Best Brokerage Accounts for LLCs: LLC Investment Accounts (2024)

Having been around since 1978, the Interactive Brokers’ major advantage is its reputation. It is also publicly listed on the NASDAQ exchange (ticker: IBKR), making it more regulated than some other platforms.

Other significant advantages of Interactive Brokers are its wide selection of financial products from over 150 markets, solid trade execution, and support for 24 currencies in its account. There are also 100+ currency pairs available for exchange.

Some downsides of using Interactive Brokers are its complex fee structure and lengthier than average registration and fund deposit processes

Speaking of the fee structure, there are two distinct plans to choose from for LLC investors – IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro. IBKR Lite offers unlimited commission-free trading for products such as U.S. listed stocks and ETFs, with low fees for other products and no account minimums or inactivity fees.

IBKR Pro is geared more towards advanced investors and active traders, offering fixed or tiered pricing plans without commission-free trading available, along with access to some advanced tools. The latter includes 100+ order types, APIs, IBKR BestXTM for trade execution, and price improvements. You can compare the IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro plans here.

Interactive Brokers’ “fee waived” no transaction fee (NTF) program offers over 150 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which reimburse IBKR Pro clients for commissions paid on ETF shares held for at least 30 days. IBKR Lite clients always pay $0 commissions on ETFs.

Fractional shares are available for any eligible U.S. or European stocks and ETFs.

You also get interest on your uninvested cash over $10,000 (or equivalent) in proportion to the amount up until $100,000. The rates also differ between IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro accounts, and you can see them here. 

The Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation (TWS) platform offers many basic and advanced features, such as a demo account, watch lists, alerts and monitoring in real-time, advanced technical analysis tools, and more. One of the downsides of the platform is that the learning curve can be steep for beginners, even with the provided educational materials.

You can also choose the web-based app Client Portal or the IBKR Mobile app, which both offer more intermediate and advanced tools than IBKR Global Trader, but are missing some features from the desktop TWS platform.

Overall, Interactive Brokers is a good choice for beginner and advanced LLC owners looking for a secure broker and access to various financial instruments at reasonable fees.

Even though it has been in business for just a handful of years (founded in 2017), Webull has quickly made a name for themselves in the investing world, largely due to commission-free trading. It also helps that they are regulated by top-tier U.S. financial institutions (as well as other brokers on this list) and that the company is listed on both the NYSE and NASDAQ stock exchanges.

Webull’s business account goes under “Entity account” and supports S-Corps, C-Corps, and LLCs. Keep in mind that there is a fairly high minimum deposit for business accounts at the amount of $100,000, along with a $50,000 equity requirement.

Stocks, ETFs, and options trading are commission-free from Webull’s side, but there are some minor third-party fees (such as regulatory and FINRA trading activity fees) that are passed on to the customer.

Also, most index options carry a contract fee, cryptocurrency fees are included in the 100 basis point spread (on both sides), and over-the-counter (OTC) stocks have their own fee structure. There are some additional fees, such as a $5 reversal fee. Find more details on the full fee structure here.

What separates Webull from other brokers on this list is the access to cryptocurrencies. This has been made available through a separate Webull Pay App, due to regulatory reasons.

There is also the option to earn interest on fully owned stocks through their Stock Lending Income Program, but keep in mind the additional layer of risk associated with this practice.

The user-friendly platform has been praised across different devices, offering a simple interface. However, many advanced research and trading tools commonly found on other platforms are missing, as well as some popular financial products such as bonds, futures, forex, etc.

Some other cons of the platform are the absence of live chat customer support and limited transfer options (bank wire only). The latter could be a problem for more active investors since it takes 4 business days for the bank wire to go through. However, eligible accounts may have access to the Instant Buying Power feature, which enables trading before the bank wire transaction has been settled.

As one of the leading U.S. brokers, TD Ameritrade was acquired in 2019 by Charles Schwab, one of the largest brokers in the world. Their history goes much further, though, being founded in 1975 and amassing over 11 million active users and over $1 trillion in assets.

