The Buckingham Capital Consulting Wealth and Brokerage Infrastructure Index.

Overall

The mean of the 3 segment scores.

For fintech apps and neobanks

Weighted to integration and asset range: an API, a test environment and fractional shares to build a product quickly.

For banks and wealth managers

Weighted to regulatory standing and asset protection: the custodian's licences and the protection behind client assets.

For brokers expanding abroad

Weighted to market reach and regulatory standing: access to many markets through a well-licensed partner.

Weights by segment

What each score means

Score out of 100 is the sum of each criterion score divided by five and multiplied by its weight. The overall ranking is the mean of the segment scores. Ties are broken by regulatory standing, then asset range. A provider that does not publish a price is scored as though the price were high, because a business cannot plan on an unpublished price. Prices are scored on the standard published rate, never an introductory, promotional or "from" rate, and a figure counts only when it appears on a pricing, fee or terms page rather than in a marketing line. A provider that serves one country only is scored on access for that country, and the limitation is printed in its profile.

Interactive Brokers

A global broker that lets regulated brokers introduce their clients, with white-branded platforms, statements and portals. It is the only provider in this edition to publish its fee basis and markup caps, and it publishes access to over 175 markets. Licence numbers, SIPC limits and security certificates are not on the pages read.

• Asset range: 5/5. Shares, options, futures, currencies, bonds and funds published across 175+ markets.
• Published pricing: 4/5. Fee basis, no-minimum terms and markup caps published; full commission schedule sits on a separate page.
• Regulatory standing: 4/5. SEC, CFTC, FINRA and CIRO named; licence numbers not on the pages read.
• Market reach: 5/5. 175+ markets in 40 countries published.
• Integration and launch: 5/5. API, simulated account, white-branded portals and a stated set-up time published.
• Asset protection and security: 3/5. SIPC membership and clearing and carrying arrangement published; SIPC limit and security certificates not on the pages read.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.interactivebrokers.com, www.interactivebrokers.com.

Alpaca

A US self-clearing broker whose Broker API lets partners embed shares, options, bonds and crypto. It publishes licences in three jurisdictions, SIPC cover with its limit, ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II, and partners in more than 40 countries. Partner pricing is not published.

• Asset range: 5/5. Fractional shares, options, bonds, crypto and cash products published.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 5/5. Regulators and registration numbers published for the US and the Bahamas.
• Market reach: 5/5. Partners in 40+ countries published.
• Integration and launch: 4/5. API, test environment and KYC service published; no stated launch time.
• Asset protection and security: 5/5. SIPC limit, self-clearing custody and ISO 27001 with SOC 2 Type II published.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: alpaca.markets, alpaca.markets.

Saxo

A Danish multi-asset broker offering banks and wealth firms execution, clearing, custody and white-label platforms through its OpenAPI. It publishes the widest instrument range in this edition across more than 50 markets. It publishes no prices, compensation scheme or security certificate on the pages read.

• Asset range: 5/5. Shares, bonds, funds, ETFs, options and futures published.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 4/5. FCA reference number published for the UK entity; other licences not on the pages read.
• Market reach: 5/5. 50+ markets published.
• Integration and launch: 4/5. OpenAPI and white-label platforms published; no sandbox or launch time on the pages read.
• Asset protection and security: 1/5. Custody stated with only potential segregation; no scheme or certificate published.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.home.saxo, www.home.saxo.

Upvest

A German and UK regulated investment platform covering brokerage, settlement and custody through one API, with fractional investing across a very wide instrument list. It publishes coverage of more than 20 countries, ISO 27001:2022 and a launch in weeks. Licence numbers, a compensation scheme and pricing are not published on the pages read.

• Asset range: 5/5. Fractional shares, ETFs, funds and bonds published.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 3/5. BaFin and FCA named; licence numbers not on the pages read.
• Market reach: 4/5. 20+ countries published.
• Integration and launch: 3/5. API and a stated launch time of weeks; no sandbox or white-label app on the pages read.
• Asset protection and security: 3/5. Custodian status and ISO 27001:2022 published; compensation scheme not stated.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: upvest.co, upvest.co.

Apex Fintech Solutions

A US clearing and custody firm whose cloud platform offers ten asset classes, a full sandbox and a branded wealth app delivered in weeks. It publishes its broker-dealer status in 53 states and territories. It does not publish prices, international reach, SIPC limits or security certificates on the pages read.

