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| VS field |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Decision summary | ||||
| Overall score | 91 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
| Trust score | 100 | 100 | 100 | 94 |
| Cost score | 89 | 92 | 92 | 88 |
| Platform score | 94 | 94 | 92 | 93 |
| Withdrawal score | 89 | 89 | 89 | 80 |
| Best for | Evidence supports Fidelity as a U.S.-focused, highly regulated multi-asset broker for stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds/CDs, options, cash management, managed portfolios, and sepa… | Best suited for U.S.-centric investors and active traders who want a large, bank-affiliated multi-asset brokerage with $0 online listed stock/ETF commissions, strong platform dept… | European self-directed investors seeking low-cost access to stocks and ETFs · Investors who prefer web/mobile platforms and exchange-traded products | Active traders · Advanced investors · International-market investors |
| Watch out | Needs verification | Needs verification | Needs verification | Fee schedule is complex and varies by product, plan, market and entity · Country availability/restrictions need entity-specific review · No single universal max leverage figure fo… |
Trust & regulation | ||||
| Regulators | Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC is SEC registered and regulated by FINRA; FBS and NFS are members of NYSE and SIPC. Source | SEC; FINRA; SIPC; CFTC; NFA; FDIC Source | Primarily supervised by BaFin and Bundesbank in Germany; Dutch branch registered with DNB and supervised by AFM and DNB. Source | Regulated by SEC/FINRA/CFTC/NYSE in the US and by FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, Hong Kong SFC, SEBI, Kanto Local Finance Bureau and MAS for regional affiliates. Source |
| License numbers | FBS CRD# 7784 / SEC# 8-23292; NFS CRD# 13041 / SEC# 801-50706, 8-26740. Source | Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. CRD 5393; SEC 801-29938 and 8-16514 Source | Financial licence number not disclosed in reviewed official sources. Commercial registrations found: flatexDEGIRO Bank SE HRB 141330 on flatexDEGIRO Bank SE imprint; DEGIRO UK footer states HRB 105687; Dutch Branch KvK 82510245. Source | US CRD 36418 / SEC 8-47257; UK FCA 208159; AU AFSL 453554; India SEBI INZ000217730 and NSDL IN-DP-602-2021; Singapore MAS CMS100917; Japan Kanto Local Finance Bureau No.187. Source |
| Regulated entities | Primary securities brokerage entities are Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC (FBS) and National Financial Services LLC (NFS), each member NYSE/SIPC; advisory and crypto entities differ by product. Source | Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.; Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC; Charles Schwab Bank, SSB; Charles Schwab Premier Bank, SSB Source | DEGIRO is operated by flatexDEGIRO Bank Dutch Branch, a branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE; flatexDEGIRO Bank SE is a licensed German bank headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Source | Major regulated entities include Interactive Brokers LLC plus UK, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore affiliates. Source |
| Negative balance protection | Not applicable/not disclosed as a CFD-style negative balance protection policy; margin trading can create debt/interest obligations. Source | Not disclosed as retail brokerage negative balance protection; futures/forex are leveraged and losses may exceed initial investment. Source | No negative balance protection found. Official account-profile page warns losses can exceed deposit and result in a negative Balance for derivatives, margin and short-selling services; margin profiles are legacy-only. Source | No universal negative-balance-protection promise found for Interactive Brokers LLC; IBKR describes real-time margin requirements and protective liquidations to return accounts to margin compliance. Source |
| Investor compensation | SIPC coverage up to $500,000/$250,000 cash plus Fidelity excess SIPC; FDIC sweep coverage may apply to eligible cash programs; important exclusions apply. Source | SIPC protection up to $500,000 including a $250,000 cash limit for brokerage account assets; futures accounts are not protected by SIPC. Source | Cash in flatexDEGIRO Bank SE Cash Account protected up to €100,000 per customer under German Deposit Guarantee Scheme; investor compensation covers up to 90% of non-returned assets, max €20,000 per customer; UK FSCS does not apply. Source | Interactive Brokers LLC securities accounts are protected by SIPC up to $500,000, including $250,000 cash sublimit, plus excess SIPC coverage up to an additional $30 million per account with $900,000 cash sublimit, subject to $150 million aggregate; futures/options on futures are excluded. Regional schemes vary. Source |
