9 Best Brokers for Mutual Funds of December 2024
Our investing team ranks the best brokers for mutual fund investing based on fund choices, cost, services and investment guidance.
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Why trust NerdWallet
The best broker for mutual funds when it comes to breadth of available options is Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite. This broker offers more than 48,000 funds, over 18,000 of which have no transaction fees.
But there are several other great contenders that earn top marks, so it may be worth comparing to see which broker offers the best features for you. Here’s NerdWallet’s roundup of the best brokers for mutual fund investors. All of the brokers here offer a range of low-cost mutual funds and resources to effectively manage your portfolio.
Why trust NerdWallet
The best broker for mutual funds when it comes to breadth of available options is Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite. This broker offers more than 48,000 funds, over 18,000 of which have no transaction fees.
But there are several other great contenders that earn top marks, so it may be worth comparing to see which broker offers the best features for you. Here’s NerdWallet’s roundup of the best brokers for mutual fund investors. All of the brokers here offer a range of low-cost mutual funds and resources to effectively manage your portfolio.
Best Brokers for Mutual Funds
| Broker | NerdWallet rating | Fees | Account minimum | Promotion | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Charles Schwab Learn more on Charles Schwab's website | $0 per online equity trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Charles Schwab's website | |
 Vanguard Learn more on Vanguard's website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Vanguard's website | |
 Interactive Brokers IBKR Lite Learn more on Interactive Brokers' website | $0 per trade | $0 | None no promotion available at this time | Learn more on Interactive Brokers' website | |
 E*TRADE Learn more on E*TRADE's website | $0 per trade. Other fees apply. | $0 | Get up to $1,000 when you open and fund an E*TRADE account | Learn more on E*TRADE's website | |
 J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website | $0 per trade | $0 | Get up to $700 when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money. | Learn more on J.P. Morgan's website |
$0
per online equity trade
$0
None
no promotion available at this time
Pros
Commission-free stock, options and ETF trades.
Five trading platforms with no minimums or fees.
Access to thinkorswim platforms.
Extensive research offerings.
Large fund selection.
Cons
Low interest rate on uninvested cash.
Why We Like It
Charles Schwab has earned its strong reputation: The broker offers high-quality customer service, four free trading platforms, a wide selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds and $0 commissions for stocks, ETFs and options.
$0
per trade
$0
None
no promotion available at this time
Pros
Commission-free stock, options and ETF trades.
Leader in low-cost mutual, index and exchange-traded funds.
High interest rate on uninvested cash.
High order execution quality.
Cons
Basic trading platform only.
Limited research and data.
No fractional shares for stocks.
Why We Like It
There's a reason passive mutual fund investing is so strongly associated with Vanguard. The company pioneered low-cost fund investing and offers thousands of proprietary funds for a variety of different goals and value systems (including many ESG funds). Many of its funds have multi-thousand-dollar minimums, however.
Best Online Broker for Advanced Traders 2024
$0
per trade
$0
None
no promotion available at this time
Pros
Commission-free stock, options and ETF trades.
Large investment selection.
Strong research and tools.
Huge selection of no-transaction-fee mutual funds.
High order execution quality.
Cons
High minimum to earn interest on uninvested cash.
Website can be difficult to navigate.
Why We Like It
Don't let the name fool you: IBKR Lite offers commission-free stock trading (including international trade capabilities), more than 19,000 mutual funds, and a well-featured platform.
$0
per trade
$0
Get up to $700
when you open and fund a J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing account with qualifying new money.
Pros
Commission-free stock, options and ETF trades.
Easy-to-use platform.
App connects all Chase accounts.
In-person customer support at Chase branches.
Cons
Bare-bones trading platform isn't for advanced traders.
Low interest rate on uninvested cash.
Why We Like It
J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing is a clear-cut investment platform that is great for beginners looking to learn how to buy and sell investments. More advanced investors, however, may find it lacking in terms of available assets, tools and research. J.P. Morgan offers 3,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds, fractional shares in ETFs and fee-free bond ETFs.
INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT A DEPOSIT • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE
$0
per trade
$0
Get up to $1,000
in stock when you fund a new account.
Pros
No commissions on stock, options and ETF trades
Complimentary access to financial planners.