When you also consider that the broker is regulated by top-tier U.S., Singapore, and Hong Kong regulators, it is easy to see why it is considered one of the most reputable brokers out there.

They offer many different speciality account types, including LLC accounts. You can also choose between Cash, Cash and Margin, Cash and Option, Cash, Margin, and Option client profiles. All come with no minimum initial deposit required to open the account. 

TD Ameritrade is probably best known for its commission-free online trading of stocks, ETFs, and specific bonds and mutual funds. You can also place orders through their automated phone system or with the help of a broker, but these will set you back $5 and $25 at a minimum, respectively. 

Other financial products are also available, such as mutual funds, futures, and forex trading (through the Charles Schwab Futures and Forex LLC platform), are also available. There is also a list of hundreds of no-transaction-fee (NTF) mutual funds, but those not on this list will cost you up to $74.95 to buy and $0 to sell.

There is a wide choice of fixed-income securities, including bonds, CDs, and UITs. Only U.S. treasuries at auction are commission-free, with other fixed-income securities having fees based on a net yield basis or placement fees from the issuer. 

Keep in mind that the broker also charges some minor service fees, which you can see in their fee structure. It is also important to note that with TD Ameritrade, you can generally trade only on U.S. markets, unlike some other brokers that can offer you global investing exposure.

Other commonly praised pros of TD Ameritrade include the brokers’ quality customer support, easy-to-navigate investment platforms (web and mobile), and excellent educational content. These are some reasons why it’s often considered a beginner-friendly broker.

Some of the cons of the platform include limited money transfer options (no credit/debit cards or electronic wallets) and the lack of fractional shares on offer.

Founded way back in 1946 and managing around $4.5 trillion, Fidelity Investments (commonly referred to as Fidelity) is both one of the oldest and biggest brokers in the world. Along with being regulated by top-tier U.S. financial institutions, makes it one of the most reputable brokers.

They are primarily known for their commission-free trading of U.S. stocks, ETFs, options, and selected funds. Other than that, they also offer bonds and CDs, but not some of the other financial products that other brokers on this list provide. Multiple money market funds are also available, which can earn interest on your uninvested cash.

There is no minimum to open a business account (including LLC), and you can fund it (and start trading) with as low as $1.

There are no hidden fees for stock and ETF trading, but options trading incurs a $0.65 fee per contract and a $0.02-$0.04 option regulatory fee for both buying and selling. You can also choose between more than 7,000 stocks and ETFs for fractional share trading.

The funds include a list of Non-Transaction Fee (NTF) non-Fidelity funds, as well as Fidelity funds. However, fees for other funds could be steep, coming in at $49.95 per purchase. Zero expense ratio Fidelity funds are also interesting products, with 4 different index funds offering domestic (U.S.) and international exposure.

Bond fees are a bit more complex, with all new issues and U.S. treasuries not carrying any fee, while secondary issues have a $1 per bond fee. There is an additional $19.95 fee if you need representative assistance with bond trading. You can see all their trading fees, margin rates, and additional fees here.

The interface is clear and intuitive, making it a viable option for beginner investors. This includes desktop, mobile, and even an Apple Watch app.

Some of the additional features of the platform include access to a 2% cashback Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature credit card, extensive educational tools, Active Trader Pro Platform, and many advanced trading and research tools. Some of the latter include real-time market updates, direct order routing, margin trading, advanced order types, and more.

Some of the most commonly mentioned cons of the platform include a somewhat limited offer of financial products (lacking futures, commodities, forex, etc.), high broker-assisted fees, and high fees for non-Fidelity non-NTF mutual funds.

A powerhouse in the investing world since its founding in 1975, Vanguard has become famous largely due to their founder John C. “Jack” Bogle, who launched the first publicly available index fund that same year. It is also interesting to note that Vanguard is owned by the funds managed by the company and is, therefore, de facto owned by its customers. 

