Retail brokerage and asset management stocks sit close to the action as politicians float ideas like “Trump accounts,” wider asset ownership, and new ways of sharing AI driven wealth. These proposals could reshape how households put money to work, how platforms attract customers, and how fees and products evolve. For investors, that points to a fresh set of risks and potential openings. This article looks at three stocks from our screener that appear especially exposed to the latest policy debate, helping you decide whether they might deserve a closer look or a spot on your watchlist.

Webull (BULL)

Overview: Webull is a digital investment platform that lets retail investors trade a wide range of securities while also offering market data, education tools, and an online investor community, all through a mobile first experience. Operating through licensed broker dealers across markets such as the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and several Asian and European countries, Webull focuses on making global markets easier to access from a single app.

Operations: Webull currently generates about US$606.9 million in revenue from its brokerage business, making trading its core economic engine.

Market Cap: US$4.0b

Webull sits at the intersection of rising retail participation and the policy push to broaden equity ownership, which makes it especially interesting in the context of proposals like “Trump accounts.” The platform already caters to self directed investors who want simple access to equities, options, digital assets, and private investments through SPVs, and it is investing in AI tools that could appeal to a new generation of users. At the same time, Webull is not currently profitable, carries higher funding risk because it relies on external borrowing, and faces governance questions around insider selling and board independence. For investors, that mix of evolving products, regulatory attention, and execution risk makes Webull a stock to watch closely.

Webull’s global reach, fast growing product set, and AI tools sit in sharp contrast to its lack of profitability and funding reliance, making a closer look at the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign feel essential before the next policy shift hits.

HUB24 (ASX:HUB)

Overview: HUB24 is an Australian financial services company that provides investment platforms, technology, and data solutions that help financial advisers and accountants manage superannuation, trusts, and other client portfolios through products like the HUB24 platform, PARS administration service, Class, and the myprosperity client portal.

Operations: HUB24 generates A$368.8 million of revenue from its Platform segment, A$81.0 million from Tech Solutions, and A$3.5 million from Corporate activities, with all A$453.3 million of revenue coming from Australia.

Market Cap: A$6.8b

HUB24 provides exposure to the push for broader equity and retirement investing in Australia, with a platform that advisers already use to run super and wealth portfolios. The company operates in a market where policies such as “Trump accounts” or similar local initiatives are being discussed as ways to encourage long-term household investing. Its profile combines earnings momentum and high margins with a rich P/E and a share price that screens as expensive, so expectations are already elevated and any slowdown in adviser flows, funds under administration, or market returns could have an impact. At the same time, a relatively clean balance sheet structure, expanding technology solutions, and fresh board experience from seasoned industry figures present a mix of growth potential and execution risk that warrants closer scrutiny.

HUB24’s high margins and rich P/E suggest big expectations. The real question is whether the growth story fully explains that premium or if something else is at work in the analyst forecasts for HUB24

AJ Bell (LSE:AJB)

Overview: AJ Bell is a UK investment platform operator that gives individual investors and financial advisers access to accounts, pensions and investment products through services like AJ Bell Investcentre, its main AJ Bell platform, mobile first tools such as AJ Bell Touch and Dodl, and its own investment and securities businesses, supported by media and educational content.

Operations: AJ Bell generates £346.64 million of revenue from Investment Services, all from the United Kingdom.

Market Cap: £2.4b

AJ Bell may appeal to investors who expect policies aimed at widening share ownership, such as “Trump accounts” in the US or ISA reforms in the UK, to keep retail investing in the spotlight. The company combines strong profitability, with net margins above 35% and very high returns on equity, with a focus on simplifying investing for first time customers at a time when rules risk becoming more complex. At the same time, a relatively high P/E ratio, a funding structure built entirely on external borrowing rather than deposits, and concerns about non cash earnings highlight the risk side of the story. The key consideration is how that trade off looks once investors weigh the growth, buybacks and dividend policy against those structural risks.

AJ Bell’s rich P/E, strong profitability and generous capital returns story can look straightforward, but the real tension between that premium and its structural funding risks only comes into focus in the analysis report for AJ Bell

The three stocks discussed here are only a starting point, as the full Retail Brokerage and Asset Management Firms screener surfaces 41 more companies that share similar themes around retail access to markets, policy sensitive growth drivers, and platform economics. Use Simply Wall St to identify and analyze the specific catalysts, policy angles, balance sheet traits, and business models that matter most so you can focus on the highest conviction opportunities in this corner of the market.

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Seeking Fresh Alternatives Before Others?

Fresh opportunities do not wait around. While attention stays fixed on AJ Bell, HUB24, and Webull, other ideas are building momentum under the radar for now, so consider them promptly.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.