Against a backdrop of rising interest rates, higher inflation and stock-market uncertainty, divisions of USAA, Fidelity and Vanguard emerged at the top of the list of companies boasting strong trustworthiness.
In partnership with sister publication Investor’s Business Daily, MarketWatch sought to identify the banks, brokers, wealth managers, insurers, fund and investing companies, and credit-card operators that ranked highest for trust among customers and clients.
USAA emerged with the highest trust rating overall, 85.3, for its automobile-insurance unit, and its home-insurance division came in seventh (check out the complete list below).
USAA sells insurance to current and former U.S. military members as well as their spouses and children.
Vanguard’s fund business, including its low-cost exchange-traded funds, were No. 2 overall on the list, while Vanguard’s online brokerage platform, Vanguard Brokerage, put in a fifth-place showing overall and was tops among online brokerage platforms.
USAA and Vanguard in the top two spots overall represent a repeat of last year, but there were some notable additions.
Insurer Primerica Inc.
PRI,
,
which hadn’t previously ranked in the Most Trusted Financial Companies survey, was No. 3 overall for its life-insurance unit. Meanwhile, the fund businesses of AllianceBernstein
AB,
and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM,
also were new to the list, coming in this year at Nos. 6 and 10 overall.
IBD’s most-trusted list made its debut in 2020 to help consumers decide where to turn for financial products and services, and this is the first year that MarketWatch has been involved in the effort.
The Most Trusted Financial Companies list is based on a survey conducted over the previous two months in which more than 6,000 respondents rated their financial service providers on trust attributes identified as most important to them.
This year, we asked customers which companies rank highest on seven attributes — up from five in 2021:
- Quality of products and services
- Ethical business practices and values
- Commitment to protecting the privacy and security of personal data
- Company’s service/treatment of others
- Fair prices/fees for products and services
- Sensitivity to customer needs in the current economic and financial climate (inflation, stock market, etc.)
- Innovation of processes and offerings
25 Most Trusted Financial Companies
| Rank | Company | Category | Trust rating |
| 1 | USAA | Automobile insurance | 85.3 |
| 2 | Vanguard | ETF/fund companies | 83.6 |
| 3 | Primerica | Life insurance | 83.4 |
| 4 | Fidelity Investments | ETF/fund companies | 79.5 |
| 5 | Vanguard Brokerage | Online brokers | 78.6 |
| 6 | AllianceBernstein | ETF/fund companies | 77.9 |
| 7 | USAA | Home insurance | 76.8 |
| 8 | American Express | Credit card | 76.4 |
| 9 | Discover | Credit card | 76.1 |
| 10 | Fidelity Wealth Management | Wealth managers | 76 |
| 10 | JPMorgan Funds | ETF/fund companies | 76 |
| 12 | AIG | Home insurance | 75.8 |
| 13 | Charles Schwab | ETF/fund companies | 75.6 |
| 14 | Fidelity | Online brokers | 75.2 |
| 15 | Schwab Private Client | Wealth managers | 75.1 |
| 16 | Ameriprise Financial | Wealth managers | 74.9 |
| 17 | Charles Schwab | Online brokers | 74.5 |
| 18 | TD Ameritrade | Online brokers | 73.8 |
| 19 | New York Life | Life insurance | 72.5 |
| 19 | USAA | ETF/fund companies | 72.5 |
| 21 | State Farm Insurance | Automobile insurance | 71.2 |
| 21 | State Farm Insurance | Home insurance | 71.2 |
| 23 | Progressive | Home insurance | 71.1 |
| 24 | Geico Insurance | Automobile insurance | 70.9 |
| 24 | Wells Fargo Advantage Funds | ETF/fund companies | 70.9 |
| Source: IBD/TIPP/MarketWatch Poll of more than 6,000 respondents. Polls were conducted in June and July 2022. |
An overall trust index was calculated based on customer ratings for the attributes. Check out the survey methodology here and the complete list on IBD with additional coverage.
(Editor’s note: IBD and MarketWatch started out the survey with eight attributes this year but reduced it to seven.)