Best MCP Connectors for Brokerages in 2026
Last updated October 2026
Short answer
For most investors, the best MCP connector for a brokerage is Walnut: the no-code option that securely links several brokers at once, lets Claude or ChatGPT read your portfolio and score each holding against the S&P 500, and places the trades you approve from the Walnut app at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull. Since 2026 several brokers also run their own official connectors, including Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo and TradeStation, and Alpaca has an official open-source server. Each of those works with that one broker only, and their rules differ (Interactive Brokers, for example, has the AI draft orders that you submit yourself). Market-data MCPs (Alpha Vantage, Polygon, Finnhub, Financial Modeling Prep, Yahoo Finance) only serve prices and cannot touch an account. Pick your broker's own connector if you hold one account there; pick Walnut if you want the brokers you already use connected in about five minutes.
Since Anthropic introduced the Model Context Protocol, a wave of finance MCP servers has shipped, and they are not interchangeable. Some connect to your actual brokerage so an assistant can read positions and place trades; most only serve market data. Confusing the two is the most common mistake, because a data MCP can never act on your portfolio no matter how good its prices are. This guide separates execution connectors from data servers, describes sixteen of them on the same fields, ranks them by what you want to do, and is honest about where Walnut is and is not the right fit.
How an MCP connector bridges a broker to an AI client
An MCP connector for a brokerage is a server that exposes your account to an AI assistant as MCP tools (see what an MCP connector is for the plain-language version). The Model Context Protocol is an open standard, introduced by Anthropic in late 2024, for connecting assistants like Claude or ChatGPT to external data and tools through a uniform interface. A brokerage MCP server implements that interface against a broker's API: it advertises tools such as “get positions”, “get quotes”, and, on execution servers, “place order”. The assistant calls those tools during a conversation, so it can reason about your real holdings instead of a hypothetical example. The bridge has three moving parts: the AI client (Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor), the MCP server that speaks the protocol, and the broker connection the server authenticates against.
Under the hood, a brokerage connector reaches your account one of two ways: directly through the broker's own API or official connector (Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo, TradeStation, Alpaca, Tradier), or through a multi-broker connection layer that fronts many institutions behind one link. The multi-broker route is how a single connector can reach brokers like Schwab and Fidelity, which have no connector of their own. This is also the practical difference between an MCP connector and a raw broker API or plugin, covered in MCP connector vs API vs plugin.
The key split is what those tools can do. A brokerage server (Walnut, the official broker connectors, Alpaca, Tradier) can report your account and, depending on the server, submit orders or draft them for you to submit. A market-data server (Alpha Vantage, Polygon, Finnhub, Financial Modeling Prep, Yahoo Finance) only returns prices and fundamentals and has no concept of your account at all. The rest of this guide treats those as two different categories, because comparing them on one axis is misleading.
What to look for in a brokerage MCP connector
- Broker coverage. Whether it works with your broker. Every broker's own connector binds to that broker; multi-broker connectors (like Walnut) reach many.
- Read, draft, or execute. Whether it only reads holdings, drafts orders you submit (Interactive Brokers), or places trades, and what controls gate orders, such as Webull's order caps.
- Auth and security model. Whether it uses scoped API tokens or a regulated aggregator, defaults to read-only, and never stores your broker password.
- Paper trading. A sandbox to test agent behavior before risking real money. Alpaca and Tradier offer one; most data servers are irrelevant here.
- Setup effort. A self-hosted open-source server (needs code and a host to secure) versus a hosted, no-code connector.
- Official vs community. Whether the broker maintains it (IBKR, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo, TradeStation, Alpaca) or it is an unofficial community wrapper (Tradier, Yahoo Finance), which affects maintenance and trust.
Which MCP servers can actually trade a real account?
The brokerage-execution servers below connect to a real account. Each is described on the same fields: what it is, whether it reads or trades, which brokerage it covers, its auth and security model, who it suits, and one honest limitation. Seven brokers launched official connectors in 2026, and newer names (for example Connect Trade) surface in AI answers too; verify their broker support, maintenance, and security before pointing any of them at a live account.
Walnut connector
The hosted MCP connector of Walnut, a free AI investing app. You securely connect the brokers you already have, several at once, then from Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor read your live portfolio, get a keep, trim or exit read on each holding against the S&P 500, and turn a thesis into a basket with target weights. Trades happen in the Walnut app, each after you approve it, at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull, including recurring buys toward your target weights that spend cash already in the account. There is no server code to write.
