Charles Schwab
Schwab manages assets totaling $10.8 trillion, including 1.6 million people in workplace retirement plans and 1.1 million Schwab Bank accounts. Of this, $1.2 trillion is in managed accounts. Schwab employs 1,500 financial advisors and works with 15,000 registered investment advisors, creating over 100,000 financial plans for clients.
Schwab offers its own mutual funds and ETFs, with 71 mutual funds and 21 ETFs that are commission-free. The company also provides access to 5,331 mutual funds, with 3,247 being no-load and no-transaction-fee funds.
Schwab has 325 branches across the U.S. for in-person help. Schwab Bank offers FDIC-insured checking accounts with a Visa debit card and refunds all ATM fees worldwide.
Schwab’s website now has a simpler menu and a large education section with articles, videos, and webinars about topics like cash flow, debt-to-equity ratios, and tax strategies.
Schwab’s trading tools include an Apple Watch app, a mobile app with live CNBC, and the advanced thinkorswim desktop platform, which only needs a $1,000 account balance.
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Charles Schwab review.
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Edward Jones
Edward Jones is a full-service broker focused on managing accounts for a fee. The firm oversees more than $2 trillion in assets for 9 million clients. Its management fee is a percentage of assets, based on account size and investment type, like stocks, bonds, or ETFs. Fees range from 0.85% to 2.5% per year, plus extra trade commissions.
Edward Jones has nearly 15,000 offices in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.—the largest network of any U.S. broker. The company also has about 600 locations in Canada.
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Edward Jones review.
Raymond James
Raymond James also manages client accounts for a fee based on assets. The company oversees more than $1.48 trillion. Fees depend on your account balance and range from 1.0% to 2.25%. For example, a $100,000 account could pay $2,250 per year in management fees.
Like Edward Jones, Raymond James charges high commissions for trades. Accounts under $100,000 pay a $50 annual fee, and IRAs have a $100 closing fee.
Raymond James has over 2,800 branches in the U.S., with about 7,100 financial professionals, and offers phone support during weekdays.
Raymond James clients get access to research on nine different market sectors and more than 1,300 stocks, as well as research on mutual funds and bonds.
Raymond James runs its own FDIC-insured bank for cash management. Free cash balances can be spread among several FDIC-insured banks, boosting coverage up to ten times the usual $250,000. The Capital Access account, linked to a brokerage account, offers check writing and a debit card. Accounts below $500,000 pay a $150 yearly fee for this service, and ATM fee refunds are limited to $100 per year for clients with at least $250,000 in assets.
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Raymond James review.
Comparison
Active traders may like
Charles Schwab, which offers $0 commissions for stocks and ETFs, while Raymond James and Edward Jones charge $9.95 per trade.
Investors in small towns may find Edward Jones or Raymond James easier to access because they have many branch locations, including in smaller communities. But if you want to manage your own investments, these firms might not be the best fit. Edward Jones has the biggest network, so it is usually easier to find in smaller towns.
Raymond James and Edward Jones charge $30 for each mutual fund trade. Schwab and Fidelity charge $49.95 for mutual funds with transaction fees. All big brokers offer many commission-free funds, but Schwab has the smallest list. Raymond James and Edward Jones do not offer commission-free ETFs.
Best Full-Service Brokerage Firms Recap
The five largest broker-dealers manage huge amounts of money for millions of clients. Still, some investors might find better value at smaller firms like Firstrade.
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Updated on 2/7/2026.