Five Large Broker-Dealers Overview
Main Discoveries:
• Fidelity Investments ranks among the largest broker-dealers in the
United States. However, companies use different measurements, such as investors, funded customers, client relationships, and accounts, which means their reported totals cannot be compared directly.
• Although Robinhood entered the brokerage industry relatively recently, it has already become one of the
largest retail brokerage companies.
• Many brokerage firms now administer millions of customer accounts.
For investors looking for a large firm to handle their trading and investing needs, the following are five prominent
broker-dealers operating in the United States:
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is one of the biggest companies included in our comparison. The financial-services firm administers more than
57 million customer accounts. Fidelity also manages extensive workplace savings programs, including 401(k) plans. Since one person may own several accounts, the number of accounts should not be interpreted as the number of unique customers. Even so, Fidelity provides services to tens of millions of individuals, placing it among the largest investment companies in the country.
Fidelity reports an equally substantial amount of assets under administration (AUA): more than
$19.9 trillion. This measurement covers assets administered through Fidelity’s brokerage, workplace, institutional, and
investment-management operations.
During an average market day, Fidelity’s customers and institutional clients complete millions of trades.
This level of activity provides another indication of the enormous scale of Fidelity’s trading operations.
Additional information is available in our Fidelity Reviews.
Vanguard
Vanguard is another enormous investment company, providing services to approximately 50 million+ investors. This number refers to investors rather than brokerage accounts and may include individuals participating through several types of investment arrangements. Vanguard also administers employer-sponsored retirement plans and international investment programs for customers who live outside the United States.
Measured by assets under management (AUM), Vanguard oversees approximately $11.9 trillion, confirming its position as one of the world’s largest asset managers. Its investors and assets are supported by a worldwide staff of approximately 20,000 employees.
Additional details can be found in our Vanguard review.
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab also belongs on our list of major brokerage companies. After completing its acquisition of TD Ameritrade, Schwab gained approximately 14.5 million brokerage accounts and $1.6 trillion in client assets. The company later transferred more than 17 million TD Ameritrade client accounts representing approximately $1.9 trillion in assets onto Schwab’s systems.
Schwab currently reports 39.5 million active brokerage accounts, putting it in direct competition with the other major firms covered here. The 39.5 million total covers both full-service and self-directed brokerage accounts. Workplace retirement plan participant accounts, including accounts associated with 401(k) plans, are reported separately by Schwab.
Schwab’s operations also include Schwab Bank, which maintains more than 2 million banking accounts.
Combining active brokerage accounts, bank accounts, and workplace plan participant accounts produces a total of approximately 47.7 million client accounts.
Schwab administers $13.14 trillion in total client assets. This amount encompasses bank deposits, self-directed and managed brokerage accounts, and assets held through workplace retirement programs. Assets invested in Schwab-branded mutual funds and ETFs are also included.
More information is provided in our Charles Schwab review.
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Robinhood
Robinhood does not provide conventional mutual fund trading. Nevertheless, the company
serves 28.4 million funded customers. This substantial customer base makes Robinhood one of the largest retail brokerage firms. The company was established in 2013, with the official introduction of its brokerage application occurring afterward. Since then, Robinhood has experienced exceptional growth.
Assets belonging to Robinhood customers total
approximately $369 billion in Total Platform Assets, and the company has continued expanding rapidly. This calculation covers assets that include stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, futures positions, advisory assets, and cash.
One area of expansion has been the amount of investment-account cash transferred through Robinhood’s sweep program to participating banks. Customer margin balances and options activity have grown as well. Robinhood’s current financial reports measure trading activity through figures such as equity notional trading volume, the number of options contracts traded, and cryptocurrency notional volume instead of reporting average daily totals for stock and cryptocurrency trades.
Further details are available in our Robinhood review.
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Edward Jones
Edward Jones provides financial services to more than 9 million+
customers. Across its client base, the company administers managed accounts and brokerage accounts that collectively contain
$2.5 trillion in client assets. Edward Jones supports this extensive business through more than 20,000 financial advisors and an overall workforce of approximately 55,000 associates. Its network of thousands of neighborhood branch offices further demonstrates the considerable size of this traditional investment firm.
More information can be found in our Edward Jones review.
Honorable Mention
- Kraken provides access to both cryptocurrency and securities trading. According to its most recently reported total, the
company maintains more than 5.7 million funded accounts. Cryptocurrency trading has represented the majority of Kraken’s operating history because its securities brokerage services were introduced much more recently.
- Coinbase supports cryptocurrency, stock, and ETF trading and serves 141 million users.
- Morgan Stanley reports 20 million+ client relationships. The figure combines advisor-managed households, self-directed households, and participants in workplace financial programs while removing duplication between those groups.
Including the employees of its E*TRADE subsidiary, Morgan Stanley has a global workforce of approximately 80,000 people. It maintains offices in more than 40 countries, illustrating the extensive international presence of this major financial-services company.
Updated on 8/3/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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