Ranking Of Largest Brokers by Assets & By Average Investor Portfolio

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Ranking Of Largest Brokers by Assets & By Average Investor Portfolio

September 14, 2026

Raph Antoine Raph Antoine
Ranking Of Largest Brokers by Assets & By Average Investor Portfolio
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Ranking Of Largest Brokers by Assets & By Average Investor Portfolio

Raph Antoine
Raph Antoine
Updated:

Banker on Wheels European Broker Landscape Tracker

Most broker comparisons rank by Assets Under Management. That’s the wrong metric. AUM captures what a firm actively manages on your behalf. For brokers, what matters is Assets Under Administration (AUA): the total value of client assets held in custody. That’s what we track.

Banker on Wheels Broker Landscape Tracker covers 30 of the largest brokers available to European and UK investors, representing close to $3 trillion in client assets and over 60 million investor accounts.

In 2026, neobrokers are winning the volume race, but not the wealth race. But, they are creating innovation and the dynamic may force the legacy platforms to catch up.

KEY TAKEAWAYS


  • Our tracker includes 30 largest brokers for European and UK Investors. The Assets under administration for those brokers is close to $3 trillion, although IBKR’s US assets distort a bit the aggregate number. Our tracker includes over 60 million European and UK Investors, with an average balance of $46k.
  • Ranking Criteria: Our table only includes (i) brokers that are not affiliated with large banking groups, since they have different reporting and aggregation standards (ii) brokers that are relevant to long-term investors (not speculative platforms) (iii) Brokers that can be used by European or UK Investors.
  • $1 Billion to $1 Trillion Scale: The scope of assets under administration spans a broad spectrum across these brokers, ranging from close to a trillion USD for IBKR (Charles Schwab is mainly US) to a more modest 1 billion USD for Neobrokers like Lightyear, mirroring the varied dimensions of brokerage firms and their clients. Average broker account sizes can range from a few thousand for the smallest Tier 2 (neo)brokers to €250+k, for some Tier 1 brokers.
  • Neobrokers are winning the volume race, not yet the wealth race. Wealthy investors stay with Tier 1 names, or bank-related entities. All below listed neobrokers including Trade Republic, Scalable, or Trading 212 (but excluding Degiro) together account for roughly 20 million investors. But their combined assets (~$245 billion) across all countries are the equivalent of one UK Tier 1 broker (Hargreaves Lansdown with $220 billion with 2 million clients).

How WE measure brokers assets

Why AUA different from Assets Under Management (AUM)​

Vanguard AUM ($9.3 trillion) is much larger than the assets on its direct platform

For brokers, we talk about Assets Under Administration (AUA), which refers to the aggregate value of assets over which a financial institution exercises administrative oversight, providing execution and custody services.

That’s why for brokers it’s more relevant to talk about AUA, Client Assets, Assets under custody, Customer Equity rather than Assets Under Management (AUM).

AUM often used for funds and ETFs – pertains to assets that are actively managed by investment professionals who bear fiduciary responsibilities, enabling them to execute investment decisions on behalf of their clients. 

For example, in our table, we included Vanguard’s assets on the UK Investor platform. However, on a global level, Vanguard AUM ($9.3 trillion) is much larger than its assets on its direct (broker-equivalent) platform. Thus, while Vanguard is indeed a leading asset manager with significant AUM, using AUM to rank it alongside brokers can overlook the distinct nature of services it provides and the different value they bring to their clients.

What are the LEADING brokers in europe & the UK?

Scope of this comparison

We rank brokers that can be used by European and UK Investors, but are not affiliated with a Large Banking Group, as represented on the right of the below graph – Tier 1 & Tier 2 (Neo) Brokers. We also excluded Tier 3 brokers that are irrelevant, since they are speculative platforms with low sticky assets.

Read here how we categorise brokers, to understand the full landscape within our unique conceptual framework. 

