Finding Your Broker Tribe: Our Broker Classification System

April 4, 2024 Raph Antoine

Brokers are usually bucketed together by comparison sites, that don’t have an in-depth knowledge of trade-offs related to fees, transparency and counterparty exposure. Most of the websites are also conflicted, often promoting brokers with the highest-earning commissions.

We take a more rigorous angle. How would a wise long-term investor categorise them?

Here is what you need to know about the 5 Key Broker Categories in Europe and the UK. These categories give you a mental model of how to think about brokers, but some of them may not fit in neatly, and availability in your country may also impact your choice.