The Largest Brokerage Firms
KEY POINTS
- Largest Brokerage Firms: Charles Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity manage trillions in assets and millions of accounts.
- Strong AUM Growth: Major brokerages experienced significant asset growth in 2024 due to market returns and user increases.
- Fidelity Leads Accounts: Fidelity holds the most active brokerage accounts with 51.5 million in 2024.
The largest brokerage firms are household names: Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, Bank of America (specifically Merrill Lynch), and J.P. Morgan each manages trillions of assets and millions of accounts.
Ready to find a brokerage that's right for you? See our top brokerage accounts of 2024.
Charles Schwab has $10.3 trillion assets under management (AUM) as of November 2024. Vanguard follows closely with $10.1 trillion in AUM.
The largest brokerage firms have seen solid AUM growth over the past year, driven by strong market returns and an increase in users.
The largest brokerage firms by assets under management
| Platform | Assets under management, end of 2023 (trillions) | AUM, 2024 (trillion) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Schwab | $8.50 | $10.31 | 21% |
| Vanguard | $8.60 | $10.10 | 17% |
| Fidelity | $4.90 | $5.80 | 18% |
| J.P. Morgan Chase | $2.90 | $4.20 | 45% |
| Edward Jones | $1.80 | $2.20 | 22% |
| Bank of America/Merrill Lynch | $1.30 | $1.90 | 46% |
| Morgan Stanley | $1.15 | $1.60 | 39% |
| Coinbase | $0.20 | $0.27 | 37% |
| Robinhood | $0.10 | $0.20 | 96% |
| Ally Invest | $0.01 | $0.02 | 33% |
Charles Schwab is the largest brokerage firm by AUM, managing $10.31 trillion in assets as of the end of November 2024. Vanguard is the only other brokerage with AUM close to Vanguard's.
All of the largest brokerages have experienced growth in 2024, with smaller firms like Robinhood and Coinbase posting some of the most impressive numbers.
The largest brokerage firms by active brokerage accounts
| Platform | Active Brokerage Accounts, Q4 2023 (Millions) | Active Brokerage Accounts, 2024 (Millions) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity | 38.7 | 51.5 | 33% |
| Schwab | 34.8 | 36.2 | 4% |
| Robinhood | 23.4 | 24.8 | 6% |
| Morgan Stanley/E*TRADE | 8.1 | 8.2 | 1% |
| Edward Jones | 8 | 8 | 0% |
| Coinbase | 7.0 | 7.8 | 11% |
| Bank of America/Merrill Lynch | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3% |
| Ally Invest | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2% |
Fidelity boasts the most active brokerage accounts among major firms for which data is available, with 51.5 million. Stock brokerages saw a lift in new accounts in 2024 as the market delivered positive returns. Coinbase struggled, however, as volatility defined crypto trading throughout most of the year.
Charles Schwab
- Assets under management: $10.31 trillion
- Total investors: 36.2 million
Founded in 1971, Charles Schwab introduced the concept of the discount brokerage and has risen to be the largest stock brokerage firm around. It offers a variety of financial products and services, including stock trading, individual retirement accounts, and banking.
Charles Schwab is most famous as a full-service brokerage. It has a high-quality web platform and app with quite a few investment options. The firm has grown considerably since 2023, in large part because it finalized the acquisition of TD Ameritrade that year, a popular online broker.
In addition to investment services, Charles Schwab offers a popular checking account product with unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide and no foreign transaction fees.
Learn more: Charles Schwab Review
Vanguard
- Assets under management: $10.10 trillion
- Total active brokerage accounts: Over 50 million
Vanguard is one of the most popular full-service stock brokerages for investing in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Although investors primarily use it for index fund investing and not for everyday stock trading, it manages more assets and has more clients than most of its competitors.
Learn more: Vanguard Review
Fidelity
- Assets under management: $5.8 trillion
- Total active brokerage accounts: 51.5 million
Fidelity is a full-service broker that has a wide selection of mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Other notable features of this broker are access to international markets and fractional share investing. Since its founding in 1946, Fidelity has grown to become the largest provider of 401(k) retirement savings plans in the United States.