5 Categories of Brokers (CLICK ON EACH TO ZOOM IN)

European Brokerage Landscape

European Brokerage Landscape - Interactive Chart

A Banker on Wheels Framework
Click on the graph segment to explore
Click on a segment to explore the players within
Sophistication & Product Depth
Traditional
Banks
Brokerage Arms within a Traditional Bank
HSBC Lloyds Bank
Traditional Banks
These brokers are part of an established, and usually Systemically Important Banking Group (G-SIB). They are often rated, listed on a Stock Exchange, and transparent. However, they have several drawbacks. They may be Non-Core, as these brokers are typically an auxiliary service to the established Banking Group. They tend to be Relatively Expensive and usually not very competitive for long term investors. They may also be Lacking Depth Of Products, missing access to some markets for advanced investors.
HSBC
UK • Global G-SIB
InvestDirect platform
Lloyds Bank
UK • Major bank
Share Dealing service
Société Générale
France • Global G-SIB
Limited ETF range
Bank-Backed
Fintech
Hybrid Model • Bank Ownership & Fintech Stack
Fineco BoursoBank Consorsbank
Bank-Backed Fintech
Brokers in this category have a direct-to-consumer business model with minimal traditional infrastructure, often taking a modern and mobile-friendly approach to clients. They are typically part of banking groups of significant importance. The core difference with the first group is that they are Modern And Independent Leaders. They could be pure players in their own right (some like Fineco are). Fineco or Boursobank even offer banking, advisory or asset management services. Most operate without branches, and have good mobile Apps. They are also Relatively Cheap. While the first group was expensive, brokers in this group are very competitive for long term investors.
FinecoBank
Italy • Full bank + broker
Wide ETF range
BoursoBank
France • SocGen subsidiary
PEA & CTO accounts
Consorsbank
Germany • BNP Paribas subsidiary
Strong local platform
Tier 1
Platforms
Tier 1 Pure Players
IB SQ Saxo
Tier 1 Pure Players
Established, regulated brokers with deep product catalogues, multi-exchange access, and professional-grade tools. These are the workhorses for serious DIY investors. Higher sophistication comes with steeper learning curves. All operate under robust European or Swiss regulatory frameworks.
Interactive Brokers
US/EU • Widest access
150+ markets, lowest margin
Swissquote
Switzerland • Swiss regulated
Multi-asset, banking licence
Saxo Bank
Denmark • 70,000+ instruments
Advanced platform
Hargreaves Lansdown
UK • ISA/SIPP specialist
UK's largest platform
Neobrokers
Tier 2 Pure Players
DEGIRO T212 SC
Neobrokers (Tier 2 Pure Players)
Brokers in this category include established brokers that are not the most sophisticated players in their market and neobrokers. Safety and transparency vary widely across this group. The leaders in this category, like DEGIRO, may have a banking licence and are listed, but most are less transparent, VC-funded and are yet to prove to be consistently profitable. To overcome e.g. the ban on PFOF, they started expanding into banking activities, but they are not backed by an established Banking Group.

But, they have a few unique characteristics making them very attractive for beginners, and a potential broker diversification play for more advanced investors. They are Very Cheap. Most of them offer zero-commission ETFs and are overall very cheap for small and often also larger trades. They lead all categories in that respect. They have Industry-leading Platforms. Their platforms and mobile Apps are leading in terms of usability and interface design, high-level reporting and account opening process. They have International Presence. While Banking Brokers and some Tier 1 Pure Players may be local, Tier 2 players are usually present in most EU countries, and the UK.
DEGIRO
Netherlands • FlatexDEGIRO
Banking licence, listed
Trading 212
Bulgaria/UK • Commission-free
Fractional shares, Pies
Scalable Capital
Germany • PRIME Broker
Free plan + Prime sub
Speculative Platforms
Tier 3 • Not Suitable For Long Term Investors
eToro Plus500
Speculative Platforms (Tier 3)
Brokers falling under this umbrella don't resonate with our ethos. These platforms are for emotionally-driven investors. The platform's business model is designed to extract value from these behavioral biases. They usually have a Speculative Business as part of their core offering, including CFDs and Crypto products. This also includes aggressive ads that are at the opposite of evidence-based investing. They show a Lack of Core ETFs, so Long Term Investors won't find key UCITS ETFs. They employ Opaque Pricing where brokers are responsible for setting the price of their instruments and products. Prices will be different from the prices provided by other brokers and the market levels, as well as the current prices on other exchanges or platforms. They may also be under a Weaker Regulator, overseen by Tier 2 regulators with potentially lower expertise and/or have a history of regulatory fines.
eToro
Israel/Cyprus • Social trading
CopyTrader, wide spreads
Plus500
Israel/UK • CFD specialist
Banks ←→ Pure Brokers (Pure Players)
Sources: Bankeronwheels.com. For educational purposes only. Not investment advice.