- Read or trade: The connector reads and analyzes; trades you approve are placed in the Walnut app at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull.
- Brokerage: Many brokers through one connection. Trades with your approval at Public, and at E*Trade, tastytrade, Webull (US and Canada), moomoo, Questrade, Wealthsimple, Trading 212 and Stake (Australia); Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, Robinhood and Interactive Brokers connect read-only; Alpaca and TradeStation are not offered.
- Auth and security: Your broker login and credentials stay at the broker; you sign in to the connector with your Walnut account and approve read-only access. The connector has no trade tool.
- Best for: People with money at more than one broker, or at a broker with no connector of its own (Schwab, Fidelity), who want one no-code connection from Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor.
- One honest limitation: It sits on top of your broker rather than being one, so you need an existing account, trades route to one default trading account, and broker feeds rarely pass cost basis (returns are framed as window returns, not realized profit and loss). Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Alpaca MCP server (official)
Alpaca's official, open-source MCP server. It exposes Alpaca's trading API to an AI agent as MCP tools: real-time and historical market data, account and position reads, order placement, and a full paper-trading sandbox.
- Read or trade: Read + trade + paper trading.
- Brokerage: Alpaca brokerage accounts only.
- Auth and security: You supply your own Alpaca API key and secret as environment variables and self-host the server; credentials live in your config, not with a third party.
- Best for: Developers building agent-driven, automated workflows who already use (or will open) an Alpaca account.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker: it only touches Alpaca accounts, and you run and secure the server yourself.
Interactive Brokers (official connector)
Interactive Brokers' own AI connector. It had certified Claude and ChatGPT connectors by June 8, 2026, and on July 28, 2026 IBKR opened the same connectivity to any tool built on the MCP standard. An assistant can read your IBKR account and draft orders, which land in an "AI Instructions" area for you to review and submit.
- Read or trade: Read + draft orders; you submit every order yourself.
- Brokerage: Interactive Brokers accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize the connector with IBKR, so your login stays at IBKR, and the AI cannot execute: orders wait in "AI Instructions" for you.
- Best for: IBKR customers who want Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP client on their account while keeping order submission in their own hands.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker, and the AI only drafts: if you wanted an agent to execute on its own, this deliberately will not.
Robinhood Agentic Trading MCP (official)
Robinhood's official Agentic Trading MCP, launched May 27, 2026, connects an assistant to a Robinhood account for equities, options and crypto. Separately, on September 30, 2026 Robinhood announced Robinhood Agents inside its own app, which can analyze markets, build strategies and trade, with "Loops" standing instructions.
- Read or trade: Read + trade (equities, options, crypto).
- Brokerage: Robinhood accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize with Robinhood, so your login stays at Robinhood.
- Best for: Robinhood customers who want an outside assistant that can act on their Robinhood account.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker: it cannot see accounts you hold elsewhere. Confirm the current terms before letting an agent trade.
Webull MCP and native connectors (official)
Since August 2026 Webull has offered an official MCP plus native connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and Grok, with controls such as order caps and a read-only mode.
- Read or trade: Read + trade, within the order caps you set, or read-only mode.
- Brokerage: Webull accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize with Webull, and you can cap order sizes or keep the connection read-only.
- Best for: Webull traders who want an assistant on their account with explicit limits.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker; set the caps or read-only mode before granting trade access.
Public hosted MCP (official)
Public's official hosted MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity, part of the "Agentic Brokerage" Public launched on March 31, 2026. Public runs the server, so there is nothing for you to host.
- Read or trade: Read + trade (Agentic Brokerage).
- Brokerage: Public accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize with Public; the connector is hosted by the broker.
- Best for: Public customers who want Claude, ChatGPT or Perplexity on their account with no setup.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker. Check Public's documentation for exactly which order types an agent can submit.
tastytrade MCP server (official)
tastytrade's official MCP server, released in September 2026. It is self-hosted: you run it yourself and connect it to your tastytrade account.
- Read or trade: Check tastytrade's documentation for the actions it exposes.
- Brokerage: tastytrade accounts only.
- Auth and security: You run the server and hold its credentials in your own config.
- Best for: Options traders on tastytrade comfortable running a small server.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker, and you host and secure it yourself.
Moomoo hosted MCP (official)
Moomoo's official hosted MCP, one of the first-party broker servers launched in 2026. Moomoo runs it, so connecting is closer to adding an app than running software.
