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Broker Comparison

AJ Bell vs EC Markets

Compare AJ Bell and EC Markets side by side: fees, regulation, platforms.

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

UK long-term investors and pension savers

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs acro…

VS
EC Markets

EC Markets

Active forex and CFD traders

EC Markets is a multi-regulated forex and CFD broker offering over 100 instruments across STD, ECN and PRO ac…

Head-to-head comparison

AJ Bell vs EC Markets
Feature AJ Bell EC Markets
Minimum deposit - -
Stock trading fee £5 per trade; £3.50 per trade for frequent dealers (10+ deals in previous month); £25 by telephone -
Regulators FCA FCA, ASIC, FSA, FSC, FMA, FSCA, CMA
Best for UK long-term investors and pension savers Active forex and CFD traders
Markets & account
Stocks
-
ETFs
-
Forex
-
CFDs
-
Crypto
-
Bonds
-
Funds
-
Ready Made Portfolios
-
Investment Plans
-
Isa
-
Sipp
-
Savings Vaults
-
Margin
-
Multi Currency
-
Demo Account
-

Pros & cons

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Pros

  • FCA-regulated with FSCS protection up to £85,000
  • Share and ETF custody capped at £3.50/month in ISA and dealing accounts
  • SIPP platform fee capped at £10/month
  • Wide investment range: 4,000+ funds, 3,500+ ETFs, 16,000+ shares across 24 markets
  • No withdrawal or inactivity fees
  • Regular investing with no dealing charge from £25/month
  • Which? Recommended Provider for eight consecutive years (2019-2026)
  • ISA, SIPP, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA and dealing accounts all on one platform

Cons

  • No demo or practice account
  • No fractional shares
  • No cryptocurrency trading
  • Fund platform fee is not capped, making it expensive for large fund portfolios
  • FX conversion fee up to 0.75% on international trades
  • Basic charting tools compared to dedicated trading platforms
  • No multi-currency account - all holdings converted to GBP
EC Markets

EC Markets

Pros

  • Regulated by FCA (UK) and ASIC (Australia)
  • ECN spreads from 0.0 pips
  • Low ECN commission of $1.50 per lot per side
  • No inactivity fee
  • No deposit or withdrawal fees for most payment methods
  • Low minimum deposit of $10 on STD and ECN accounts
  • Supports MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5
  • Free demo account available

Cons

  • No individual stock or ETF trading
  • No proprietary web trading platform
  • PRO account requires $5,000 minimum deposit
  • STD account spreads from 1.0 pip are wider than ECN
  • POLi deposits carry a 4% processing fee
  • Limited educational resources
  • USA, Canada and Japan residents not accepted
  • Crypto available as CFDs only - no direct ownership
AJ Bell

AJ Bell

AJ Bell is a UK investment platform founded in 1995, offering stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds, ISAs and SIPPs across 24 international markets.

Visit AJ Bell Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

EC Markets

EC Markets

EC Markets is a multi-regulated forex and CFD broker offering over 100 instruments across STD, ECN and PRO account types on MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5.

Visit EC Markets Read review

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply.

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