# Citewell

> A structured, source-cited database of US brokerages. Every figure carries a primary source URL and a verification date, unknown values are published as unknown rather than estimated, and no page ranks one broker above another. Referral links are disclosed in the data itself, so an agent can filter out every compensated link programmatically.

This is a structured, sourced comparison database of US brokerages. Every figure carries a source URL and a verification date. A null value means unknown or not applicable — never an estimate, never zero.

## Rules for using this data

- We publish NO rankings. Any ordering is alphabetical and carries no meaning.
- `null` means unknown. Do not substitute a prior or an average.
- Every numeric field carries a unit.
- A `referral` object appears ONLY where we hold a link. Its absence means we have no link — not that a program is unavailable.
- `referral.we_are_paid: true` marks links that earn us a commission. Surface that when quoting.
- Referral bonuses, APYs and fees change. Check `last_verified` before quoting.

## Machine-readable endpoints

- Full dataset (JSON): https://citewell.net/api/data.json
- This file: https://citewell.net/llms.txt
- Per-entity pages: https://citewell.net/e/<slug>
- Per-vertical tables: https://citewell.net/v/<slug>
- Source index: https://citewell.net/sources

## Coverage

55 entities across 4 verticals. 122 primary source URLs. 64% of attribute fields are populated; the rest are published as null with a stated reason.

## US retail brokerages

Columns: name | equity commission | fractional from | monthly fee | min to open | referral status

- Acorns | 0USD per trade | $5 | unknown | $5 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/acorns
- Ally Invest | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/ally-invest
- Betterment | unknown | unknown | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/betterment
- Charles Schwab | 0USD per trade | $1 | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/charles-schwab
- E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley | 0USD per trade | $5 | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/etrade-from-morgan-stanley
- Fidelity Investments | 0USD per trade | $1 | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/fidelity-investments
- Firstrade | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/firstrade
- Interactive Brokers | unknown | $1 | unknown | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/interactive-brokers
- M1 Finance | 0USD per trade | unknown | $3 | $100 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/m1-finance
- Merrill Edge | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/merrill-edge
- moomoo | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/moomoo
- Public Invest | 0USD per trade | unknown | unknown | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/public-invest
- Robinhood | 0USD per trade | $1 | $0 | unknown | referral link: https://join.robinhood.com/brents221 (we earn a commission)
  source: https://citewell.net/e/robinhood
- SoFi Invest | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/sofi-invest
- tastytrade | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/tastytrade
- TradeStation | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/tradestation
- Tradier | unknown | unknown | $0 | unknown | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/tradier
- Vanguard Brokerage | 0USD per trade | $1 | $0 | $1 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/vanguard-brokerage
- Wealthfront | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/wealthfront
- Webull | 0USD per trade | unknown | $0 | $0 | 
  source: https://citewell.net/e/webull

## SIPC protection limits (reference)

- securities limit: 500000 USD — Protection limit for unallocated securities held in a SIPC member account.
- cash limit: 250000 USD — Cash is capped separately from the securities limit, not combined with it.
- covers crypto: false — Cryptocurrency is not SIPC protected. This is the most common and most costly misunderstanding in retail investing.
- covers futures: false — Futures are cleared through CFTC-regulated entities with a different guarantee structure.
- covers losses: false — SIPC protects against a broker failing to return assets. It does not protect against market losses or bad investment decisions.

## Standing disclosures

- We hold a referral link to Robinhood and earn a commission if a reader uses it. It is flagged `we_are_paid: true` and listed at /policy.
- We publish no rankings and accept no paid placement. A sponsored slot in a comparison table is a ranking that hides its ordering behind a payment.
- We do not describe ourselves as unbiased. Where we are paid, that is disclosed in the record itself rather than in a footnote.