- Read or trade: Check Moomoo's documentation for the actions it exposes.
- Brokerage: Moomoo accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize with Moomoo; the connector is hosted by the broker.
- Best for: Moomoo customers who want an assistant on their account without hosting anything.
- One honest limitation: Single-broker.
Tradier (community MCP connectors)
Tradier offers a developer-friendly REST brokerage API, and community MCP servers wrap it so an agent can read accounts, pull quotes and options chains, and place equity and options orders.
- Read or trade: Read + trade (sandbox and live).
- Brokerage: Tradier brokerage accounts.
- Auth and security: You generate a Tradier access token and pass it to the self-hosted server; the token scopes what the agent can do.
- Best for: Developers who want a simple REST broker with strong options support behind an agent.
- One honest limitation: Community-built rather than official, single-broker, and you self-host and secure it.
TradeStation MCP (official)
TradeStation's official MCP, launched in January 2026, connects an assistant to a TradeStation account. It is the most gated of the broker connectors: it needs a $10,000 account balance and a paid Claude or ChatGPT plan.
- Read or trade: Check TradeStation's documentation for the actions it exposes.
- Brokerage: TradeStation accounts only.
- Auth and security: You authorize with TradeStation, so your login stays at the broker.
- Best for: Established TradeStation customers who meet the balance requirement and pay for Claude or ChatGPT.
- One honest limitation: Requires a $10,000 balance and a paid AI plan, and covers TradeStation accounts only.
CCXT / crypto-exchange MCP servers
A family of MCP servers built on the CCXT library (and exchange-specific ones) that connect crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance to an agent for balances, market data, and order placement.
- Read or trade: Read + trade (varies by exchange and key permissions).
- Brokerage: Crypto exchanges, not equity brokers.
- Auth and security: You provide exchange API keys with scopes you control (read-only or trade); keys live in your self-hosted config.
- Best for: Builders automating crypto trading or tracking across exchanges with one MCP interface.
- One honest limitation: Crypto exchanges only, not stock brokerages, and a misconfigured key scope can grant more access than intended.
Which MCP servers are market-data only?
These do not connect to a brokerage. They feed an assistant prices, fundamentals, and news so its analysis is grounded in real data rather than stale training data. They cannot read or act on your account. Many people pair one of these for research with a brokerage-execution server for the portfolio itself. Same field block as above.
Alpha Vantage MCP server
A market-data MCP server fronting the Alpha Vantage API. It gives an agent broad equity prices, fundamentals, technical indicators, forex, and crypto data so its analysis runs on real numbers instead of stale training data.
- Read or trade: Data only (no account, cannot trade).
- Brokerage: None (market data).
- Auth and security: A free or paid Alpha Vantage API key in your config; no brokerage access at all.
- Best for: Grounding an assistant's research in real prices and fundamentals without touching an account.
- One honest limitation: Pure data: it cannot see or act on any portfolio, and free-tier request limits are tight.
Polygon.io MCP server
A market-data MCP server for Polygon.io, which provides low-latency real-time and historical market data across stocks, options, forex, and crypto, aimed at data-intensive applications.
- Read or trade: Data only (no account, cannot trade).
- Brokerage: None (market data).
- Auth and security: A Polygon API key (paid tiers for real-time depth) in your config; no brokerage access.
- Best for: Low-latency, high-volume market data feeding an analytical agent.
- One honest limitation: Data only and the useful real-time tiers are a paid subscription.
Financial Modeling Prep MCP server
A market-data MCP server fronting Financial Modeling Prep, which leans toward fundamentals: financial statements, ratios, valuations, earnings, and company profiles alongside prices.
- Read or trade: Data only (no account, cannot trade).
- Brokerage: None (market data).
- Auth and security: An FMP API key in your config; no brokerage access.
- Best for: Fundamentals-heavy research (statements, ratios, valuation) for an agent.
- One honest limitation: Data only, and deeper fundamentals history sits behind paid tiers.
Finnhub MCP server
A market-data MCP server fronting the Finnhub API, which serves real-time quotes, company fundamentals, news, earnings, and alternative datasets so an agent reasons over live numbers instead of stale training data.
- Read or trade: Data only (no account, cannot trade).
- Brokerage: None (market data).
- Auth and security: A free or paid Finnhub API key in your config; no brokerage access at all.
