (such as tax and estate planning).
Branch locations: For poor and rich investors and everyone in between, Schwab has brick-and-mortar offices scattered across the country. At last count, we found more than 300 of them. And there are a few outside the United States, too. Examples include Hong Kong and London.
Great education and research tools: For both advisory and brokerage clients, Schwab publishes a great deal of learning materials. These resources can be found on its website and other locations. Many articles and videos can be accessed without a login, although the entire list of materials will require access to Schwab.com. OnInvesting, a quarterly investing publication, frequently has a lot of useful insight worth spending time with. And not to be missed is Schwab Network, a live video broadcast available on both mobile apps (yes, Schwab has two of them) and the thinkorswim desktop platform.
Schwab Bank: Schwab is more than an investment firm. It also operates its own FDIC-insured bank aptly titled Schwab Bank. This arm of the company has checking and savings accounts that can be linked to investing accounts, and it’s really easy to transfer funds between bank and investing accounts using Schwab’s intuitive software. Checking accounts come with debit cards and checkbooks, which are free of charge. The debit card can be used anywhere in the world without ATM fees.
Insurance: Because of Schwab’s amazing ambition, it refuses to stop even at banking. It offers various insurance policies that its customers can use for a variety of purposes. Available lines include term and permanent life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance. Policies are provided through a partnership with Crump Life Insurance Services.
Review
Read Charles Schwab Review
Promotion
$0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Visit Schwab Website
|
In self-directed brokerage accounts, Robinhood delivers some really nice tools, resources, and perks. Among them are:
Low-cost securities trading: Robinhood customers have access to stocks, options, and ETFs that
trade on the major American exchanges. There are no commissions on these trades, and option trades have
no per-contract fees, either.
Good option tools: In its options service, Robinhood has updated its software to include some
pre-installed strategies. Both its website and mobile app now have profit-loss diagrams that show in
graphical format the breakeven points and maximum gains and losses on a hypothetical trade. The software
also displays these data points in numerical format.
Cryptocurrency trading: Then there is Robinhood’s crypto service, which delivers access to 15 digital currencies. There are majors like bitcoin and exotics like Tezos. As with securities, there are no commissions, although like securities, there are bid-ask spreads.
User-friendly software: Robinhood’s software is designed in such a way that both experienced traders and absolute beginners can use. Trading and account management occur on the company’s mobile app and website. They have the same tools, which include a trade ticket with stop, trailing, and recurring orders.
Extended hours: Robinhood’s intuitive trading tools can be used during the regular day session and
outside of it, too. Pre-market trading for securities begins at 7:00 am, EST. Post-market trading begins
at the closing bell and runs until 8:00 pm. On top of this extended-hours service, Robinhood also provides
24-hour trading in a list of stocks and ETFs (918 securities to be exact). And of course, cryptocurrencies trade 24/7.
Fractional-share trading: One really convenient service Robinhood customers get is the ability to submit trades in either dollar amounts or share amounts. This system is automatically integrated in the order ticket for both equities and cryptocurrencies. It’s easy to flip between dollars and shares using the ‘Buy In’ drop-down menu on the order form.
Initial Public Offerings: On top of regular securities, traders at Robinhood can get in on primary releases of new stocks before they begin trading on the secondary equity exchanges. The website and mobile app both have an IPO hub that makes it super easy to sign up for an offering (just type in ‘IPO Access’ in the search bar).
Discrete spending account: On top of its investing service, Robinhood also offers a discrete
spending account to meet its customers’ cash needs. It comes with FDIC insurance, courtesy of Chase Bank. The account comes with its own routing and account numbers that can be used for all sorts of transactions. Other perks include digital checks and a debit card.
Many perks with the debit card: Robinhood’s debit card comes with tons of bonuses. Cash back is available from participating brands. Early payday and paycheck splitting are on tap for direct deposits. And round-ups can be used to purchase fractional shares and coins. No overdraft fees is icing on the cake.
Rewards: Robinhood regularly offers bonuses for referring friends or performing other tasks on its platform. For example, the brokerage firm has a special running right now that offers free fractional shares of stock for referring friends through a dedicated referral link. Up to $1,500 can be earned every year.
Retirement accounts: Besides taxable brokerage accounts, Robinhood also offers Individual Retirement
Accounts in Roth and Traditional formats. There are no annual or termination fees, and Robinhood is the only
investment firm to offer an IRA match. Currently, it is 1% for regular customers and 3% for Gold clients.
Review
Read Robinhood Review
Promotion
1% IRA match and up to $200 FREE stock at Robinhood.
Visit Robinhood Website
|
Charles Schwab and Robinhood are the best brokerage firms in 2024 we absolutely love. They have
major strengths, although these advantages tend to be in different areas. Obviously, choosing the
right brokerage firm is of paramount importance in achieving the investment experience you seek.
With this article, finding the right one should now be a much easier task.
Updated on 4/12/2024.
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.
|