Investment banks and brokers sit at the center of capital markets, earning fees from trading, underwriting, advisory, and wealth services. In 2026, investors are focused on deal activity, market volatility, and the balance between cyclical revenue and fee stability.
This page highlights investment bank and broker stocks to watch in 2026 across global investment banks, trading firms, and retail brokerages. It is designed for investors seeking industry-level exposure rather than short-term trading ideas.
IPO issuance, M&A volume, and debt underwriting drive advisory and underwriting fees.
Higher volatility can support trading revenue, but extreme stress can disrupt liquidity.
Stable fee income from wealth management can offset cyclical investment banking swings.
Rules governing leverage and trading influence returns and capital allocation.
Goldman Sachs
Mega-cap, capital markets leader
Goldman Sachs is a global investment bank with major businesses in advisory, underwriting, trading, and asset and wealth management. It serves corporations, financial institutions, governments, and high-net-worth clients, with results that tend to move with capital markets activity.
Morgan Stanley
Mega-cap, fee-driven mix
Morgan Stanley combines an investment banking and trading franchise with a large wealth and investment management platform. Its wealth business adds more recurring fee revenue, while banking and markets remain sensitive to deal cycles and market conditions.
JPMorgan Chase
Mega-cap, diversified
JPMorgan is a diversified financial institution spanning consumer banking, commercial lending, payments, and a large corporate and investment bank. Its markets and advisory businesses sit inside a broader deposit and lending platform that can help stabilize results across cycles.
Charles Schwab
Large-cap, asset-based fees
Charles Schwab is a leading retail brokerage and custodial platform that earns revenue from client assets, trading activity, advice, and interest on cash balances. Its scale and ecosystem make it a core gateway for individual investors and independent advisors.
Interactive Brokers
Large-cap, trading-focused
Interactive Brokers operates an electronic brokerage platform used by active retail investors, professional traders, and institutions globally. It is known for low-cost execution, broad market access, and meaningful exposure to trading volumes and margin lending activity.
Robinhood Markets
Mid-cap, growth-oriented
Robinhood is a retail investing platform focused on simplified access to stocks, options, and other financial products for mass-market users. Its revenue is influenced by user engagement, trading activity, and net interest income on customer balances.
Blackstone
Large-cap, capital markets
Blackstone is an alternative asset manager that raises and invests private capital across private equity, real estate, credit, and infrastructure. It earns management fees on long-duration funds and performance-related income that depends on realizations and market conditions.
KKR
Large-cap, private markets
KKR is a global alternative investment firm operating across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and insurance-related strategies. It generates fee revenue from managed assets and can earn performance income based on investment outcomes and exit environments.
UBS Group
Large-cap, advisory-led
UBS is a global financial institution best known for wealth management, serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients with advisory, banking, and investment services. It also operates investment banking and asset management businesses, with results linked to client assets and market levels.
Lazard
Mid/large-cap, advisory focus
Lazard is an advisory-led firm known for M&A and restructuring advice, with an additional asset management business. Because it runs a lighter balance sheet than large banks, its performance is more directly tied to advisory deal flow and market conditions.
Large institutions with trading, underwriting, and advisory businesses.
Platforms serving individual and professional investors.
Firms earning fees from private capital and alternative investments.
Firms focused on advisory, asset, and wealth management services.
This list highlights large, liquid investment banks and brokerage firms with meaningful exposure to trading, advisory, underwriting, and wealth management. Companies are selected based on scale, market relevance, revenue mix, and durability across market cycles.
Yes. Earnings often rise and fall with capital markets activity, deal volume, and investor sentiment.
Moderate volatility can increase trading activity, but extreme stress can reduce liquidity.
Advisory fees, trading revenue, assets under management, and return on equity.
Last updated: 2026-01-17
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
