IBD and MarketWatch's sixth annual survey honors most trusted financial companies

Investor's Business Daily

Consumers want financial companies they can trust. Is your bank, broker or insurer on this most-trusted list? Check out our 2025 list and find out more about why building and keeping customer trust is vital to these companies.

Americans are feeling a bit more optimistic and resilient about their financial situations this year, despite stubborn high prices, interest-rate uncertainty and fast-changing U.S. policy on trade and tariffs.

Consumers are looking for the best deals, whether that's for groceries or in the companies they do business with. This makes it more critical than ever for financial firms to earn and maintain their customers' trust.

This trend is seen in Investor's Business Daily's sixth annual report on the Most Trusted Financial Companies. This independent customer survey, co-branded with MarketWatch, shows that over the past three years the highest IBD Trust Index score has risen from 85.3 in 2023 to 89.9 in 2025 for the top company on the list (out of a possible 100). This year, that company is USAA.

USAA serves active military members, their families and veterans. It tops the list of the 30 most trusted financial companies for 2025. Divisions of USAA (its credit-card, home- and automobile-insurance, and bank operations) account for four of the top 10 spots on the list. USAA also ranked highest on our lists in 2022 and 2023.

For this year's list of the Most Trusted Financial Companies, IBD and polling partner TechnoMetrica asked thousands of customers about their online brokers; fund companies; wealth managers; credit-card companies; banks; and auto, home and life insurers. The survey ranks companies in eight areas customers deem most important, including financial soundness, prices and confidence in management. We identify the 30 Most Trusted Financial Companies and the top four in each of eight business categories.

Financial companies where people put their money and trust

Customers ranked USAA's credit-card division as No. 1 on the list, followed by USAA's home-insurance and auto-insurance divisions in second and third place, respectively.

USAA customers lauded the company's customer service as "fantastic," and appreciated products and services to support family members.

Michael Moran, president of USAA Bank, told IBD, "We have a clear sense of mission: [to] ensure the financial security of our membership. That mission drives everything we do. We're proud of the trust we've built with our members by being there in the moments that matter as well as for their everyday needs."

Financial companies' soundness is critical

In the 2025 IBD survey, customers declared financial soundness and security to be the most important attribute of the companies they trust. Quality of products and services offered was a close second. How well companies protected their privacy and security, along with ethics and values, also were of importance.

For IBD's list of the Most Trusted Financial Companies in 2025, we asked more than 6,200 survey participants about how they judged the financial soundness of the companies they do business with. The survey was conducted from May to July by IBD polling partner TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence.

There were again eight categories of companies in this year's survey: ETF/fund companies; online brokers; wealth managers; credit-card companies; banks; and life, home and auto insurers.

Financial companies vie for eight trust attributes

Our survey covered eight areas of trust. The attributes for the 2025 IBD Most Trusted Financial Companies survey were financial soundness, quality of products and services, ethical business practices, privacy and security, customer service, prices, sensitivity to customer needs, and confidence in company management.

The first phase of our survey was conducted in March and April. The purpose of that phase is to identify the trust characteristics, or attributes, that are most important to consumers.

Financially sound/secure received the highest weight (19%) in our study, topping our list of the most critical trust factors for financial companies. Quality of products/services took the second spot (17%), followed by the commitment to protecting the privacy and security of personal data (15%).

More than 90% of survey respondents said trust was "very important" in their relationships with financial firms.

The second phase of the survey was conducted from May to July. Using the eight trust attributes arrived at in Phase 1, respondents evaluated the company they most often utilize in each of the eight business lines.

Our survey not only tallies the 30 most trusted financial companies but also reveals the most-trusted companies in the eight categories of financial companies.

Schwab tops most-trusted investment companies

A standout this year, Charles Schwab (SCHW) swept the investing group, ranking first among ETF/fund companies, online brokers and wealth managers. Schwab's investing divisions also took three of the top 10 places in the overall trust rankings.

"Trust is everything," Rick Wurster, CEO of Schwab, told IBD. "We strive to earn our clients' trust by putting them at the forefront of every decision we make and by treating them the way we would like to be treated. We are here for them when and where they need us."

Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard are among the perennial favorites in the wealth-management categories of the survey. Fidelity topped the categories in 2024 and scored a hat trick in 2023.

Fidelity Investments' ETF/fund division, online brokerage and wealth-management division placed highly not only in the investing categories but also claimed three spots in the overall most-trusted list.

Other companies among the four most trusted in the investing categories include JPMorgan Funds (JPM); E-Trade, a division of Morgan Stanley (MS); and U.S. Bank, part of US Bancorp (USB).

Banks rise in trust index

Banks as a group are climbing in the IBD Trust Index. The group rose a step again this year, beating out insurers. But banks still lag investment and credit-card companies.

Joining USAA on the list of the four most-trusted banks are Chime, a fintech company that partners with FDIC-insured banks; Capital One Bank, part of Capital One Financial (COF); and Chase Bank, owned by JPMorgan Chase.

"Customers want more than just services," Andy Navarrete, head of global enterprise affairs at Capital One, told IBD. "They're looking for great value, personalized guidance, compelling experiences and simple tools that make managing money feel less intimidating and more empowering."

Most-trusted credit-card companies

Among credit-card companies, four stood out for customers in our 2025 survey.

They were USAA; American Express (AXP)); Discover, which was acquired this year by Capital One Financial; and Chase.

USAA, American Express and Discover also were the top three credit-card companies in the 2024 Most Trusted Financial Companies special report.

The top 10 on our most-trusted list

Financial-services firms have faced both internal and external challenges garnering the trust of their customers. Those that focus on the attributes in our 2025 survey, especially financial soundness and quality products, should be recognized for their successes.

These companies' divisions round out the top 10, ranked according to their IBD Trust Index score:

-- USAA, credit cards

-- USAA, home insurance

-- USAA, auto insurance

-- Schwab, ETF/fund companies

-- Fidelity, ETF/fund companies

-- USAA, banks

-- Vanguard, ETF/fund companies

-- Schwab, online brokers

-- Schwab, wealth management

-- Vanguard, online brokers

IBD's special reports are objective and data-based. This independent special report is produced by the IBD editorial team. There is no sponsored content, nor are there any commission links. A company cannot apply to get on this list, and there are no fees.

The Most Trusted Financial Companies logo and accolades are available for licensing through Investor's Business Daily's partner, The YGS Group, by email at IBDlicensing@theygsgroup.com or at 800-290-5460.

-Investor's Business Daily

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09-25-25 1800ET