StockBrokers.com 2024 Annual Awards

Methodology: The innovation award recognizes broker achievement in pushing the industry forward. Our team tests and analyzes new tools, experiences and features that challenge industry standards and unlock new abilities for individual investors.

Methodology: This industry award is primarily based on the reach of a broker’s international offering. Data is collected to determine how many international exchanges each broker allows clients to access for trading. In addition, the trading platforms themselves are assessed using criteria from the Platforms & Tools category.

Methodology: The Investor App award recognizes the best mobile app for everyday passive and active long-term investors, which we define as Americans who place fewer than 36 trades each year or approximately three trades each month. Key criteria included portfolio reporting, data provided, tools, research availability, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Trader App award recognizes the best mobile app for active, moderately experienced retail U.S. traders. Our ranking is weighted toward customers who place at least 120 trades per year or 10 trades per month. Key criteria included data provided, tools, charting, trading workflow, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Web Trading Platform award recognizes the best browser-based trading platform. We prioritized the needs of active, intermediate level retail traders using a variety of instruments. Key criteria include data provided, tools, charting, trading workflow, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Platform Technology award recognizes the trading platform with the most sophisticated and reliable data streams and customizability. We prioritized the needs of active, highly sophisticated retail traders using a variety of instruments. Key criteria included data provided, tools, programming languages, scanners, and reliability.

Methodology: The Client Dashboard award recognizes the best homepage summary for a typical U.S. retail investor. We prioritized relevancy of information, layout, design, consolidated views, and clear labeling of key data.

Methodology: The Overall Client Experience award recognizes the best user experience for typical U.S. retail investors. Our testing simulates dozens of workflows for investors and traders alike. Key criteria include satisfying user intent, design, customer support, platform responsiveness, convenience, workflow, education, marketing communications, and transparency.

Methodology: Our award for #1 New Tool is partly based on data collected during our testing across all primary categories, with particular attention given to Research, Education, Platforms & Tools, Mobile Trading, and Investment Options. The award for #1 New Tool recognizes a new innovative feature or product experience launched by a broker during the previous calendar year that innovates or elevates either 1) the execution of a user intention; or, 2) the presentation of valuable information.

Methodology: Our #1 Environmental, Social, and Governance, or ESG, Investing award, which is heavily informed by the testing in our Research category, highlights the broker that provides the most comprehensive experience for socially responsible investing. We consider the availability of screening tools, third-party ratings, visual data, and other research features that help to identify ESG-related investment opportunities.

Methodology: The Professional Trading award recognizes the best broker for sophisticated U.S. traders who frequently execute large trades across a variety of financial instruments, such as day traders or those working for a professional institution such as a hedge fund. Key criteria include price, publicly available order execution data, investment options, tools, data, charting, trading workflow, platform reliability and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Order Execution award recognizes the broker with best stock order execution across a variety of retail-sized orders using publicly available, trailing three-month averages. We focused our evaluation primarily on payment for order flow and each broker’s process for routing orders to achieve price improvement.

Methodology: For this award we look at the full scope of a broker’s cryptocurrency offering, including whether crypto is offered through a third party or the broker offers an in-house solution. Additional features examined include the ability to deposit and withdraw crypto with the broker, availability of crypto wallets, and the ability to stake crypto and earn interest.

Methodology: The Fractional Shares award recognizes the broker offering the best fractional share trading. Key criteria include timeliness of execution, number of issues available, and minimum dollar order size.

Methodology: This award is based on analysis of data collected by our partner Confero, a customer experience research firm that conducts phone tests from locations throughout the U.S. For our current results, 168 customer service tests were conducted over six weeks. Customer service representatives were asked for assistance or details in several areas of broker services, including account opening, trading tools, apps, rollovers, active trading, and more. Wait times were logged for each individual customer service call.

Methodology: The Sentiment Investing award recognizes the broker that provides the most informative sentiment data. Key criteria include number of sentiment sources, quality of presentation, and ability to compare sentiment with historical investment performance.

Methodology: The Desktop Stock Trading Platform award recognizes the best downloadable trading platform ("desktop") app for stock traders. We prioritized the needs of active, intermediate level retail equity traders. Key criteria included data provided, tools, charting, trading workflow, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Desktop Options Trading Platform award recognizes the best downloadable trading platform ("desktop") app for options traders. We prioritized the needs of active, intermediate level retail options traders. Key criteria included data provided, tools, charting, trading workflow, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Desktop Futures Trading Platform award recognizes the best downloadable trading platform ("desktop") app for futures traders. We prioritized the needs of active, intermediate level retail futures and futures options traders. Key criteria included data provided, tools, charting, trading workflow, ease of use, design, and responsiveness.

Methodology: The Paper Trading award is given to the broker that offers the best easy-to-use, but feature-rich, trading experience using virtual dollars.

Methodology: The Bond Trading award recognizes the broker that provides the best combination of fixed income pricing and access to global fixed income markets.