• Asset range: 5/5. Ten asset classes including fractional shares, options and crypto published.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 4/5. SEC, FINRA and state licences named, with an NMLS number for crypto; US only.
• Market reach: 1/5. International clients mentioned; no countries or markets counted.
• Integration and launch: 5/5. API, sandbox, branded platform and a stated launch time of weeks published.
• Asset protection and security: 3/5. SIPC membership and clearing and custody published; limit and security certificates not on the pages read.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: apexfintechsolutions.com, apexfintechsolutions.com.

WealthKernel

A UK and Spanish regulated custodian offering onboarding, trading, portfolio management and custody over API. It publishes both licence numbers, FSCS cover with its limit, custody arrangements and ISO 27001:2022, and lets firms launch as its appointed representative. Its asset list is narrower than most and pricing is not published.

• Asset range: 3/5. Fractional US and UK shares and money market funds published, with UK tax wrappers.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 5/5. FCA and CNMV registration numbers published.
• Market reach: 2/5. UK and Spain only.
• Integration and launch: 3/5. API and a licence-sharing route published; no sandbox or launch time on the pages read.
• Asset protection and security: 5/5. FSCS limit, custody arrangement and ISO 27001:2022 published.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.wealthkernel.com.

DriveWealth

A US broker-dealer that powers investing for banks, wallets and brands across four regions, and pioneered fractional share investing. It publishes a wide asset range and SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports. Licence numbers, SIPC limits, partner pricing and launch details are not published.

• Asset range: 5/5. Fractional shares, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds and options published.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 3/5. FINRA membership named for the US; no CRD number on the pages read.
• Market reach: 3/5. Four regions named; no country count.
• Integration and launch: 2/5. API published; no sandbox, white-label app or launch time on the pages read.
• Asset protection and security: 4/5. In-house custody and SOC 2 Type 2 published; SIPC limit not stated.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.drivewealth.com.

Tiger Brokers

An Asian online broker that provides trading, clearing and custody to licensed brokers through omnibus account structures, API and FIX. It publishes licence numbers in Hong Kong, the US and Australia. It publishes no prices, no stated launch time, no compensation limit and no security certificates.

• Asset range: 4/5. Shares, ETFs, options, warrants, futures and notes published; fractional shares not stated.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 5/5. Licence numbers published for Hong Kong, the US and Australia.
• Market reach: 3/5. US, Hong Kong and Singapore markets named.
• Integration and launch: 3/5. API and FIX with omnibus account structures; no sandbox or launch time.
• Asset protection and security: 1/5. SIPC membership of the US entity only; no limit, custody terms or certificate on the page read.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.itiger.com.

Seccl

A UK investment platform and custodian, part of Octopus, offering a REST API and ready-made adviser and client portals, with pensions on the platform. It publishes its custodian's FCA number and ISO 27001:2022. It publishes no asset list, prices, compensation limit or reach beyond the UK.

• Asset range: 1/5. Pensions referenced; asset types not published on the pages read.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 4/5. FCA reference number published for the UK custodian.
• Market reach: 1/5. UK only.
• Integration and launch: 4/5. API, code-free portal, ready-made portals and a stated launch time of months; no sandbox on the pages read.
• Asset protection and security: 3/5. Authorised custodian and ISO 27001:2022 published; FSCS limit not stated.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: seccl.tech, seccl.tech.

lemon.markets

A German brokerage-as-a-service provider licensed by BaFin, offering a modular API over more than 10,000 ETFs, stocks, bonds and funds. It publishes little beyond its licence type and asset count: no prices, reach, launch time, compensation scheme or security certificate.

• Asset range: 4/5. ETFs, ETPs, shares, bonds and funds published; fractional shares not stated.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 3/5. BaFin named without a licence number.
• Market reach: 0/5. Not published.
• Integration and launch: 3/5. API with white-label infrastructure; no sandbox or launch time.
• Asset protection and security: 0/5. Not published.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.lemon.markets.

FNZ

A global wealth platform with over US$2.5 trillion in assets on platform, used by large institutions such as Vanguard and Colonial First State. Its homepage publishes scale and client stories but not its asset list, licences, markets, integration route or protection terms.

• Asset range: 1/5. "A universe of investment products" stated; types not listed.
• Published pricing: 0/5. Not published.
• Regulatory standing: 1/5. Regulated status stated without a regulator or number.
• Market reach: 1/5. Global platform stated; no country count.
• Integration and launch: 1/5. Modular platform stated; no API, sandbox or launch time.
• Asset protection and security: 0/5. Not published.

Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: www.fnz.com.