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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.

Broker 1

Broker 2

VS field	Swissquote swissquote.com Multi Asset BrokerStock BrokerETF	E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley us.etrade.com Stock BrokerETF BrokerBond
Decision summary
Overall score

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. Source
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. Source
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. Source
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. Source	No negative balance protection found; official margin/futures disclosures state customers may lose more than deposited funds and be liable for deficits. Source
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. Source
Restricted countries	Products/services on the Swiss website are in particular not intended for U.S. residents; other availability is jurisdiction/entity dependent. Source	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. Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

No negative balance protection found; official margin/futures disclosures state customers may lose more than deposited funds and be liable for deficits.

Source

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.

Source

Restricted countries

Products/services on the Swiss website are in particular not intended for U.S. residents; other availability is jurisdiction/entity dependent.

Source

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.

Source

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. Source	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. Source
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. Source	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. Source
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; ETRADE 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 ETRADE receives a portion. Source
Maximum leverage	Swissquote advertises leverage up to 1:100 for forex and up to 1:50 for CFDs on the Swiss site. Source	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. Source
Deposit fee	Incoming wire transfers free; supported crypto wallet deposits free for equivalent USD 500+ and USD 10 under that amount. Source	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. Source
Withdrawal fee	Crypto withdrawals show USD 10 or USD 15 depending on asset; cash outgoing payment fees require account/payment-fee table review. Source	Outgoing wire transfers: $25; full outgoing account transfer: $75; check requests: $0; stop payment requests: $25. Source
Inactivity fee	Forex/CFD inactivity fee: 10 account currency units/month after 6 months inactivity. Source	No inactivity fee found in checked official Pricing and Rates account activity, special request and brokerage account pages. Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

Maximum leverage

Swissquote advertises leverage up to 1:100 for forex and up to 1:50 for CFDs on the Swiss site.

Source

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.

Source

Deposit fee

Incoming wire transfers free; supported crypto wallet deposits free for equivalent USD 500+ and USD 10 under that amount.

Source

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.

Source

Withdrawal fee

Crypto withdrawals show USD 10 or USD 15 depending on asset; cash outgoing payment fees require account/payment-fee table review.

Source

Outgoing wire transfers: $25; full outgoing account transfer: $75; check requests: $0; stop payment requests: $25.

Source

Inactivity fee

Forex/CFD inactivity fee: 10 account currency units/month after 6 months inactivity.

Source

No inactivity fee found in checked official Pricing and Rates account activity, special request and brokerage account pages.

Source

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. Source
Trading platforms	Swissquote app for securities/crypto; CFXD, MT4, MT5, TradingView and Autochartist for forex/CFDs. Source	ETRADE Web/App for investors; Power ETRADE Web/App/Pro for active and advanced traders. Source
Account types	Forex account types are Standard, Premium, Prime and Professional. Source	Brokerage, retirement, managed portfolios, small-business retirement, banking and crypto-related account/exposure categories are listed on the official accounts page. Source
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. Source	Funding methods include Transfer Money (ACH), wire, external asset/account transfer, mobile or mailed checks, direct deposit and internal transfers. Source
Withdrawal methods	Withdrawals are supported through outgoing cash transfers, securities transfers out and supported cryptocurrency wallet withdrawals. Source	Withdrawals/money movement supported via Transfer Money, wires, check requests, internal transfers and account transfers; exact outbound methods depend on account type and destination. Source
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. Source

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.

Source

Trading platforms

Swissquote app for securities/crypto; CFXD, MT4, MT5, TradingView and Autochartist for forex/CFDs.

Source

E*TRADE Web/App for investors; Power E*TRADE Web/App/Pro for active and advanced traders.

Source

Account types

Forex account types are Standard, Premium, Prime and Professional.

Source

Brokerage, retirement, managed portfolios, small-business retirement, banking and crypto-related account/exposure categories are listed on the official accounts page.

Source

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.

Source

Funding methods include Transfer Money (ACH), wire, external asset/account transfer, mobile or mailed checks, direct deposit and internal transfers.

Source

Withdrawal methods

Withdrawals are supported through outgoing cash transfers, securities transfers out and supported cryptocurrency wallet withdrawals.

Source

Withdrawals/money movement supported via Transfer Money, wires, check requests, internal transfers and account transfers; exact outbound methods depend on account type and destination.

Source

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.

Source

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