Online broker
What a broker does, and how to compare one with another.
An online broker gives you access to the markets: it keeps your securities account, sends your orders to a trading venue and keeps your records. You make the decisions; the broker carries them out.
What to compare
Costs
Order fees, account fees, currency charges and third-party costs — all of them, not just the headline price.
Choice
Which exchanges, which products, and whether savings plans are available.
Service
How you can reach people when you need them, and how quickly they answer.
Questions worth asking
- Is there a fee for keeping the account, even when I don’t trade?
- What happens to my securities if the broker gets into difficulty?
- How do I move my portfolio in — and out again?
- Which documents do I get for my tax return?
Our answers are on the FAQ page.