The short answer

An execution-only service carries out the buy and sell orders you place, but it does not tell you what, when or how much to trade; investment advice means a person or automated service reviews your goals and circumstances and recommends specific actions before you trade. The difference matters to anyone opening a brokerage account, because it decides who is responsible for each decision: under execution-only, that responsibility sits with you.

What each term means

An execution-only service is a dealing arrangement in which you select the product, quantity and timing, and the platform simply processes the instruction. According to the Investor and Financial Education Council (投資者及理財教育委員會, IFEC), execution-only service does not provide investment advice (information retrieved on 9 October 2026).

Investment advice is an assessment of your objectives, financial situation and risk tolerance that leads to a personal recommendation. Robo-advice is a form of advice generated by algorithms using the client information you provide; IFEC notes that automation does not guarantee suitability or returns.

IFEC also notes that online platforms may offer several services, such as product distribution (offering investment products to clients), margin financing (lending you money to trade) and research tools (market data and analysis features), and that the actual services on offer depend on the individual platform. The parenthetical definitions above are this article's explanations. One platform's menu does not define what another offers, so check each platform's own documents.

Worked example: the same trade, execution-only

All figures below are illustrative round numbers, not any real platform's terms.

Assumptions:

  • You set aside HK$10,000 in available cash.
  • On your own decision, you buy 200 units of an exchange-traded fund (a fund that trades on an exchange like a single share) at HK$40 per unit.
  • Commission is 0.1% of trade value with a HK$50 minimum per order; the fee base is the trade value.

Steps:

  1. Order value: 200 x HK$40 = HK$8,000.
  2. Commission: 0.1% x HK$8,000 = HK$8; the HK$50 minimum applies, so HK$50 is charged.
  3. Total cash needed: HK$8,000 + HK$50 = HK$8,050. You reserved HK$10,000, so HK$1,950 remains, enough to cover the fee.
  4. Timing assumption: the order is placed and filled on Monday; money and units are assumed to settle two trading days later, on Wednesday. Confirm your platform's stated settlement cycle, because that is when your cash actually moves.
  5. Exclusions: trading levies, custody, transfer and currency-conversion charges are excluded from this arithmetic; real trades may attract additional charges, so confirm the fee schedule before trading.

Six months later, again on your own decision, you sell all 200 units at HK$42:

  • Gross proceeds: 200 x HK$42 = HK$8,400.
  • Commission: 0.1% x HK$8,400 = HK$8.40; the minimum applies again, so HK$50.
  • Net proceeds: HK$8,400 - HK$50 = HK$8,350, assumed received two trading days after the sale.
  • Overall result in this illustration: HK$8,350 - HK$8,050 = HK$300 before excluded charges.

At no point did the platform assess whether the fund suited your goals; it executed instructions only. For a service offering advice, check what assessments and recommendations its official documents describe. If the price had fallen instead, the same steps would produce a loss; neither execution nor advice removes market risk.

Common mistakes and the correct reading

  1. "A low-fee account must be execution-only." Fees describe price, not service type. The same platform can offer execution, product distribution, robo-advice, margin financing and research tools side by side; read the service agreement you signed.
  1. "The platform's research tools count as advice." Market news, screeners and commentary are general information for everyone. Execution-only does not provide investment advice, so none of it is a personal recommendation about your situation.
  1. "Robo-advice is automated, so it must suit me." IFEC's point cuts the other way: robo-advice uses client information and algorithms, and automation does not guarantee suitability or returns.
  1. "The platform will stop me from an unsuitable trade." Execution-only does not provide investment advice. Do not assume this describes every required platform check; ask what assessments apply.

Checklist before your next step

  • Open the platform's official documents and list which services it offers: execution, product distribution, robo-advice, margin financing, research tools. The mix varies by platform (IFEC, retrieved 9 October 2026).
  • Decide who makes the decisions: you, under execution-only, or a service that assesses and recommends.
  • For any trade, apply the stated fee base, note any minimum, and reserve enough cash for fees and possible excluded charges.
  • Confirm settlement timing, so you know when payment is actually made or received.
  • Shortlist platforms with Jolvex's brokerage listing, which offers lists, filtering and sorting.

Note: this article is AI-generated. It is general education, not investment advice, and does not describe any specific product's current terms; verify terms in providers' official documents.