IPO access.
IRA match.
Cons
Low interest rate on uninvested cash.
Why We Like It
SoFi Active Investing's $0 trading commission, complimentary access to financial advisors, fractional shares and $0 account minimum are attractive to new investors. More advanced investors will appreciate the company's wide mutual fund selection and IPO access.
Best Broker for Beginning Investors 2024
$0
per trade for online U.S. stocks and ETFs
$0
None
no promotion available at this time
Pros
Commission-free stock, options and ETF trades.
Large selection of research providers.
Strong customer service.
Expense-ratio-free index funds.
Highly rated mobile app.
High interest rate on uninvested cash.
Cons
Relatively high broker-assisted trade fee.
Why We Like It
Fidelity is one of the largest and most well-established brokerages, and it shows. Fidelity charges no trading commissions, offers an extensive set of no-fee, no-minimum index funds. It also stands out for its top-notch research tools, a renowned trading platform and very strong customer service.
Want to compare more options? Here are our other top picks:
Last updated on December 1, 2024
Methodology
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks the largest U.S. brokers by assets under management, along with emerging industry players. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 20 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best Brokers for Mutual Funds of December 2024
Frequently asked questions
Mutual funds pull together two things — money from multiple investors, and stocks, bonds or other assets. Investors buy shares in the fund, and their money is then pooled to purchase investments that align with the fund’s goal.
For investors, mutual funds are a convenient way to instantly diversify even small amounts of money. You might not be able to afford to purchase a share of each individual investment in a mutual fund — these funds often hold 100 investments or more. Even if you could afford it, buying would take time and incur multiple transaction fees.
That depends on the type of mutual fund you choose. Actively managed mutual funds employ a professional to invest and manage the fund’s assets. That costs more than a passively managed fund, such an index fund, which skips the fund manager and instead selects its investments by copying a benchmark, such as the S&P 500. An S&P 500 index fund aims to mirror the performance of the benchmark index.
In either case, keeping wealth-eroding fees at bay requires guarding against both high brokerage account fees and the costs that come with mutual funds themselves. There are three common expenses associated with mutual funds:
1. Transaction fees: Charged on the purchase or sale of the fund — and in some cases, on both. Select a broker with a long list of no-transaction-fee mutual funds — like many of the ones we’ve recommended above — to avoid this cost.
2. Early redemption fees: Charged by a broker for selling out of a fund in the first 60 to 90 days. Aim to hold your mutual funds as a long-term investment.
3. Expense ratios: This charge comes from the fund itself. It’s an annual fee that is often higher on actively managed funds than passively managed funds. Expense ratios are expressed as a percentage of your investment: A fund with a 1% expense ratio will cost $10 a year for every $1,000 you invest. You can’t avoid expense ratios, but you can steer your money toward low-cost funds. Familiarizing yourself with the average mutual fund expense ratios will help you recognize if you’re paying too much.
You can buy mutual funds at any online broker or directly through a fund company. We have some specific instructions about investing in mutual funds to help guide you. In general, online brokers will offer a larger and more diverse fund selection than direct purchase through a fund company.
If you don’t have an individual retirement account or brokerage account, you’ll need to open one. You can do that through any of the brokers mentioned above (here's a step-by-step for how to open a brokerage account). If you have an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), it likely offers access to a small selection of mutual funds as well.
You’ll generally face two minimums: A brokerage account minimum, which typically falls between $0 and $2,500, and the mutual fund minimum, which may be $1,000 or more. These minimums are combined — if the broker allows you to fund an account with $1,000, you can then invest that money in a mutual fund with a minimum of $1,000. As referenced above, many brokers now offer mutual funds with no or low minimums.
If your broker doesn't, you might consider exchange-traded funds, which are a type of passive mutual fund you can buy for a share price, much like an individual stock. That often means a lower barrier to entry. (Compare mutual funds vs. ETFs.)
As with any investment, the hope here is that the money you put in will earn a return. Mutual funds earn that return through dividends or interest on the securities in their portfolios or by selling a security that has gone up in value. In both cases, the fund typically passes those returns through to investors.
You also earn a return if the value of the mutual fund itself increases and you sell that fund for more than its purchase price.