- Best for: Real-time quotes, news, and fundamentals for an assistant, with a usable free tier.
- One honest limitation: Data only, and the higher-frequency and premium datasets sit behind paid tiers.
Yahoo Finance MCP servers (community)
Community MCP servers that wrap public Yahoo Finance endpoints for quotes, historical charts, and basic fundamentals, popular because they need no API key and are quick to stand up.
- Read or trade: Data only (no account, cannot trade).
- Brokerage: None (market data).
- Auth and security: Usually no key required; they read public, unofficial Yahoo endpoints.
- Best for: A free, zero-setup data feed for prototypes and personal projects.
- One honest limitation: Unofficial and unsupported: the public endpoints can change or rate-limit without notice, so it is not production-grade.
MCP brokerage connectors at a glance
| Connector | Read / trade | Brokerage | Auth model | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walnut connector | Read / trade | Many brokers through one connection. Trades with your approval at Public, and at E*Trade, tastytrade, Webull (US and Canada), moomoo, Questrade, Wealthsimple, Trading 212 and Stake (Australia); Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, Robinhood and Interactive Brokers connect read-only; Alpaca and TradeStation are not offered | Hosted, secure broker link, read-only default | People with money at more than one broker, or at a broker with no connector of its own (Schwab, Fidelity), who want one no-code connection from Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor |
| Alpaca MCP server (official) | Read / trade | Alpaca brokerage accounts only | Self-host, Alpaca API key | Developers building agent-driven, automated workflows who already use (or will open) an Alpaca account |
| Interactive Brokers (official connector) | Read / trade | Interactive Brokers accounts only | Official, broker login at IBKR | IBKR customers who want Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP client on their account while keeping order submission in their own hands |
| Robinhood Agentic Trading MCP (official) | Read / trade | Robinhood accounts only | Official, broker login at Robinhood | Robinhood customers who want an outside assistant that can act on their Robinhood account |
| Webull MCP and native connectors (official) | Read / trade | Webull accounts only | Official, broker login at Webull | Webull traders who want an assistant on their account with explicit limits |
| Public hosted MCP (official) | Read / trade | Public accounts only | Official and hosted, broker login at Public | Public customers who want Claude, ChatGPT or Perplexity on their account with no setup |
| tastytrade MCP server (official) | Read / trade | tastytrade accounts only | Official, self-host | Options traders on tastytrade comfortable running a small server |
| Moomoo hosted MCP (official) | Read / trade | Moomoo accounts only | Official and hosted, broker login at Moomoo | Moomoo customers who want an assistant on their account without hosting anything |
| Tradier (community MCP connectors) | Read / trade | Tradier brokerage accounts | Self-host, Tradier access token | Developers who want a simple REST broker with strong options support behind an agent |
| TradeStation MCP (official) | Read / trade | TradeStation accounts only | Official, $10k balance and paid AI plan | Established TradeStation customers who meet the balance requirement and pay for Claude or ChatGPT |
| CCXT / crypto-exchange MCP servers | Read / trade | Crypto exchanges, not equity brokers | Self-host, exchange API key | Builders automating crypto trading or tracking across exchanges with one MCP interface |
| Alpha Vantage MCP server | Data only | None (market data) | Self-host, data API key | Grounding an assistant's research in real prices and fundamentals without touching an account |
| Polygon.io MCP server | Data only | None (market data) | Self-host, data API key | Low-latency, high-volume market data feeding an analytical agent |
| Financial Modeling Prep MCP server | Data only | None (market data) | Self-host, data API key | Fundamentals-heavy research (statements, ratios, valuation) for an agent |
| Finnhub MCP server | Data only | None (market data) | Self-host, data API key | Real-time quotes, news, and fundamentals for an assistant, with a usable free tier |
| Yahoo Finance MCP servers (community) | Data only | None (market data) | Self-host, data API key | A free, zero-setup data feed for prototypes and personal projects |
Ranked by what you want to do
For an investor who wants an assistant on a real account, Walnut ranks first: it is the no-code option that spans several brokers and acts on them with your approval. Data-only research and building your own server are different jobs, so those groups are ranked separately, with the stronger fit first.
Best for reading and trading a real account
If you want an AI agent that can read your positions and place orders in a real brokerage, these connect to an actual account. The right one depends on which broker you hold and how much you want to build.
- Walnut connector. One connection across several brokers with no code: Claude or ChatGPT read your portfolio and score each holding against the S&P 500, and the Walnut app places the trades you approve at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull. The pick if your money is at more than one broker, or at Schwab or Fidelity.
