Morning. In focus today, we’re going behind the scenes on The Globe’s Digital Brokerage Ranking. This year, low costs aren’t enough to crown the winner.

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Why low costs aren’t enough to crown the winner

The Globe’s 2026 ranking of digital brokerages showed that simply offering low fees is no longer enough to win the crown. In a market where six major platforms now offer commission-free trading, the battle has shifted to mobile experience and customer service. But what did it take to grade 15 different brokerages, and what didn’t make it into our final report?

I asked investment reporter Andrew Galbraith to bring us behind the data, the biggest industry myths and what the future holds for our your money.

What was the biggest surprise that popped up while analyzing the data for this year’s ranking?

The big surprise for me was Webull. We asked Surviscor, our data partner, to include a couple of newcomers they hadn’t looked at before. Webull’s service responsiveness was good enough to put it in the top three in the support category, and it scored well on fees, too.

We’ll need to watch whether Webull can maintain service quality as it expands, and I think it’s fair to say there are better overall brokerages. But it’s exciting that a newcomer can provide a reasonable alternative to much more established platforms, and I’ll be watching Robinhood‘s approach once it moves beyond crypto.

The survey showed that low costs are readers’ top priority, yet the data also show low costs aren’t enough. Where is the biggest gap between what brokerages advertise to attract clients and what actually makes a platform “good” in day-to-day use?

Readers told us they really care about low costs, and commission-free trading in particular. It’s tricky, though: You might get commission-free trading on stocks and ETFs, but lose out on higher foreign-exchange fees. Surviscor’s analysis tried to balance out different costs, including commissions, market data, account interest and other fees. It also looked at costs for different kinds of trading styles – from buy-and-hold to 50-plus trades a month.

I think investors should be aware of the gap between products and services promoted by brokerages and their individual investment plans. A “good” platform should make sticking to your long-term plan as painless and affordable as possible. What is ideal for one investor may not be for another.

You noted that customer service separates the winners from the losers. Are the newer, commission-free platforms falling flat when users actually need human help?

Not necessarily! Take a look at Webull – and good service isn’t a given with more established platforms. There’s also the complication of tiered service levels. Wealthsimple didn’t fare well in the service ranking, but users who qualify for Generation status, which requires a minimum of $500,000 in net deposits or assets, may enjoy a better experience.

With 15 different brokerages assessed, are there trends or other interesting info that couldn’t make the story?

One thing I’d like to consider next year is how to assess newer offerings from a couple of big institutions – namely, TD Easy Trade and RBC GoSmart.

These are limited by design, with fewer account types (no RESPs, for instance), and no pure commission-free trading (they offer a set number of free trades per year). They also don’t offer access to many products and features of their more established counterparts, TD Direct Investing and RBC Direct Investing.

Our methodology would have punished them in the ranking, but they may still be good choices for younger buy-and-hold investors. It will be interesting to see if more platforms follow their lead.

Now that six major brokerages offer commission-free trading, what will be the next big feature or battleground they use to fight for our money?

I would love them to fight over service quality, but I think a few other developments are more likely. Firstly, the commission-free revolution isn’t over: It’s clear the market really cares about this, so I expect to see a steady push toward even wider adoption.

I also expect to see more competition on access to new products and concepts, such as prediction markets, cryptocurrencies and private investments. Wealthsimple is leading the charge here, but we’ve already heard announcements about crypto offerings from Robinhood and Webull. I’d bet that more platforms will be tempted to hop on the bandwagon.