Learn more: Fidelity Review
J.P. Morgan
- Assets under management: $4.2 trillion
J.P. Morgan is the full-service brokerage offered by Chase. Clients can open a self-directed brokerage account to trade on their own, work with a dedicated advisor, or invest using a robo-advisor. The broker offers zero-commission trading and a $0 minimum on self-directed accounts (automated accounts have a $500 minimum).
Those who qualify for Chase Private Client can receive a J.P. Morgan Private Client Advisor to build an investment portfolio that fits their individual needs. Chase Private Client members also gain access to investment accounts for retirement and education expenses, as well as J.P. Morgan industry research and insights.
Learn more: J.P. Morgan Review
Edward Jones
- Assets under management: $2.2 trillion
- Total clients: Over 8 million
Edward Jones is a full-service financial services company that offers commission-based brokerage accounts in addition to other types of accounts.
Founded in 1922, Edward Jones emphasizes building relationships between clients and financial advisors. The company has nearly 15,000 offices in the United States staffed by close to 19,000 financial advisors.
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
- Assets under management: $1.9 trillion
- Total active brokerage accounts: 3.9 million
Bank of America is a financial services company offering banking, credit cards, loans, and investment products. In 2009, Bank of America acquired investment company Merrill Lynch.
Merrill Lynch serves as the main brokerage option through Bank of America. Clients have the option of Merrill Edge for self-directed investing and Merrill Guided Investing for professional guidance. For clients with substantial funds ($10 million or more), Bank of America also offers Bank of America Private Bank.
Learn more: Merrill Edge Review
Morgan Stanley/E*TRADE
- Total customer assets: $1.6 trillion
- Total active brokerage accounts: 8.2 million
Founded in the 1980s, E*TRADE was one of the first brokerages to offer online trading to individual investors. After decades of growth, E*TRADE was purchased by Morgan Stanely in 2020 and now competes with other commission-free brokerages for retail investors.
E*TRADE offers most types of brokerage services that individual investors expect, including IRAs, a robo-advisor, custodial accounts, options, ETFs, margin trading, and more.
Learn more: E*TRADE Review
Coinbase
- Total customer assets: $270 billion
- Total active brokerage accounts: 7.8 million
Coinbase runs a cryptocurrency exchange that allows the trading of hundreds of types of cryptocurrencies. It offers unique perks, including crypto rewards for completing educational courses, interest on holding stable coins and rewards for staking certain currencies. Account owners can also sign up for a Coinbase prepaid Visa debit card which provides a way to spend cryptocurrency and is another avenue to earn rewards.
Learn more: Coinbase Review
Robinhood
- Total customer assets: $200 billion
- Total active brokerage accounts: 24.8 million
Although it hasn't been around long, Robinhood has had a huge impact on the investment industry. It was founded in 2013 and made waves for offering zero-commission trading.
That may have seemed like a gimmick at the time, but at this point it's become the industry norm. Robinhood also made waves in January 2018 when it started listing cryptocurrency.
Learn more: Robinhood Review
FAQs
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Brokerages facilitate transactions between parties. Stock brokers arrange transactions between buyers and sellers of securities.
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Charles Schwab is the largest brokerage firm in the United States, with $10.31 trillion in assets under management.
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The four biggest stock brokerage firms in the United States are Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Fidelity, and J.P. Morgan.
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Charles Schwab is larger than Fidelity when measured by AUM, $10.31 trillion to $5.8 trillion. More people trade through Fidelity, however. The company has 51.5 million active brokerage accounts compared to Schwab's 36.2 million.
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Motley Fool Money provides in-depth reviews of the best stock brokers as determined by our methodology.
Sources
- Ally Invest (2024). "Ally Financial Inc. 3Q 2024 Earnings Review."
- Bank of America (2024). "Bank of America 3Q24 Financial Results."
- Charles Schwab (2024). "Schwab Reports Monthly Activity Highlights."
- Coinbase (2024). Form "10-Q."
- Edward Jones (2024). "Media Kit."
- Fidelity (2024). "About."
- JP Morgan Chase & Co. (2024). "3Q24 Financial Results."
- Morgan Stanley. "About Morgan Stanley Investment Management."
- Robinhood (2024). "Investor Relations."
Our Research Expert
Jack Caporal is the Research Director for The Motley Fool and Motley Fool Money.
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