Editorial standards
Broker review methodology
Stocktrade.wiki evaluates stock brokers, ETF platforms and trading apps for readers who need a practical decision, not a promotional ranking. Our reviews focus on total cost, regulation, investor protection, product type, platform fit and the risks a reader must understand before opening an account.
How broker ratings are built
Editorial checks
- We separate real stocks and ETFs from CFDs, margin, options and other higher-risk products.
- We check whether important terms vary by country, account entity or platform plan.
- We avoid claims such as guaranteed returns, easy profits or risk-free trading.
- We prefer clear explanations over promotional language, especially around day trading, leverage and copy trading.
- We update pages when broker data, fee structures, product availability or regulatory context changes.
Affiliate independence
Some broker links may be affiliate or referral links. Compensation may affect which links can be tracked, but it does not determine ratings, broker order, risk warnings or editorial conclusions. Reviews should remain useful even if a reader never clicks a commercial link.
Evidence sources
- Official broker fee schedules, product pages, risk disclosures and account documents.
- Regulator, compensation-scheme and legal-entity information where it is publicly available.
- Platform, app, product-access and account-feature information published by the broker.
- StockTrade editorial datasets, broker reviews, comparison pages and update notes.
What can change a rating
- A broker changes stock, ETF, FX, custody, withdrawal, transfer, inactivity, margin or CFD costs.
- A legal entity, regulator, compensation scheme or country availability changes materially.
- A broker adds, removes or changes important products such as ETFs, options, CFDs, bonds or crypto exposure.
- Platform reliability, account reporting, support quality or disclosure clarity materially improves or deteriorates.
- A page is updated after editorial review, reader feedback or a new comparison against close alternatives.
What readers should verify
Broker terms change and often depend on country, entity, account type and product. Before opening an account, readers should use our review as a shortlist tool and then confirm the current details directly with the broker.
- Confirm the legal entity you will open the account with.
- Check the latest fee schedule directly on the broker website.
- Verify investor protection and compensation limits for your country.
- Confirm whether the product is a real asset, CFD, option, future, margin position or another instrument.
- Compare at least one alternative broker before funding an account.
How often pages are updated
We show last checked or last updated dates where available. Priority updates go to broker reviews, rankings, comparison pages and guides where fees, product availability, regulation or investor-protection details may materially affect a reader decision.