| Restricted countries | U.S.-persons focused; sanctioned countries/prohibited parties restricted; no exhaustive country availability list found. Source | Not all products, services, or investments are available in all countries; Schwab is not registered outside the United States and products/services may not be registered in a user's jurisdiction. Source | Available via listed country selector in Europe/UK; US persons are not accepted; UK onboarding for new clients was temporarily unavailable on the reviewed UK page. Source | Official available-countries page lists countries/territories where applications are available rather than a concise restricted-country list. Treat unsupported/sanctioned-country restrictions as country/entity-dependent and requiring manual review. Source |
Costs & account conditions | ||||
| Minimum deposit | $0 to open a retail brokerage account; Fidelity states no account minimum and ability to invest with as little as $1; exceptions apply by account/product. Source | $0 minimum for standard U.S. brokerage and IRA accounts; Schwab One International accounts require a minimum deposit but amount is not disclosed in checked official pages. Source | No fixed minimum deposit identified; DEGIRO homepage says users can add any amount of money to the account for free. Bank-account verification search result states minimum EUR 0.01 for linking a new bank account. Source | USD 0 account minimum for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite; broker accounts can require a USD 10,000 up-front deposit applied against commissions. Source |
| Spread from | Not applicable to Fidelity's core U.S. stock/ETF brokerage model; securities trade by exchange/market prices rather than quoted CFD/FX spreads. Source | Not applicable to this stock/ETF investment broker profile; no CFD/FX spread schedule identified as a core product in reviewed sources. Source | Not a quoted-spread CFD/FX broker field. DEGIRO discloses that bid-ask spreads are implicit market costs and not direct broker costs. Source | Spot currency spreads advertised as narrow as 1/10 pip on Interactive Brokers Australia pricing overview; spreads vary by product/entity/market. Source |
| Commission | $0 online U.S. stock and ETF trades; $0 online options commission plus $0.65/contract; other product/service fees apply. Source | stock_commission: $0 online commission for listed stocks and ETFs; OTC equities $6.95; broker-assisted service charge $25; etf_commission: $0 online commission for listed U.S.-exchange ETFs; options_commission: $0 online base commission plus $0.65 per options contract; futures_commission: $2.25 per contract, per side, for futures and futures options; exchange, regulatory, overnight, NFA, and market-data fees may apply; mutual_fund_commission: $0 on thousands of Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource funds; all other mutual funds up to $74.95 per purchase; bond_commission: New-issue bonds/CDs: $0 online/selling concession included; Treasuries online $0; most other secondary bonds $1 per bond with $10 minimum and $250 maximum; forex_commission: $0 commission; forex trade costs are reflected in the bid/ask spread Source | Examples from UK fee page: US stocks €1 + €1 handling; LSE £1.75 + £1 handling; selected ETFs €0 + €1 handling; global ETFs €2 + €1 handling; options €0.75 commission. Currency, connectivity, external product and spread costs may apply. Source | IBKR Lite offers $0 commissions on US stocks and ETFs; IBKR Pro uses fixed/tiered commissions and third-party/exchange/regulatory fees may apply by market/product. Source |
| Maximum leverage | No universal maximum leverage ratio disclosed for Fidelity retail brokerage; margin borrowing is available subject to approval and margin requirements/rates rather than a single max leverage figure. Source | Not disclosed as a single broker-level maximum; leverage/margin depends on product, account approval, and regulatory/product requirements. Source | DEGIRO currently does not allow new changes to margin-trading profiles; legacy Active/Trader/Day Trader accounts may have Debit Money / derivatives risk but maximum leverage was not disclosed in reviewed sources. Source | Not expressed as a single max leverage figure; margin requirements are product-, account-, entity- and regulation-dependent and IBKR applies real-time risk margin. Source |
| Deposit fee | $0 Fidelity fee for EFT and Fidelity does not charge wire fees; external banks may charge. Source | $0 for funds entering a standard brokerage account; banking deposit services generally no monthly/account minimum fees, but certain services can have fees Source | No deposit fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; deposits listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source | Most standard bank/security deposit methods show no IBKR deposit fee in the extracted official fee table, but physical currency deposits incur a special handling fee of 1% of deposit amount, minimum $50; third-party/bank fees may apply. Source |
