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The Largest Brokerage Firms by Assets Under Management (Total AUM) in 2023
Total amount of assets under management at the largest brokerage companies for online investing
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The Largest Brokers by Assets
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Stocks, ETFs: $0
Mutual Funds: $20
Options: $1.00 per contract
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Vanguard has over $8.1 trillion in total assets under management. Learn more...
Promotion: none
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Stocks, ETFs: $0
Mutual Funds: $49.95 to buy,
$0 to sell
Options: $0.65 per contract
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Fidelity Investments has close to $3.6 trillion in total assets under management (AUM).
Equity assets under management = $1,72 trillion. High income assets = $77 billion.
Investment grade bond assets = $517 billion. Money market assets = $874 billion.
Learn more...
Promotion: Get $0 stock commissions.
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Stocks, ETFs: $0
Mutual Funds: $49.95 to buy,
$0 to sell
Options: $0.65 per contract
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Charles Schwab has close to $755 billion in total client assets.
14.1 million active brokerage accounts. 4.6 million corporate retirement plan participants.
Learn more...
Promotion: Get commission-free online stock trades.
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Stocks, ETFs: $0
Mutual Funds: $49.99 to buy,
$0 to sell
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TD Ameritrade has over $1.32 trillion in total assets under management (AUM).
12 million active brokerage accounts.
Learn more...
Promotion: $0 commissions + transfer fee reimbursement.
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Stocks, ETFs: $0
Mutual Funds: $19.99
Options: $0.65 per contract
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Etrade has close to $420 billion in total customer assets. Learn more...
Promotion:
Get zero commission on stock and ETF trades.
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The Largest Brokerage Firms by Assets Under Management
Vanguard
Vanguard is the biggest online brokerage by AUM. Broker's majority
assets under management are from investors who own Vanguard-family mutual funds. Most of these investors are customers of
other brokerage companies, including those listed in this article.
The broker-dealer doesn't offer a trading platform and
its trading tools are below average.
Continue to Vanguard Review.
Fidelity Investments
A large part of Fidelity's assets under management are in its proprietary mutual
funds. The company is also the clear leader in custodial account management, mainly through client companies that invest their employees' pension
and 401k funds with Fidelity.
The company is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the country, offering more than 200 funds with a combined retail Net Asset Value (NAV)
of about $2 trillion. Fidelity's brokerage rates are in the middle of the pack mainly due to commission and early redemption fee costs on mutual funds and high minimums.
Those negatives are offset by excellent customer service and investment research.
Continue to Fidelity Review.
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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).
Try Wiser Advisor
Charles Schwab
In a strong third place, Charles Schwab has over $755 billion in total assets under management. It also has a large custodial client
base and is growing its proprietary mutual fund business as well.
Majority of non-Schwab family mutual funds will cost a customer $49.95 to buy. Unlike many other broker-dealers, they offer
promotion to open a new account only to rich investors.
On the plus side, Schwab has than 345 branch offices for customers who like face-to-face service. Free financial guidance is available, and
their mutual fund selection is one of the best with more than 14,500 different funds offered to investors.
Continue to Charles Schwab Review.
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is an attractive choice for individual investors. It bought Scottrade, and as the
result got a lot of value from this huge acquisition. TD Ameritrade is an excellent choice for beginners thanks to easy-to-use website as well as for experienced
investors thanks to their outstanding trading platform — Thinkorswim.
Their brokerage investment research is one of the best. When combined with the company's PaperMoney virtual
trading program, this helps first-timers learn the investing ropes before requiring them to invest real money.
The broker offers a huge amount of commission free products.
Continue to TD Ameritrade Review.
E*Trade
Although substantially smaller than the top four largest broker-dealers in this list, E*Trade has been around since the beginning of the online trading era,
having first offered online trading to individual investors more than 35 years ago. The company's focus is entirely on individual investors.
E*Trade's active-traders platform, E*Trade Pro, is one of the better trading platforms available, and account minimums are $0 if customers sign
up for electronic statements and confirmations. Commissions are about average, research options are excellent and investing advice
is available by phone or in person.
Continue to E*Trade Review.
What is Assets Under Management (AUM)?
The exact definition of assets under management (AUM) can vary, depending on which financial institution is defining the term. Generally, it means the market value of assets a company manages on behalf of its clients. Funds that are on deposit with the company but over which the company does not have any discretionary authority are usually excluded from the calculation. However, some financial institutions may include assets such as bank deposits or other non-managed funds in its calculation. Most firms will only include those assets over which clients have specifically given the institution trading authority. Different companies use AUM, such as mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance companies, and brokerage firms.
As one example, Fidelity Investments has $3.6 trillion in total customer assets, although only $2.96 trillion is considered
assets under management. These are accounts over which clients have given Fidelity the green light to make trades. Fidelity
manages the accounts, so they are considered assets under management. Accounts that are self-managed will not be included in
the $2.96 trillion figure, although they are considered customer assets. Fidelity mutual and exchange-traded funds are part of the $2.1 trillion because the company buys and sells securities within the funds.
AUM can fluctuate daily as the market price of the managed assets varies. This is especially true of stocks, whose prices tend to be more volatile than bonds and other assets.
Is it Important?
Some investors will want to see a high AUM. They see that other investors trust the company with their money, so they feel confident handing over their own assets to the firm. A large AUM also usually means the broker has many investment advisors and a large advisory business. A firm with a lower AUM is not necessarily of lower quality or less trustworthy. New companies, for instance, may have fewer assets under management simply because it has had less time to attract investors. Some of the brokers who have large AUM's have been in business for decades. Ally Invest, by contrast, has fewer managed accounts, but has only been in business since 2005. Smaller or newer firms are not necessarily a worse choice.
Once a company has $30 million in assets under management it must register with the SEC. Smaller firms will be under the jurisdiction of state securities regulators. Investors who want SEC regulation should choose a broker with at least $30 million in AUM.
List of Online Brokers Total Assets Under Management (AUM)
Largest Brokerage Firms by Assets Disclaimer
Largest broker-dealers by assets under management numbers could change at any time. Please see a
company's financial statements before making any decision.
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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