- Robinhood Agentic Trading MCP (official). If all your money is at Robinhood, its official MCP trades equities, options and crypto on that account.
- Interactive Brokers (official connector). IBKR's official connector reads the account and drafts orders that you submit, across its broad global markets.
- Webull MCP and native connectors (official). Official Webull connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and Grok, with order caps and a read-only mode.
- Public hosted MCP (official). Public's hosted connector puts Claude, ChatGPT or Perplexity on a Public account with nothing to run.
Best for market data only (research, no account)
If you only want to ground an assistant's analysis in real prices and fundamentals, and never touch an account, these data MCPs are the answer.
- Polygon.io MCP server. Low-latency real-time and historical data across stocks, options, forex, and crypto for data-intensive agents.
- Alpha Vantage MCP server. Broad prices, fundamentals, and technical indicators with a free tier to start.
- Financial Modeling Prep MCP server. Fundamentals-first: statements, ratios, valuations, and earnings for company-level analysis.
Best for developers who want to build their own
If you write code and want full control over the tools your agent exposes, the open-source, self-hosted servers are the foundation.
- Alpaca MCP server (official). Official open-source server with paper trading, so you can iterate on agent behavior before risking real money.
- tastytrade MCP server (official). An official server you host yourself, for options traders who want control over where it runs.
- Tradier (community MCP connectors). A simple REST broker with strong options support, easy to wrap behind a custom MCP server.
- CCXT / crypto-exchange MCP servers. One MCP interface across many crypto exchanges via the CCXT library when your agent trades crypto, not equities.
How we evaluated these
We split the field into brokerage connectors (which touch a real account) and market-data servers (which do not), because comparing them on the same axis is misleading. Within the brokerage group we weighed broker coverage, whether the server can execute or only read, the auth and security model, paper-trading support, and setup effort. We treat read-only defaults and credential safety as table stakes, not bonus features: a connector that can trade but mishandles access is not better than a careful read-only one. For investors we rank Walnut first; data servers and self-hosted developer servers are ranked in their own groups. Facts here are qualitative and point-in-time, so verify current capabilities on each project's documentation.
Are brokerage MCP connectors safe?
They can be, if the access model is sound. The Model Context Protocol was designed by Anthropic for scoped, permissioned access, and a careful brokerage MCP leans on that. The safer setups share three traits. First, read access is the default and any trade is gated behind explicit approval. Second, the server never stores your broker password: it uses scoped API tokens (Alpaca, Tradier), the broker's own login (the official broker connectors), or a secure multi-broker link (Walnut). Third, you can scope what the agent may do, so a read-only key cannot place orders even if the model asks.
The risks worth naming: a broad or mis-scoped API key can grant more than you intend; a self-hosted server you do not secure becomes a new attack surface; and community wrappers vary in maintenance, so vet the code before pointing it at a live account. Paper trading first is the simplest guardrail. Walnut follows the safe pattern: your broker login and credentials stay at your broker, access is read-only unless you enable trading, and every order requires your confirmation.
Which MCP connector should you use?
The quickest way to narrow it down is to match the connector to what you actually want the agent to do.
- All your money is at one broker with its own connector. Use it: Robinhood, Webull, Public, Moomoo, tastytrade or TradeStation each cover their own accounts.
- You hold an Alpaca account and want full agent control. Alpaca's official open-source server is the deepest fit, with data, paper, and live trading you self-host.
- You hold Interactive Brokers and want to submit orders yourself. IBKR's official connector drafts orders into “AI Instructions” for you to submit.
- You want options trading behind an agent. Tradier's REST API and community MCP servers handle equity and options orders with a sandbox.
- Your money is at several brokers, or at Schwab or Fidelity. Walnut is one connection across them, read-only from Claude or ChatGPT, with trades placed in the Walnut app only when you approve them.
- You only want research, never account access. Pair a data MCP: Polygon for low-latency data, Alpha Vantage for breadth, Financial Modeling Prep for fundamentals.
- You trade crypto, not equities. A CCXT-based MCP server connects exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken behind one interface.
