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Broker 2
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Swissquote

swissquote.com

Multi Asset BrokerStock BrokerETF
E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

us.etrade.com

Stock BrokerETF BrokerBond
Decision summary
Overall score
87
88
Trust score
93
93
Cost score
82
86
Platform score
94
89
Withdrawal score
77
89
Best for
Best suited for Swiss and international clients wanting a regulated bank-backed multi-asset platform with strong securities, forex/CFD and crypto coverage; high-risk leveraged pro…
U.S. self-directed stock/ETF investors · Options traders · Futures traders needing CME/ICE US/CFE access
Watch out
Needs verification
Needs verification
Trust & regulation
Regulators
FINMA (Swiss banking licence) plus FCA, DFSA, SFC, MFSA, MAS, CSSF/ECB, CySEC and FSCA for group entities.
Source
FINRA/SEC/SIPC for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; NFA/CFTC for futures; FDIC for Morgan Stanley Private Bank deposits; NYDFS for Zero Hash crypto-related services disclosed by E*TRADE.
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License numbers
Some entity licence numbers are disclosed (FSCA 43908, CySEC 422/22); FINMA/SFC/DFSA authorisations are described by type rather than numeric licence on the checked pages.
Source
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC: CRD# 149777; SEC# 801-70103 and 8-68191. E*TRADE Futures LLC: NFA ID 0401545 from NFA BASIC search result.
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Regulated entities
Group structure lists Swiss FINMA bank plus regulated UK, Dubai, Hong Kong, Malta, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cyprus and South Africa entities.
Source
Securities and advisory services: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; commodity futures/options on futures: E*TRADE Futures LLC; banking: Morgan Stanley Private Bank, National Association; crypto commission charged by zerohash with Zero Hash NYDFS virtual currency business licenses noted on crypto page.
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Negative balance protection
For Swissquote Bank Ltd Swiss/ROW forex/CFD disclosure, losses can exceed initial investment and clients may need to deposit more funds; no negative balance protection found for this entity.
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No negative balance protection found; official margin/futures disclosures state customers may lose more than deposited funds and be liable for deficits.
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Investor compensation
Deposit protection up to CHF 100,000; investor compensation for securities needs manual confirmation by entity/product.
Source
SIPC: up to $500,000 including $250,000 cash; excess of SIPC policy: $1B aggregate firmwide, $1.9M per client uninvested cash; FDIC: brokerage sweep up to $500,000 individual/$1,000,000 joint and bank deposits at least $250,000 or $500,000 for Premium Savings where conditions are met.
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Restricted countries
Products/services on the Swiss website are in particular not intended for U.S. residents; other availability is jurisdiction/entity dependent.
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Official promotional terms exclude non-U.S. residents and residents of any jurisdiction where an offer is not valid. Full account-opening country availability/restriction list was not located in public pages checked.
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Costs & account conditions
Minimum deposit
Forex/CFD accounts: Standard min deposit USD 1,000; Premium USD 10,000; Prime USD 50,000; Professional volume based.
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Brokerage accounts: no minimum funding requirements; Core Portfolios: $500 minimum; Premium Savings/Bank CD/Checking: $0 minimum opening deposit but must be funded within 90 days to remain open where disclosed.
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Spread from
Forex spreads from 1.1 pips on EUR/USD (Prime); Standard from 1.7 pips; CFDs from 0.03 point on OIL/USD.
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Not applicable as a primary pricing metric for this U.S. securities/futures/banking platform; E*TRADE discloses commissions, contract fees, bond markups/markdowns and margin rates rather than forex/CFD-style spreads.
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Commission
Forex no commission; stocks/ETFs from CHF 3; funds and bonds from CHF 9; options/futures from CHF/EUR 1.50; crypto from 0.08%; stock CFD commissions apply by account tier.
Source
