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SafetyScorer

Safety scores

Brokers

When a broker fails, what protects you is segregation of client assets and the compensation scheme behind them, such as SIPC in the US or the FSCS in the UK. We score brokers on that protection, on who regulates the company you actually sign up with, on its financial strength, on its record of fines and outages, and on how well it secures your account. The scores are about safety, not returns or fees.

All rated brokers

  1. #1 of 17

    Charles Schwab

    Investments at Schwab sit with Charles Schwab & Co., a broker with $16.1 billion of net capital, segregated client assets, SIPC and an excess policy. The weak points are conduct, above all the $187 million SEC robo-adviser case, and two-step login that is opt-in.

    Score 87, grade A

  2. #2 of 17

    Fidelity Investments

    Fidelity's brokerage combines SIPC with the largest excess SIPC policy we have seen ($1 billion, no per-customer cap on securities) and a custodian with $12.6 billion of audited net capital. It loses points because FMR is private and because a 2024 breach exposed ID documents of about 77,000 people.

    Score 87, grade A

  3. #3 of 17

    Interactive Brokers

    A listed, very well-capitalised broker with no bank attached, daily segregation of client assets, and SIPC plus a Lloyd's excess policy in the US. The weak spot is compliance: 92 regulatory events on BrokerCheck, including $38 million for anti-money-laundering failures in 2020.

    Score 87, grade A

  4. #4 of 17

    E*TRADE

    E*TRADE accounts are held by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a SIPC member with excess cover, and swept cash goes to Morgan Stanley's FDIC-insured banks. The parent earned $16.9 billion in 2025. The weak side is conduct, including a $35 million SEC fine over customer data and pending sweep-rate class actions.

    Score 85, grade A

  5. #5 of 17

    Vanguard

    Vanguard holds brokerage assets in custody with SIPC cover and extra insurance, and its funds keep their assets with outside custodians. It trails Schwab and Fidelity because the company runs at cost with little capital of its own and paid $106 million to the SEC in 2025 over target-date fund tax bills.

    Score 81, grade B

  6. #6 of 17

    Freetrade

    Freetrade Limited is an FCA-regulated UK investment app, owned since April 2025 by FTSE 100 IG Group. Client cash and shares are ring-fenced under FCA rules and FSCS cover is £85,000. It acts as its own custodian, publishes few figures of its own, and was told by the FCA to pull influencer ads.

    Score 79, grade B

  7. #7 of 17

    Hargreaves Lansdown

    Hargreaves Lansdown looks after £172.7 billion for 2 million clients, holds £600 million of capital above its requirement and keeps client shares in a non-trading nominee. Private equity has owned it since 2025. About 9,600 Woodford investors are suing it, and extra login security is optional.

    Score 79, grade B

  8. #8 of 17

    Trading 212

    Trading 212 UK is FCA-regulated, keeps client shares at Interactive Brokers and BNY Mellon and cash at large UK banks, and made £123 million before tax in 2025. It is private with limited disclosure, EU clients get only €20,000 of cover, and it froze GameStop buying and sign-ups in 2021.

    Score 78, grade B

  9. #9 of 17

    Saxo

    Saxo Bank A/S is a Danish bank classed as systemically important, rated A- by S&P and now majority-owned by Swiss private bank J. Safra Sarasin. The weak spot is compliance: a DKK 313 million anti-money-laundering fine in January 2026 and a run of Danish FSA orders on client classification and product governance.

    Score 76, grade B

  10. #10 of 17

    eToro

    eToro keeps client money and shares segregated in FCA- and CySEC-licensed companies, and its Nasdaq-listed parent earned $216 million in 2025. Weak points are thin cover for EU clients (€20,000), a 2024 SEC settlement over US crypto and an Australian lawsuit over CFD sales.

    Score 75, grade B

  11. #11 of 17

    Robinhood

    Robinhood's US brokerage is SEC- and FINRA-regulated, client securities are protected by SIPC plus an excess policy, and the listed parent earned $1.88 billion in 2025. The weak side is its record, with the 2020 outages, the January 2021 trading limits and fines of $45 million from the SEC and $57 million from FINRA.

    Score 75, grade B

  12. #12 of 17

    Webull

    Webull Financial LLC is a SEC- and FINRA-regulated US broker with SIPC cover and a Lloyd's excess policy, owned by Nasdaq-listed Webull Corporation. It turned its first annual profit in 2025, has paid about $5.3 million in fines since 2021, and faces US lawmakers' questions over its links to China.

    Score 74, grade B

  13. #13 of 17

    moomoo

    In the US, moomoo accounts sit with Moomoo Financial Inc., a SEC- and FINRA-regulated broker, and are held by its sister firm Futu Clearing, both SIPC members. The parent, Futu Holdings, earned $1.45 billion in 2025. Against that: FINRA fines, a Japanese business suspension and a proposed $271 million penalty in China.

    Score 73, grade B

  14. #14 of 17

    Plus500

    Plus500 is a London-listed group regulated by the FCA, CySEC and ASIC that earned $281 million in 2025. Most clients trade CFDs with Plus500 as the other side, EU cover is only €20,000, and its record includes a 2015 FCA anti-money-laundering freeze and open class actions.

    Score 73, grade B

  15. #15 of 17

    Public

    Public's US broker, Open to the Public Investing, Inc., is regulated by the SEC and FINRA, and client assets are held by Apex Clearing with SIPC and a Lloyd's excess policy. The broker itself is small: $11.1 million of equity at the end of 2025 after years of losses. FINRA has fined it three times since 2023.

    Score 72, grade B

  16. #16 of 17

    Revolut (trading)

    Revolut's investment accounts are run by separate brokers, not its bank. Revolut Trading Ltd (FCA) serves the UK, Revolut Securities Europe UAB (Bank of Lithuania) the EEA and Revolut Securities Inc. (FINRA, SIPC) the US. The group is very profitable, but EEA cover is €22,000 and Italy fined the EU arm in 2026.

    Score 72, grade B

  17. #17 of 17

    DEGIRO

    DEGIRO is the Dutch branch of flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, a German bank whose listed parent earned €160 million in 2025. Shares sit in separate Dutch foundations, but by default DEGIRO may lend them out, investor cover is only €20,000, and Dutch and German regulators have fined it repeatedly.

    Score 71, grade B