Where Walnut fits
To be upfront, since this is our site: Walnut is the AI investing app that connects to the broker you already have and places the trades you approve. Among brokerage MCP connectors it is the portfolio-aware, read-only-by-default option for investors, rather than a raw developer connector, and for that reader it is the first pick. Walnut is itself a portfolio-aware MCP connector: it lets Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, or Cursor read your real connected brokerage portfolio and build portfolios from it; trades are placed in the Walnut app, at the brokers that support it, and only when you approve them. You can use either Walnut's hosted connector or a small downloadable local MCP shim, whichever your AI client supports. A broker's own connector covers that one broker; Walnut is one connection across many, and it connects each securely, so your broker login stays at the broker; access is read-only by default; and every trade requires your approval. Because broker feeds rarely pass cost basis, Walnut frames returns as window returns rather than realized profit and loss, and says so. As a hosted MCP connector for Claude, ChatGPT, and Codex (and any MCP client), you connect it by adding its MCP server URL, https://walnutinvest.com/api/connector/mcp, as a custom connector, then signing in with a free Walnut account and approving read-only access; the connector never places trades. Full per-client setup lives on the Walnut MCP connector page.
If all your money is at one broker that has its own connector, that connector is a fine choice. If you are a developer who lives in Alpaca and wants full execution control, Alpaca's official server will fit better. For pure research, pair either approach with a data MCP like Alpha Vantage or Polygon. From a connected account you can ask an assistant about a specific stock, ETF, or theme against your real holdings. For the wider field, see how to connect your brokerage to an AI assistant and the roundup of the best finance MCP servers in 2026. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
The bottom line
Most finance MCP servers serve data; a growing group reads and acts on a real account. Seven brokers launched official connectors in 2026, each for its own accounts, and they differ on whether the AI places orders or drafts them for you (IBKR). Alpaca's official server is the strongest self-hosted option for Alpaca accounts. For an investor, Walnut is the one to start with: the no-code connector that links several brokers through one connection, works from Claude or ChatGPT, and pairs with the Walnut app, where the trades you approve are placed at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull. For research only, Alpha Vantage, Polygon, Financial Modeling Prep, and Yahoo Finance feed prices and fundamentals but cannot touch an account. Keep access read-only until you deliberately enable trading.
Get a recommendation for your situation
Walnut is the AI that knows your portfolio: ask anything in plain English, research any fund, and get an honest second opinion. On the broker you already use, read-only, and you approve every trade. Walnut is not a registered investment adviser.
FAQ
What is the best MCP connector for a brokerage?
For most investors it is Walnut, the no-code connector that links several brokers at once, works from Claude or ChatGPT, and pairs with the Walnut app, where the trades you approve are placed at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull. If you hold one account at a broker with its own official connector (Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo, TradeStation), that connector is the other strong option, though it covers that one broker only. For one Alpaca account with full agent control, Alpaca's official open-source MCP server (alpaca-mcp-server) is the deepest. Market-data MCPs like Alpha Vantage and Polygon cannot touch an account at all.
What is an MCP connector for a brokerage?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard, introduced by Anthropic in late 2024, for connecting AI assistants to external data and tools. An MCP connector for a brokerage is a server that exposes your account to an assistant like Claude or ChatGPT as MCP tools, so it can read positions and, with the right server, place trades.
Which MCP servers can actually trade a real brokerage account?
Brokerage-execution MCP servers can. Robinhood's, Webull's and Public's official connectors trade their own accounts, Alpaca's official server reads and trades Alpaca accounts (with paper trading), and community connectors cover Tradier. Interactive Brokers' official connector stops at a draft: the AI prepares the order and you submit it. Walnut connects several brokers through one link; its connector reads, and the trades you approve are placed in the Walnut app at Public, plus eight other brokers including E*Trade and Webull. Market-data MCPs like Alpha Vantage and Polygon cannot touch an account at all.
Is there an official MCP server for a brokerage?
Yes, several, all launched in 2026: Interactive Brokers, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo and TradeStation each run a first-party connector, and Alpaca publishes an official open-source MCP server. Public and Moomoo host theirs; tastytrade's is self-hosted. Each covers only that broker's accounts. Tradier still relies on community-built wrappers. Walnut is a hosted connector that covers many brokers instead of one.
What is the difference between a brokerage MCP and a market-data MCP?
A brokerage MCP (Walnut, the official broker connectors, Alpaca, Tradier) connects to your actual account so an assistant can read holdings and possibly trade. A market-data MCP (Alpha Vantage, Polygon, Finnhub, Financial Modeling Prep, Yahoo Finance) only serves prices, fundamentals, and news, with no account access. Many setups pair a data MCP for research with a brokerage MCP for the portfolio.