stock_commission: $0 for online U.S. exchange-listed stock trades; OTC stock trades $6.95 online or $4.95 for 30+ trades/quarter; broker-assisted trades add $25.; etf_commission: $0 online ETF trades.; options_commission: Options: $0 base commission, $0.65 per contract, reduced to $0.50 with 30+ trades per quarter; exercise/assignments $0; regulatory/exchange fees may apply.; futures_commission: Futures and options on futures: $1.50 per contract per side plus exchange, NFA and other fees.; mutual_fund_commission: $0 for no-load, no-transaction-fee funds; load funds per prospectus; E*TRADE states $0 for online U.S.-listed mutual fund trades in FAQs.; bond_commission: Bonds/CDs: $1 per bond for online secondary trades ($10 min/$250 max); U.S. Treasury auction and online Treasury secondary trades $0; broker-assisted online secondary pricing plus $20 commission.; crypto_commission: Cryptocurrency commission: 0.50% on notional trade value, charged by zerohash, of which E*TRADE receives a portion.
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Maximum leverage
Swissquote advertises leverage up to 1:100 for forex and up to 1:50 for CFDs on the Swiss site.
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Product-dependent. For securities margin, official margin disclosure gives minimum Reg T margin account equity of $2,000 and portfolio margin eligibility at $100,000 equity plus Level 4 options approval, but no single maximum leverage ratio. For futures, overnight margin is 100% of exchange minimum requirements and intraday margin is 50% of initial requirements for all products except Bitcoin; eligible futures IRAs are 200% of initial requirements with $25k minimum equity.
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Deposit fee
Incoming wire transfers free; supported crypto wallet deposits free for equivalent USD 500+ and USD 10 under that amount.
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ACH Transfer Money is free; incoming wire transfers listed as $0; incoming non-U.S. currency may incur conversion fees from Wells Fargo/MSPBNA note says MSPBNA does not charge fees on incoming USD wires.
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Withdrawal fee
Crypto withdrawals show USD 10 or USD 15 depending on asset; cash outgoing payment fees require account/payment-fee table review.
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Outgoing wire transfers: $25; full outgoing account transfer: $75; check requests: $0; stop payment requests: $25.
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Inactivity fee
Forex/CFD inactivity fee: 10 account currency units/month after 6 months inactivity.
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No inactivity fee found in checked official Pricing and Rates account activity, special request and brokerage account pages.
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Markets, platforms & payments
Tradable assets
Broad multi-asset product set spanning securities, derivatives, forex/CFDs, crypto, money markets and banking FX.
Source
E*TRADE offers stocks, ETFs, options, futures, mutual funds, bonds/CDs, IPOs, crypto-related securities/futures, cash savings and managed portfolios.
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Trading platforms
Swissquote app for securities/crypto; CFXD, MT4, MT5, TradingView and Autochartist for forex/CFDs.
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E*TRADE Web/App for investors; Power E*TRADE Web/App/Pro for active and advanced traders.
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Account types
Forex account types are Standard, Premium, Prime and Professional.
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Brokerage, retirement, managed portfolios, small-business retirement, banking and crypto-related account/exposure categories are listed on the official accounts page.
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Deposit methods
Account funding is via cash transfers/bank details, securities transfers and supported crypto wallet deposits; card/e-wallet funding was not verified from official pages checked.
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Funding methods include Transfer Money (ACH), wire, external asset/account transfer, mobile or mailed checks, direct deposit and internal transfers.
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Withdrawal methods
Withdrawals are supported through outgoing cash transfers, securities transfers out and supported cryptocurrency wallet withdrawals.
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Withdrawals/money movement supported via Transfer Money, wires, check requests, internal transfers and account transfers; exact outbound methods depend on account type and destination.
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Withdrawal processing time
Withdrawal processing time was not disclosed on checked official public pages; payment section inside logged-in account may contain details.
Source
ACH outbound to external account: contact receiving external institution; wire transfer: same business day if received before 6 p.m. ET; internal transfers generally immediate; full brokerage transfer electronically typically 10+ business days, paper/mail 3-6 weeks.
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BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.