Webull Logo

Is Webull legit? And who are they?

Your expert
Adam N.
Fact checked by
Updated
2d ago
Personally tested
Data-driven
Independent

Is Webull legit?

Whether a financial provider like Webull is legit a very relevant question one can have. After all you trust Webull with your investment money and savings. It is also a very common question, we get this asked a number of times.

One thing worth bearing in mind: all the brokers that you find on BrokerChooser are regulated by at least one top-tier financial authority. So in this basic sense Webull is of course legit. Additionally, there are other factors you can take into account when you check the legitimacy of Webull, e.g. if Webull is listed on any exchange, provide two-step login, disclose transparently its financial result, etc.

Here, we've collected and summarized the common questions on broker legitimacy, enabling you to decide for yourself whether you consider Webull legit in your individual circumstances. We also compared Webull with two similar brokers.

Is Webull legit?
Banking background
No No No
Broker listed on stock exchange
No No Yes
Annual financial statements on website
No No Yes
Mobile two-step authentication
Yes Yes Yes
Broker ownership transparency
No Yes Yes
Broker management transparency
No Yes No
Broker is audited by the Big Four
No Yes Yes

Visit broker

Overall score
4.3/5
Minimum deposit
$0
Stock fee
Low
Options fee
Low
Inactivity fee
no
Account opening
1 day
Want to unlock your perfect broker match?
Sign up to receive and save your personalized broker recommendations!

Things always worth considering

When you assess a stock broker it's best to think through the following aspects:

  • What authority or authorities regulate the broker? In other words who can you turn to if something goes south?
  • How much protection do you have?
  • For how long Webull has been in operation?
  • Is it publicly traded itself?
  • How transparent is it?
  • How much do they protect your account from unauthorized access?
  • What auditor audits the brokerage?

As you see there are a number of aspects above. But not all of them were created equal.

We think the most important feature is to be regulated by at least one trustworthy authority.

Comparing regulators

First and foremost, to gather a wider knowledge about one broker's legitimacy, you should check the regulators of it. For this purpose, we sum up below the most important things to know about regulators and how to interpret them for your individual case.

Webull is regulated in the following countries and provides the following investor protection:

Webull regulation and investor protection
Webull
Country of regulation: USA, Hong Kong
Investor protection amount: Securities up to $500k, cash up to $250k for US clients; HKD 500k for securities and HKD 0 for cash in Hong Kong and China

COMPARE BROKERS

The investor protection amount and the regulator might differ based on which entity you belong to.

For the avoidance of doubt, it is

  1. By and large your home country (i.e. your residence, not your passport) that will determine under which regulator you'll fall, should there be more than one regulator.
  2. In some cases you might choose between regulators, and that being said, we recommend you choosing the higher-tier regulator, e.g. FCA over CySEC.

Don't forget that regulators are not created equal. Investor protection can also vary from authority to authority. There are top-tier regulators whose excellence lies within their features such as the presence of segregated accounts, the range of protection tools or the investor protection amount itself. Check out a few of the top-tier regulators in the table below. Most brokers reviewed by BC fall below one of the following four regulators:

Some regulators and their investor protection (for retail customers)
FCA in the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides coverage up to £85,000.
SEC, FINRA in the US Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) covers up to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash.
BaFIN in Germany €100,000 for cash, and €20,000 for securities.
ASIC in Australia No investor protection.

Visit broker

As you could see, Webull is regulated by SEC and provides the SIPC investor protection scheme. SIPC protects against the loss of cash and securities in case the broker goes bust. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. A non-US citizen with Webull is treated by the SIPC the same as a US resident in case something goes bad. These amounts are substantially higher than what most European investor protection schemes offer.

Not all investments are protected by SIPC. In general, SIPC covers notes, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other investment company shares, and other registered securities. It does not cover instruments such as unregistered investment contracts, unregistered limited partnerships, fixed annuity contracts, currency, and interests in gold, silver, or other commodity futures contracts or commodity options.

There are some brokers that provide additional insurance because they have private insurance (e.g.: eToro through Lloyd's, among the US brokers Charles Schwab and Ally have similar setups), which means that you have an extra legitimacy net above the regulatory. It's worth checking it out when you're choosing your broker.

FIND MY BROKER

Additional "nice to have" legitimacy features

The subsequent bullet points are rather supplementary, “nice to have” features. Ticking them definitely adds to the legitimacy of an online broker, but not having them is not necessarily a big red flag.

Banking background

Webull doesn't have a banking background, which is not crucial, but would make a better case for their legitimacy. The reason is that even if it's not required by law that a struggling broker must be saved by its parent bank, in most cases you can count on this happening.

Broker listed on stock exchange

Webull is not listed on any stock exchange, hence it's harder to get detailed or any kind of direct information about its financial performance.

Why is being listed on the stock market useful? For two reasons:

  • Listed companies by and large have stringent reporting requirements
  • If something really goes wrong with the broker, you'll be able to tell it from the (rapidly falling) share price of the broker in most cases. In this unlikely scenario, you'll have time to move your funds and securities to another broker.

Annual financial statements on website

Webull doesn't publish annual financial statements. These are sort of financial reports, which generally contain information about a brokerage's income, profit and loss, retained earnings and cash flows. Not having these exposed to the public doesn't necessarily mean that a broker is not legit, it's just a factor that we should take into account when choosing where to invest or trade.

Mobile two-step authentication

Webull provides two-step authentication when logging in, which makes the platform safer to use.

Broker ownership transparency

Ownership structure of Webull is not public, it can't be checked on their website, which leaves some questions open about one's feeling of being up-to-date about the broker.

Broker management transparency

Webull has not made their management structure public, which can leave you with a sense of lack considering the broker's transparency and legitimacy.

Broker is audited by the Big Four

Webull is not audited by one of the so-called Big Four auditors (KPMG, PWC, Deloitte, EY), which is not necessarily an issue, however it would guarantee another layer of legitimacy.

Visit broker

Bottom line

Now that we have gone through the most frequent and - as we think - most important legitimacy aspects of Webull, we hope that you feel armed enough with information for your future decision. In case you're still unsure, use our broker finder and meet the best online broker that suits your needs.

COMPARE BROKERS

Check out this short video for a behind-the-scenes peek into how our experts personally test and evaluate brokers.

Got questions?
Engage with our growing community of traders and investors like you to find your answers.
Join now

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

author
Adam Nasli
Author of this article
I bring extensive financial expertise as one of BrokerChooser's earliest team members. Personally, I tested nearly all 100+ brokers on our site, opening real-money accounts, executing trades, assessing customer services, and providing firsthand assessment. My professional background includes roles in the banking sector and a degree from Central European University, where I teach finance. My passions lies in in-depth research of the financial industry, building trading algorithms, and managing long-term investments.
Media mentions
×
I'd like to trade with...