Today, Vanguard has more than $8 trillion in assets under management (AUM) and is considered one of the “Big 3” in the world of index funds, along with Black Rock and State Street.

They offer business accounts under “Organization account”, which includes many legal entities such as LLCs.

As far as financial products go, they offer stocks, ETFs, bonds, mutual funds, options, CDs, and money market funds. It is worth noting that you can easily diversify your investments with all-in-one funds, which offer a predetermined ratio of stocks and bonds and target retirement funds (TRFs), which adjust asset allocation as you age.

You can choose from more than 160 Vanguard mutual funds 70 Vanguard ETFs, and more than 3,000 mutual funds from other providers. Money market funds are also offered for short-term financial goals, with their returns depending mostly on the current interest rate environment.

There is no minimum deposit, but if you will be trading with Vanguard mutual funds, be ready for a steep $3,000 minimum. This number differs for non-Vanguard funds offered through the platform and only $1 for Vanguard ETFs. Minimums for other financial products are most commonly the price of a single share.

The platform’s interface looks fairly simple and clean, and that goes especially for the mobile app. Beginners should not have any major problems in learning to use it.

Commission-free trading is available for all stocks, ETFs, Vanguard mutual funds, and a list of no transaction fee (NTF) funds of other providers. Other mutual funds are charged based on either assets invested in Vanguard ETFs and mutual funds for TF funds or based on the fund class for load mutual funds. 

There is a $25 annual account service fee, and you can also incur additional fees, such as when making a trade by phone, redeeming your funds by wire ($10), and so on.

Options and fixed income (bonds and CDs) fee structure is a bit more complex, and you can find it along with other financial products fee structure here.

Apart from some mentioned fees and a somewhat complex fee structure, other cons of Vanguard are the absence of some financial products and the lack of more advanced trading and research tools.

Founded way back in 1971, Charles Schwab is a financial powerhouse that offers not only investing (brokerage) services, but also banking, commercial banking, consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and institutional clients. 

They have over $7 trillion in assets under management (AUM), are regulated by top-tier U.S. financial institutions, and are even listed on the NYSE. They even acquired another broker on this list (TD Ameritrade), but they operate separately.

Remember that you will have to have a $250,000 minimum to open a business investing account (Schwab Organization Account) with them. You do, however, get free access to their financial consultants and 24/7 customer service through their web and mobile platforms.

The account opening process is somewhat complex and lengthy, including filling out an account application, but you can get direct help from their representatives. Upon account opening, you will be able to enjoy commission-free trading in stocks, ETFs, and selected mutual funds (Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource list). 

There are also no trading fees for options trading, but there is a $0.65 per contract fee. Furthermore, over-the-counter (OTC) stocks, other mutual funds, futures, and fixed-income securities have their own fees. If you want broker-assisted trading, that feature will set you back an extra $25 for all financial products, and placing trades over the phone will cost you $5.

The fee structure is fairly straightforward for the aforementioned financial products but can be more complex for their various investment management services. These range from commission-free for their Schwab Intelligent Portfolios (they contain operating expenses of underlying ETFs) to a maximum of 1% yearly management fees for other managed portfolios. 

Minimal balances for each managed portfolio can also range widely from $5,000 to $1 million. 

It is good to know that there are generally no additional fees, such as account opening or maintenance fees. You can see their full fee structure here.

Some other pros of the platform include extensive educational materials, including live daily shows and access to many courses. You can access the platform in 3 ways: the beginner-friendly mobile app, an intermediate web app, and a more advanced, fully customisable desktop trading app.

Another unique feature of this broker is their satisfaction guarantee, in which, if for any reason you’re not completely satisfied, they’ll refund your eligible fee or commission.

Some of the cons of the platform include high fees for futures and mutual funds not found on the commission-free list, complex investment management fees and account minimums, and offering access to only U.S. and Canadian markets.