Best Brokers for Research

Macro tools that keep you oriented: Fidelity’s economic calendar is the best I tested. It doesn’t just list upcoming releases—it highlights which events are likely to move markets and explains why they matter. Combined with market widgets, sector-based watchlists, and heat-map views, Fidelity makes it easy to stay grounded in what’s happening across the broader market without feeling overwhelmed.

Jessica's take:

"With Fidelity, research feels intentional. The insights, tools, and explanations are designed to work together, which makes it easier for investors to move from information to informed decisions."

Jessica Inskip
Director of Investor Research

Opinion research: Fidelity’s in-house commentary spans asset classes, sectors, and macro themes, supported by its learning center and Viewpoints subscriptions. The insights are thoughtful and timely, though they can lean jargon-heavy at times. That said, the mix of articles, videos, webinars, and events helps make the content more approachable and easier to consume over time.

Advanced trading: Active Trader Pro enhances Fidelity’s research offering with a robust options workflow. The options chain is highly customizable, and the multi-leg trade builder surfaces net Greeks and probability of profit in a way that’s easy to understand. Charting looks modern and is simple to configure, though drawing tools are limited, and there’s no dedicated backtesting tool. Even so, the platform complements Fidelity’s research strengths well.

Fidelity’s trading dashboard brings everything together in one place. Here, I’ve linked SPY across all widgets for a seamless view. You can dive into options statistics, volatility indices, and my personal favorite: the trade breakdown activity, which gives great insight into how traders are positioning.

A useful markets hub: Schwab’s Markets Research page makes it easy to get oriented without bouncing between sites. You can scan major index performance, drill into sectors and industries, and see why certain symbols are getting outsized attention through “top news mentions.” Volatility data is paired with plain-English context, and there are futures quotes and an events calendar to help connect scheduled catalysts to market behavior.

Decision-ready security research: On individual stock and ETF pages, Schwab delivers an unusually rich mix of charts, news, third-party reports, and ratings/risk views, plus thoughtful details that matter like whether earnings are before/after the bell. The compare experience is especially strong, letting you benchmark a company not just against peers, but against sectors and indexes, with clean ways to expand into deeper valuation and fundamentals.

Fixed income is a differentiator: Schwab doesn’t treat bonds like a product list, it wraps them in expert commentary, clear education, and practical tools. You’ll see contextual rate and macro insights alongside robust bond and CD discovery, yield curve views with historical comparisons, and ladder-building workflows that make fixed income feel more approachable and actionable.

Schwab’s web-based stock screener stands out with advanced filtering tools that include forward-year P/E ratios, projected EPS growth, and revenue estimates—ideal for forward-looking investors. The platform allows users to screen for S&P 500 stocks based on future performance metrics, earnings surprises, and Schwab Analyst Ratings. Unlike many screeners that focus solely on historical data, Schwab helps investors identify high-potential opportunities based on forward projections.

Strong market dashboards: The U.S. markets experience pulls together major indices, yields, news, and insights in one place, with an economic and earnings calendar that’s easy to reference while you’re scanning. I also liked the advances/declines view as a quick “temperature check,” plus a sector comparison tool that layers in fundamental context, which is useful when you’re trying to separate a broad move from something more isolated.

Visualization and tools make the analysis easier to digest: E*TRADE stands out when it turns research into something you can use quickly. Whether that’s through third-party integrations like Trefis-style visuals (for items like revenue projections) or quote pages that go beyond price to include volatility, earnings, and sentiment indicators. The platform also does a nice job placing podcasts and market commentary prompts that help narrow your focus.

Some experiences feel split across platforms: Power E*TRADE Pro is excellent for trading workflows and data-rich quotes, but the best research isn’t always as tightly embedded there as it is on the main web experience. And while the education library has real depth (especially for options, retirement, and fixed income), navigation can feel search-heavy, which is great once you find the right thread, less ideal if you’re starting from scratch.

Power E*TRADE’s snapshot analysis makes options trading more approachable by visually mapping out key outcomes like max gain, max loss, and breakeven. In this example of purchasing a long call, the platform uses intuitive smiley face icons to highlight these critical points, adding a touch of fun to a typically complex strategy. It’s a great way to help traders quickly grasp potential risk and reward.

Tools that turn research into decisions: Instead of leaving you to piece everything together, Merrill pairs research with practical “decision aids” like Idea Builder for discovery and Stock Story/Fund Story for validation, turning fundamentals, valuations, and performance into a more visual, scannable process.

MarketPro is good, but it’s not the smoothest: Merrill Edge MarketPro includes strong charting (with Trading Central event markers), portfolio analysis tools, and even basic backtesting, though the overall experience can feel clunky versus more modern active-trader platforms.

Mobile is better for monitoring than trading: The app is polished and consistent across Bank of America and Merrill logins, with useful watchlist alerts and easy stock/ETF trading, but options functionality (especially multi-leg) is limited.

Strong market awareness tools: On desktop platforms like Trader Workstation, features such as the Daily Lineup make it easier to stay oriented, pulling together global markets, economic events, earnings, and analyst activity in one place. It’s information-dense, but well suited for investors who want constant market visibility.

Portfolio analysis adds real value: Tools like PortfolioAnalyst and Risk Navigator allow investors to benchmark performance and analyze portfolio drivers at a level that’s uncommon among self-directed brokers.

Mobile is capable, but fragmented: IBKR’s multiple mobile apps offer flexibility and depth, though the experience can feel split depending on which app you’re using and how advanced your needs are.