International & UK-based brokers are the LARGEST

Fineco and Directa also have high average portfolio sizes

Key highlights:

  • Who are the largest? (CLICK TOTAL AUA BELOW) Interactive Brokers, Hargreaves Lansdown (UK), Trade Republic, and Comdirect (Germany) are the largest. Trade Republic recorded some of the strongest growth from just $4bn in 2020 to $164bn in 2026. 
  • How big are client portfolios? (CLICK AVERAGE INVESTOR PORTFOLIO BELOW) UK’s big 3 – Interactive Investor, Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell have average client portfolios of $100-250k. Our TOP 3 International Brokers – Interactive Brokers, SAXO and Swissquote have average client assets of $90-180k. Italian Fineco and Directa also rank high ($70-80k). In the Nordics Nordnet and Avanza’s clients hold on average around $50k. In comparison, Trade Republic – while large in absolute terms – still manages mainly very small portfolios averaging $16k. 
  • Which are the blindspots? Some numbers are more difficult to come by, especially bank-backed fintechs like BUX (Belgium) or Webank (Italy). We also included Charles Schwab International in the list but most of the broker’s assets are US-based so they were excluded from the aggregated numbers in the tracker. The list is evolving, and we aim to add more brokers as we collect data in coming months. Note that for some bank-backed fintechs, AUA may also include some banking assets, but these are non-core to their business.

INTERACTIVE (AUA vs AVERAGE PORTFOLIO) LANDSCAPE CHART

Banker on Wheels European Broker Landscape Tracker

Assets Under Administration (AUA in USD) & Average AUA per Investor for Key Players used by European & UK Investors
Type All Tier 1 Neobroker Bank-backed Fintech Bank
Region All Intl. UK Nordics France Italy Germany Switz. Belgium
View
Total AUA
Average Investor Portfolio
Tier 1
Neobroker
Bank-backed Fintech
Bank
How We Categorise Brokers
1 AUM removed but may include some bank assets due to combined reporting.
2 May include some banking assets alongside investment AUA.
3 Investors undisclosed by company. Per-investor and count estimated based on peers.
4 US-headquartered broker. Figures include global operations. European-only AUA not separately disclosed.
5 Vanguard Investor UK includes only the direct-to-consumer UK platform. Excludes Vanguard's asset management AUM.
6 Charles Schwab International is a smaller sub-operation of Charles Schwab, which does not publish EU-specific figures. US-wide total shown for reference in the graph, although they also include their deposits and a relatively smaller ETF business. Charles Schwab Excluded from summary totals.
* Charles Schwab Excluded from summary totals as US numbers would heavily skew aggregates.
Data updated May 2026. All values in USD. Sources: Annual Reports, Regulatory Filings, Bankeronwheels.com.
Please remember that investing includes a risk of loss.
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How does the landscape look in 2026?

Neobrokers are winning the volume race, not the wealth race

All European neobrokers Combined together account for same assets as one UK Tier 1 Broker

At one end sit the UK’s legacy platforms and international Tier 1 brokers, where average client portfolios range from $70k to $250k. At the other end sit the neobrokers, where average balances cluster between $2,750 and $17,000. The middle ground is occupied by the Nordics, Italian and couple of German and French brokers.

For instance, Interactive Investor holds $124 billion across just 500,000 clients. Trade Republic holds $164 billion across 10 million. One platform serves half a million investors who each entrust a quarter of a million dollars. The other serves a population the size of a small country, most of whom hold less than the price of a used car. Both are ‘large brokers’. But they are operating in fundamentally different businesses. Neobrokers have been spectacularly successful at capturing volume. All above neobrokers including Trade Republic, Scalable, or Trading 212 (but excluding Degiro) together account for roughly 20 million investors. But their combined assets (~$245 billion) across all European countries are the equivalent of one UK Tier 1 Broker (Hargreaves Lansdown with $220 billion and 2 million clients). This aspect – among others – is part of our broker categorisation.

DEGIRO or Scalable Capital’s ~$30k average portfolios are already meaningfully above most neobroker peers. But platforms like FreeTrade (below $3k per investor) and Trading 212 ($7k) have been around in current form for close to a decade without their average balances significantly increasing despite the bull market. Others like Lightyear’s low balances can be justified due to Eastern European exposure and recent launch. 

While neobrokers bring modern platforms, innovation and disruption, they have their risks too. Everything depends on the type of investor you are, and your individual requirements.

That’s the logic behind our broker reviews. Browse our broker reviews here, and the way we score them here.

Thank you for reading.
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!

(* Wheels & Dividends)