1. Fees
We gather information on fees straight from the brokers’ sites. We check all fees that occur for every asset class, that is, for stocks, forex, funds and so on. We uncover hidden costs and dig deep into both trading and non-trading fees. To find your real costs we calculate fees for buying a position, holding it for one week, and selling it. Also, we collect data automatically for certain fee data points, to be up to date.
2. Security
This is about mapping the brokers’ legal landscape, making sure who regulates which entity, the investor protection you get, and the history and background of the broker. This is vital for the security of your investment, therefore this area is weighted properly.
3. Deposit and withdrawal
We deposit and withdraw real funds to test how the process works. The methods, costs, and time required to deposit and withdraw money are of special interest to readers. All of these aspects are weighted. For example, a broker that allows the use of credit cards for free is scored higher than one where only wire transfer is available, which usually carries a charge.
4. Trading platforms
Your trading comfort is affected significantly by the type of platform you use. This can be a mobile platform, a platform dedicated to PC-s (this is what we call desktop platforms), or a browser-based web platform. Each trading platform is tested by us, focusing on general user experience, as well as on specific features like placing orders, authentication options, and customizability.
5. Account opening
We dedicate the time to open real accounts at brokers. There are times when the list of required documents can be unclear for an everyday user. Apart from this, we compile information on several aspects of account opening, like the ease of the process itself, what account types are offered and the minimum deposit required.
6. Product portfolio
Brokers are scored based on the number of markets they have available for you and the product selection they provide. A broker that has more product types will get a higher score than a broker that only offers CFDs, for example.
7. Customer service
Each customer support channel is tested personally by BrokerChooser team members. The customer service scores of each broker are based on 8 meaningful interactions with their support staff, trying all their available channels, be it live chat, email or phone.
8. Education
Well-structured and quality educational content can help you to be more comfortable with the brokers’ platform, or trading itself. Brokers with useful, information-packed education tools earn higher ratings. These tools include webinars, videos, podcasts, articles, you name it.
9. Research
Higher costs can be justified by a range of in-depth, unique and useful research tools. These allow you to get information on market sentiment, trends, tickers and companies. We look at all of the research tools the broker provides.
We are eager to hear your feedback! Let us know if you have questions or remarks about our methodology. Thanks!