| Withdrawal fee | $0 Fidelity fee for EFT and domestic bank wire withdrawals; foreign exchange wire up to 3% of principal; receiving bank may charge. Source | No fee for routine withdrawals from standard brokerage per FAQ; full outbound ACAT $50 and outgoing wire $25; Schwab Bank Investor Checking has unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals worldwide, subject to conditions. Source | No withdrawal fee disclosed on UK fee page and homepage; withdrawals listed as FEE €0 / no deposit-withdrawal fees. Source | Two free withdrawal requests per calendar month; after the second withdrawal IBKR charges listed fees by currency/method (example USD: wire 10.00, check 4.00, ACH/EFT/SEPA 1.00). Source |
| Inactivity fee | No explicit inactivity-fee line found in official fee schedule; official account pages state no retail brokerage account fees/no account or subscription fees. Treat as needs manual confirmation before publishing as '$0 inactivity fee'. Source | $0 annual maintenance/inactivity fee for standard brokerage accounts Source | No inactivity fee; UK fee page lists inactivity fee as €0. Source | USD 0 inactivity fee for IBKR Pro and IBKR Lite account minimums page. Source |
Markets, platforms & payments | ||||
| Tradable assets | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, crypto, fixed income, bonds and CDs; Fidelity says stocks include domestic and international. Source | Stocks; fractional shares; ETFs; mutual funds; bonds/CDs/fixed income; money market funds; options; futures; futures options; forex; international stocks/ADRs/foreign ordinaries; cash products; annuities; alternatives; crypto ETPs/securities/futures. Source | Shares, ETFs, bonds and derivatives such as options and futures; DEGIRO product pages also describe investment funds availability. Source | Stocks, ETFs, options, futures, spot currencies, bonds, mutual funds and cash-balance services, with availability varying by entity/country/account permission. Source |
| Trading platforms | Fidelity.com, Fidelity mobile app, Fidelity Trader+ Web/Desktop/Mobile mode, and legacy Active Trader Pro Classic. Source | Schwab.com; Schwab Mobile; thinkorswim desktop; thinkorswim web; thinkorswim mobile; paperMoney Source | DEGIRO provides a web/desktop trading platform (Webtrader) and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Source | IBKR Desktop, Trader Workstation, IB Gateway, IBKR Mobile and web/client portal tools. Source |
| Account types | Broad account menu including taxable brokerage, retirement/IRA, cash management, HSA, custodial/youth, education, trust/business, managed and crypto accounts. Source | Individual Brokerage; Joint Brokerage; Schwab One Brokerage; Investor Checking-linked brokerage; Futures Account; Global Account; IRAs; custodial, education, trust, estate, organization, and business retirement accounts; Schwab Intelligent Portfolios. Source | DEGIRO account/profile types include Basic, Active, Trader, Day Trader and Custody. Active, Trader and Day Trader are legacy-only and new margin profiles are no longer available. Source | Supports individual and institutional accounts; official minimums page also distinguishes advisor, family office, hedge fund and broker account structures. Source |
| Deposit methods | EFT/ACH, bank wire, check/mobile check, direct deposit, recurring deposit, Fidelity-to-Fidelity/account transfer, transfer of assets, and eligible payment apps. Source | ACH/electronic transfer/MoneyLink; wire transfer; check/mail check; Schwab Mobile Deposit for checking; direct deposit for checking; account transfer/ACAT; branch/in-person deposit where available. Source | Manual bank transfer from a verified linked/reference bank account; deposits must use the account base currency. Source | Wire transfer, check, direct bank transfer/ACH, SEPA/regional bank transfers where available, and securities transfer methods such as ACATS; physical cash deposits are against policy. Source |
| Withdrawal methods | EFT/ACH, bank wire, paper check, Fidelity-to-Fidelity transfers, third-party/person-to-person transfers and eligible debit card/ATM access. Source | Transfer to linked bank/checking; wire transfer; check; ATM/debit card for Schwab Bank Investor Checking; ACAT outbound account transfer. Source | Withdrawals go back to the primary registered/linked bank account; only uninvested cash in the Cash Account can be withdrawn. Source | Bank wire/transfer, checks and regional transfer rails such as BACS/GIRO/ACH/EFT/SEPA where available; securities transfer methods such as ACATS may also apply. Source |
| Withdrawal processing time | EFT withdrawals 1-3 business days; bank wire same day if submitted by 4 p.m. ET; paper check about 5-6 days. Source | Cash moved from brokerage to linked Investor Checking is generally available in seconds, but weekend/after-hours transfers may not be available until the next business day; other withdrawal methods vary/not fully disclosed on checked pages. Source | Withdrawals may take up to 2-4 working days; transfers can take up to 2-3 working days to complete. Source | Not captured as a single verified processing-time SLA; varies by withdrawal method, currency, region and receiving bank. Source |
BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.