Here in this article, you will know what a full-service broker is, the features and services offered by full-service brokers when to choose a full-service stock broker and then the list of the best full-service brokers with their active client list to choose one out of the best for your trading requirements.
A good stock broker is essential for all types of traders in the stock market. And that is when the quest for the best brokers begins. If you are a new investor, then the features offered by the full-service stock brokers would help you a lot in trading. However, if you already have a lot of experience in trading, then your aim would be to save money by lowering your trading cost. Then discount brokers would be a good choice for you.
Traditional full-service brokers do more than just facilitate the buying and selling of stocks. These brokers tend to offer a wide array of services and products including financial planning, investing, insurance, wealth management, portfolio management, research reports, personal recommendations, funding and margins on shares. They have branches and sub-brokers available in many cities for personalized services. They employ a team of researcher and analysts to produce reports on market and stock companies and do fundamental and technical analysis.
Since you are getting personalized recommendations and services, traditional full-service stock brokers often charge higher fees and the brokerage is a percentage based on the volume of trade. The brokerage is negotiable sometimes and goes low as your volume of trade increases. Should you prefer personalized advice and guidance, then a Full-Service Broker could be the right choice.
All these services come at a cost which you pay in the form of higher brokerage. However, if you are not able to pick stocks on your own, then you can take help of your full-service broker’s dedicated research team and personal relationship manager to help you in choosing the right stock and other investment avenues. It will help you to save yourself from losses.
Should your trading needs matches with the following points then it is advisable to choose a full-service brokerage firm for you.
| Rank | Broker Name | Active Clients | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ICICI Direct | 8,55,000 | 4.5/5 |
| 2 | HDFC Securities | 6,64,250 | 4.5/5 |
| 3 | Sharekhan | 5,08,000 | 4.5/5 |
| 4 | Kotak Securities | 4,33,600 | 4.0/5 |
| 5 | Angel Broking | 4,18,800 | 4.0/5 |
| 6 | Axis Direct | 4,10,900 | 4.0/5 |
| 7 | Motilal Oswal | 3,23,500 | 4.0/5 |
| 8 | Karvy | 2,62,800 | 3.5/5 |
| 9 | IIFL | 2,11,550 | 3.5/5 |
| 10 | SBI Securities | 2,07,000 | 3.5/5 |
These are also the top-ten largest (in terms of active clients) and most popular full-service brokerage firms in India.
Last updated on 24th May 2019
