Largest Broker-Dealers in the U.S. in 2026

Item: Largest Broker-Dealers by Size
Rating: 5
Author: Chad Morris

The 5 Largest Broker-Dealers Overview

Main Discoveries:

• Based on the number of customers, Fidelity Investments is the largest broker-dealer in the United States.

• Although Robinhood is a relatively new player in the brokerage industry, it still ranks in the top 5.

• Many brokerage firms today serve millions of client accounts.

If you are searching for a large brokerage firm to support your trading needs, here are the top 5 broker-dealers in the United States:

Fidelity Investments

At the top of our list is industry giant Fidelity Investments. The firm has more than 51.5 million customer accounts, making it the largest broker-dealer in our ranking. This impressive total consists primarily of self-directed brokerage accounts. Because Fidelity also has extensive workplace retirement programs, such as 401(k) plans, the overall number of accounts is likely even higher. At the same time, some clients hold multiple accounts. Even so, we can reasonably estimate that Fidelity serves tens of millions of customers, making it one of the largest investment firms in the country.

In terms of assets under administration (AUA), Fidelity reports another massive figure: more than $17.5 trillion. This number includes assets held in brokerage and investment advisory programs. For discretionary accounts where Fidelity has trading authority, the total is approximately $6 trillion, which is still an enormous amount.

On an average market day, Fidelity’s self-directed clients place around 5 million trades. This is another remarkable statistic, highlighting the firm’s scale in the brokerage industry.

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Vanguard

A close second on our list is Vanguard, which reports approximately 50 million customer accounts. As with Fidelity, Vanguard offers many investment programs, so the actual number of relationships is likely higher. For example, Vanguard operates workplace retirement plans and international programs that serve clients outside the United States.

In terms of total client assets (AUA), Vanguard oversees roughly $14 trillion, placing it among the largest firms in the industry. Supporting these accounts and assets is a global workforce of about 20,000 employees, another substantial figure.

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Charles Schwab

Third on our list is Charles Schwab. Through its acquisition of TD Ameritrade in 2020, Schwab added approximately 17 million customer accounts, representing nearly $2 trillion in assets.

Today, Schwab has 38.5 million brokerage accounts, making it a strong competitor to the other firms we have discussed. This figure includes both full-service and self-directed accounts. In addition, Schwab oversees workplace retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, totaling 5.6 million participant accounts.

biggest broker dealers

Schwab also operates Schwab Bank. Within this banking division, there are another 2.1 million accounts, including checking and savings accounts.

Altogether, Schwab reports around 46.5 million total accounts, placing it near the top of our rankings.

largest broker dealers

Schwab’s brokerage clients place an average of 7 million trades per market day, a number that surpasses the figure reported for Fidelity.

In terms of total client assets, Schwab reports $11.9 trillion. This total includes bank deposits, brokerage and managed investment accounts, and workplace plan assets. It also includes $1.34 trillion in Schwab mutual funds and ETFs.

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Robinhood

Robinhood does not operate its own bank or manage a proprietary family of mutual funds and ETFs. However, it does have 27 million brokerage accounts. This strong total places the company fourth on our list. Since Robinhood launched in 2013, its growth has been remarkable.

Robinhood’s 27 million self-directed accounts represent approximately $324 billion in assets. The company continues to expand rapidly.

Largest Broker Dealers

For example, the amount of cash in client accounts swept to partner banks has steadily increased. The volume of margin lending has also grown, and Robinhood clients are placing more options trades (about 1.2 million per day). On average, customers execute around 2.3 million equity trades daily, and approximately 500,000 crypto trades.

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Edward Jones

Completing our top 5 is Edward Jones, with more than 10 million customers. These clients maintain both managed and brokerage accounts, which together account for $2.5 trillion in assets. To serve its large client base, Edward Jones employs more than 20,000 financial advisors within a total workforce of 55,000 people. With 16,000 branch offices, the size and reach of this traditional investment firm are clear, even though it ranks fifth on our list.

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Honorable Mention

- operates in both the cryptocurrency and securities markets. At last count, the company had more than 15 million accounts. Most of these are crypto accounts, as its securities division is relatively new.

- is a crypto-focused broker with 100 million self-directed accounts.

- has 9 million brokerage and managed accounts. This total includes its subsidiary E*Trade, as well as cash accounts and workplace retirement accounts.

Together with E*Trade, Morgan Stanley employs 80,000 people worldwide. The firm operates in more than 40 countries, demonstrating its broad global presence.

Updated on 3/4/2026.

About the Author

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.