Methodology: The Bond Research Award acknowledges the broker that the StockBrokers.com editorial team views as offering the best fixed income research resources at no additional charge to retail investors. Criteria include frequency, types of fixed income products covered, quality of research and market commentary.

Methodology: The Best Fund Research Provider award recognizes the research firm that provides the most comprehensive and insightful data and opinion on mutual funds and exchange traded funds. We prioritized the needs of intermediate level self-directed investors. Key criteria included data provided, quality of opinions, benchmark comparisons, layout, and data labeling.

Methodology: The Best Charting Technology Provider award recognizes the firm that provides the best charting experience. We prioritized the needs of intermediate level self-directed retail traders and investors. Key criteria include data provided, labeling, presentation, responsiveness, pattern identification, and ease of use.

Methodology: The Best Automated Chart Patterns Provider award recognizes the firm that provides the best automated chart pattern recognition. We prioritized the needs of intermediate level self-directed retail traders. Key criteria include patterns recognized, customization, documentation, and ease of use.

Methodology: Our highest award, this selection is both data- and opinion-driven and recognizes the broker that scored the most total points across all categories: Commissions & Fees, Investment Options, Platforms & Tools, Research, Mobile Trading, Education and Ease of Use. This broker demonstrates the highest level of client service.

Methodology: With zero-commission trades the norm among U.S. brokerages, we examine various other client costs, such as payment for order flow (PFOF) practices, account maintenance fees, service fees (including subscriptions to premium services), and termination fees.

Methodology: This data- and opinion-driven award recognizes the broker that the StockBrokers.com editorial team regards as providing the best suite of platforms and tools for U.S. retail clients.

Methodology: This data- and opinion-driven award recognizes the broker that scored the most points in our Mobile Trading Apps category. It takes into consideration the availability and quality of watch lists, charting, real-time and streaming quotes, stock alerts, and educational resources, among other variables. We also look for a fluid user experience moving between mobile and desktop platforms, where offered.

Methodology: This opinion-driven award recognizes the broker that scored the most points in our analysis for Ease of Use.

Methodology: This data-driven award recognizes the broker that scored the most points for the Investment Options category, which considers availability of instruments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures, options and cryptocurrency.

Methodology: This data- and opinion-driven award recognizes the broker that the StockBrokers.com editorial team regards as providing the best research and market commentary experience. Elements considered include quality and quantity of research and ease of use.

Methodology: This data- and opinion-driven award recognizes the broker that scored the most points for the Education category, which factors in the availability and quality of articles, webinars and videos surrounding various aspects of trading and investing.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best investing experience for novice U.S. investors. Key criteria include educational content, ease of use, product marketing, transparency, products and features, cost, and the client dashboard.

Methodology: The High Net Worth Investors award recognizes the best broker for self-directed U.S. retail investors with investable assets of $1 million to $10 million. We prioritized the needs of intermediate level, long-term-oriented investors with portfolios that include a variety of instruments. Key criteria include consolidated reporting, integrated service model, specialist support, high net worth enhancements, financial planning tools and education, ease of use, and design.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best value and experience for intermediate level U.S. retail options investors. Key criteria include features, cost, layout, trading workflow, platform design, and platform responsiveness.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best value and experience for intermediate level U.S. retail traders using a variety of trading vehicles. Key criteria include features, investment options, cost, layout, trading workflow, platform design, and platform responsiveness.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team finds to provide the best value and experience for U.S. retail penny stock investors, which we define as OTC stocks trading for less than $5 per share. The key criteria are the list of stocks available for trading and cost, with some consideration given for overall experience and education.

Methodology: For customer service testing, StockBrokers.com partners with customer experience research group Confero to conduct phone tests from locations across the United States. Confero agents used one of 10 unique scenario templates provided by StockBrokers.com (on average, three questions are asked) to assess each broker. To ensure fairness as well as to gather the highest quality data, each agent used a single template to test all brokers.

To score each test, three separate buckets are assessed: 1. Time to connect 2. The ability of each broker representative to professionally (and thoroughly) answer each question and 3. A Net Promoter Score for the overall support experience. Response times are 15% of each test score, representative assessments are 35%, and Net Promoter Scores make up the remaining 50%.

Once all individual test scores were compiled, they were combined to determine an overall score for Customer Service.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team finds to provide the best value and experience for everyday U.S. retail retirement-focused investors. This award combines features important to other categories, but emphasizes IRA account availability and costs.

Methodology: This award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best value and experience for intermediate-level U.S. retail investors who want to consolidate their financial activities with one company. We take into consideration the breadth of banking services on offer and how well they are integrated with self-directed investing.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best value and experience for intermediate level U.S. retail futures traders. Key criteria include features, cost, layout, trading workflow, platform design, and platform responsiveness.

Methodology: This opinion-based award recognizes the broker that the editorial team believes provides the best investor community experience for U.S. retail investors. Included in the analysis are the quality and quantity of user posts and how well they are presented.