Can Claude or ChatGPT trade my brokerage through MCP?
Yes, if you connect a brokerage-execution MCP server and grant trade access. Claude (via MCP) or ChatGPT can then place orders the model proposes. The safer pattern keeps access read-only by default and requires your explicit approval before any order. Walnut keeps the two apart: its connector for Claude and ChatGPT reads and has no trade tool, and every trade is confirmed by you in the Walnut app.
Do I need to run an MCP server myself?
It depends on the connector. Alpaca's, tastytrade's and the community servers (Tradier, Alpha Vantage, Polygon) are self-hosted, which needs technical comfort. Public's and Moomoo's official connectors are hosted by the broker, and Walnut is hosted too, so there is no server to run; you connect your brokers in the app and use the connector from Claude or ChatGPT.
Are brokerage MCP connectors safe?
The safer ones default to read-only access, never store your broker password, and scope what the agent can do through API tokens or a regulated aggregator. Before connecting, confirm whether the server can place trades and what approval controls exist. Walnut is read-only by default, keeps your broker login and credentials at your broker, and requires approval for every order.
Which MCP server connects Schwab or Fidelity to an AI assistant?
Neither Schwab nor Fidelity has a first-party connector for Claude or ChatGPT that we know of. Schwab customers do get Charley, Schwab's own AI assistant inside Schwab.com and Schwab Mobile, rolling out from October 2026. To read either account from Claude or ChatGPT, the practical route is a multi-broker connector. Walnut reaches both, so a Schwab or Fidelity account can be read from Claude or ChatGPT; both are read-only through Walnut. Plaid is a regulated aggregator used for read-only account linking. Single-broker servers like Alpaca or Tradier do not touch Schwab or Fidelity at all.
Is there an MCP connector for TradeStation or Interactive Brokers?
Yes, both now have official ones. TradeStation launched an official MCP in January 2026; it needs a $10,000 account balance and a paid Claude or ChatGPT plan. Interactive Brokers had certified Claude and ChatGPT connectors by June 8, 2026 and opened them to any MCP client on July 28, 2026; its AI drafts orders into an "AI Instructions" area and you submit them. Each covers its own broker only. Through Walnut, IBKR is read-only and TradeStation is not offered.
Which MCP connector works with the most brokers?
Walnut, because it is one secure connection across many brokerages rather than a single broker's server. Every broker's own connector (IBKR, Robinhood, Webull, Public, tastytrade, Moomoo, TradeStation, Alpaca) is single-broker by design. If all your money is at one of those brokers, its own connector is a fine choice; if it is spread across several, one connector over all of them is the simpler setup.
Can an MCP connector trade Robinhood?
Yes, Robinhood's own. Its official Agentic Trading MCP, launched May 27, 2026, trades equities, options and crypto on a Robinhood account, and in-app Robinhood Agents followed on September 30, 2026. Walnut's connector has no trade tool, and Walnut connects Robinhood read-only: it shows your Robinhood holdings next to your other brokers and analyzes them, while trades stay in the Robinhood app.
What is the best MCP connector for paper trading?
Alpaca's official MCP server is the strongest for paper trading: it exposes a full sandbox so an agent can place simulated orders before touching real money. Tradier also offers a sandbox through community connectors. Paper trading is the safest way to test agent behavior before granting live trade access.
Can an MCP connector trade crypto instead of stocks?
Yes. CCXT-based and exchange-specific MCP servers connect crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance for balances, market data, and orders. These are separate from equity brokerage connectors. Scope your exchange API keys carefully (read-only versus trade) because a broad key grants more access than you may intend.
Which MCP connector should a non-developer use for a brokerage?
A hosted, no-code connector. Self-hosted servers like Alpaca's or tastytrade's require running and securing a server. If your money is at one broker with a hosted connector (Public, Moomoo), that is a no-code path for that broker. Walnut is the no-code path across several: you securely connect your brokers and use them from Claude or ChatGPT with nothing to host, read-only by default and with trades you approve.
Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. MCP servers, broker support, auth models, and pricing change quickly; verify current capabilities on each project's documentation before connecting an account. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to use any particular product.
Start here instead
This page covers one slice of the subject. For the full comparison, read MCP Connectors for Brokerages, Compared, which is the main side-by-side comparison of MCP connectors for brokerages and the best place to start if you are still deciding.
ETFs and stocks in this guide
Stocks: IBKR