Ranking
Safest Stock Brokers 2026
Every stock and investment broker we cover, in the US, the UK and Europe. The score asks what happens to your money if the broker fails or misbehaves. It weighs segregation of client assets and the compensation scheme behind them, the regulator of the company you sign up with, financial strength, fines and outages, and account security. It says nothing about fees or returns.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
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 AFidelity 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 AInteractive 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 AE*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 AVanguard
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 BFreetrade
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 BHargreaves 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 BTrading 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 BSaxo
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 BeToro
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 BRobinhood
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 BWebull
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 Bmoomoo
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 BPlus500
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 BPublic
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 BRevolut (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 BDEGIRO
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
How we rank brokers
This list takes every broker page we publish. Each broker is scored on five factors. Investor protection counts for 30%: whether client assets are segregated, which compensation scheme stands behind them, and whether the broker adds excess cover. Regulation and financial strength count for 20% each, conduct for 15% (fines, enforcement and outages that blocked trading in the last ten years), and account security for 15%. Full rubrics are on how we score brokers.
The order is those scores sorted from the highest down. When we update a page, its place here changes too, so this text does not quote scores.
What the top brokers have in common
Most brokers near the top are large US firms. Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Interactive Brokers all hold client assets with SIPC cover plus a private excess policy, and each has billions of dollars of net capital or audited equity behind it. Fidelity's excess policy is the largest we have seen, $1 billion with no per-customer cap on securities. None of them has a clean conduct record, though: Schwab paid $187 million in the SEC robo-adviser case, and Interactive Brokers paid $38 million over Anti-money launderingThe rules and checks that stop criminals from moving illegal money through banks, payment firms and crypto exchanges.More in the glossary failures in 2020.
UK brokers such as Hargreaves Lansdown and Trading 212 keep client shares ring-fenced under FCA rules with Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary cover of £85,000, below the US limit. Saxo is a Danish bank classed as systemically important.
Why some brokers score lower
The compensation scheme explains a lot of the lower half. EU clients of DEGIRO, eToro, Plus500 and Revolut are covered for about €20,000 to €22,000, and DEGIRO may lend out shares by default. Plus500 is mostly a CFD provider that takes the other side of its clients' trades, which is a different risk from owning shares. Small or loss-making brokers lose points on financial strength: Public had $11.1 million of equity at the end of 2025. Conduct pulls others down, from Robinhood's 2021 trading limits and fines to moomoo's proposed penalty in China.
What the score does not tell you
The score is about the safety of the money you hold with a broker, not about whether an investment is a good idea, and it is not investment advice. Protection depends on the exact company you sign up with, which can differ by country inside the same brand. Before you move a large sum, check that company's name on your regulator's register and turn on the strongest login protection the broker offers.
Questions
What is the safest stock broker?
The broker at the top of this list has the highest score we give right now, but several large brokers sit close together. What they share is client assets held apart from the firm's own, a strong compensation scheme with extra private cover on top, and a large, profitable, audited parent. Open each page to see where they differ.
What happens to my shares if my broker goes bust?
At a regulated broker, your shares are held apart from the firm's own money and should be returned to you. The compensation scheme only steps in if some of them are missing, for example through fraud or bad records. In the US, SIPC covers up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 in cash; in the UK, the Deposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary covers up to £85,000.
Is my money safe with a broker in the EU?
Client assets must be segregated, but the investor compensation schemes in most EU countries cover only €20,000 per person, far less than the US and UK schemes. That is why several brokers that serve EU clients from Cyprus, the Netherlands or Lithuania score lower on investor protection. Check which company in the group your account is actually with.
Are investing apps like Robinhood and Webull safe?
Their US brokers are regulated by the SEC and FINRA and are SIPC members with private excess cover on top, so your assets have the same legal protection as at a traditional broker. Where they lose points is their record of fines and outages and, for younger firms, a shorter history of profits. Their pages list the details.
Does the score tell me which broker is best for investing?
No. It covers how safe your money is with the broker, not fees, products, research tools or returns. A high score also does not protect you from losing money on investments that fall in value. This is not investment advice.