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Who Should Choose Fidelity?
Fidelity is a great choice for beginner investors who are just getting started to sophisticated day traders. Fundamental and technical traders who need comprehensive research capabilities for stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and fixed income will find everything they need on this platform.
Unique features place Fidelity Investments in the company of the very best online brokers. Fidelity’s screeners, third-party research resources and portfolio analysis tools are deep while the downloadable Active Trader Pro has the tools stock and options traders need. The quantifiable price savings on order execution make Fidelity a great choice for frequent traders.
An expansive array of managed portfolios, with accompanying coaching and financial advisor guidance, is ideal for investors seeking both do-it-yourself tools and advisor-led guidance.
The few strikes against Fidelity include a portfolio analysis feature that misses the in-depth view needed for a truly accurate analysis. For instance, a sample portfolio, heavily weighted toward international stock funds and real estate, was deemed a diversified portfolio, despite the lack of diversified U.S. equity exposure. Additionally, the platform is due for an aesthetic update as it appears a bit dated.
Fidelity Commission and Fees
Fidelity’s zero-commission trading of stocks and ETFs is in line with the industry standard, but this brokerage platform stands out by offering zero-commission trading for over-the-counter (OTC) stocks as well. Options trade for free, with a $0.65 per contract charge.
When it comes to mutual funds, Fidelity competes head-to-head with low-fee pioneer Vanguard. The company offers four zero expense ratio, zero minimum investment index funds. It also offers a slate of mutual funds, including all Fidelity mutual funds, that trade fee-free with zero minimums so long as you own the funds for at least 60 days.
One thing to watch out for, however: Many non-Fidelity mutual funds are subject to commissions. The $49.95 commission at purchase is a big bite, although redemptions are free.
Bond investors will appreciate the zero fee for new bond issue purchases while secondary issues cost one dollar. Broker-assisted and treasury trades cost a reasonable $19.95 per transaction.
Fidelity’s average margin rate falls in the middle of the pack at 6.94%. Interactive Brokers 2.6% average margin rate is the lowest. Fidelity margin borrowers will pay 8.33% to borrow less than $25,000. In contrast, borrowers pay only 4.00% for loans of $1 million or more.
Fee-conscious investors will appreciate the lack of fees for many services, such as:
- Outgoing wires
- Full account transfers out
- Paper statements
- Paper confirmations
Other fees are among the lowest of those in our survey.
Fidelity does not receive payment from market makers for order flow of stock and ETF transactions. This is rare among stock brokers. Fidelity claims that its pricing is the most transparent among competitors and that investors save $18.64 on average for a 1,000-share equity order, in contrast with the industry average of $4.70.
Fidelity Platform and Technology
Account Types
Fidelity has among the widest range of account types in our survey of brokerages for individuals, families, businesses and managed accounts.
Beyond the typical joint and individual taxable brokerage accounts and tax-advantaged retirement accounts, the company offers every type of account an individual or business could need. Some of the more unique account types include Solo 401(k)s for the self-employed and small businesses and 529 accounts for college savings.
The array of account types fall into these categories:
- Taxable investing
- Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
- Business accounts
- Saving and investing for a child
- Saving for medical expenses
- Estate planning
- Trusts
- Charitable giving
- Managed accounts
- Annuities and life insurance
Desktop Platform
Fidelity’s standard desktop platform offers a full range of analysis capabilities and tools needed to screen and research investments. The portfolio analysis tools break down holdings by stock and fixed income, investment ratings, style and sector.
There are multiple portfolio analysis screens, including performance, dividends, asset allocation and fund rankings. Users can link external accounts for a 360-degree portfolio view and analysis.
The platform’s research offerings are among the best in the online brokerage space and include extensive third-party research and access to fixed income specialists.
Fidelity Account Trader Pro
The Fidelity trading platform and tools rank among the top three of our surveyed brokers. This downloadable trading platform is a complete solution for new-to-experienced traders and investors, scoring near-perfect marks for the most important features.
Active traders will benefit from level II quotes, heat mapping, a trade journal and more than 45 market filters. Users can customize their trading experience, and the Active Trader Pro goes head-to-head with top platforms like TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim and Schwab’s StreetSmart Edge.
Advanced and customizable features include:
- Alerts
- Portfolio builder
- Trade journal
- Heat mapping
- AI assistant
- Watch lists
- Level II quotes
- Screeners
- Extended hours trading
- Multi-leg options trading
The platform is easy to use and has most of the features traders need including real-time analytics and trading ideas. The platform lacks a short locator and paper trading, but that’s about the only weakness.
Charting
The platform’s charting capabilities rival the best and are suitable for day, active and technical traders. Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro platform shines with its advanced technical analysis capabilities, drawing tools and tabbed charting, all available for no additional fee.
Customizable chart features include:
- 114 chart indicators
- Ability to trade from chart
- Drawing tools
- Historical trades
- Ability to save chart settings as template
Order Types
Fidelity received a perfect score on our survey for order types. Beginner-to-experienced investors can access most order types including conditional and durational orders. Multi-leg options orders are also available. Note that some conditional orders are not available on the mobile app.
Available order types include:
- Market, limit, day
- Trailing stop
- Good til cancelled (GTC)
- One cancels the other (OTO)
- Limit on open/close
- Market on open/close
- Short selling
Fidelity is known for superior order execution, and price improvement saved clients more than $1.6 billion on trades in 2020. The company claims to be the only firm that voluntarily reports full price improvement savings with the Financial Information Forum (FIF) standards. If you’re a frequent trader, then this is an important money-saving feature.
Fidelity Managed Portfolios
Fidelity managed portfolio options are expansive. There are various tiers of managed accounts from basic and hybrid robo-advisors to fully managed portfolios at a variety of service and price points. Watch out for fees, however, as some surpass those of competitors.
Fidelity’s robo-advisor digital and hybrid managers are the Fidelity Go and Fidelity Personalized Planning and Advice. The basic Fidelity Go platform provides a diversified investment portfolio and automatic rebalancing. It requires no minimum investment amount and offers fee-free investment management for accounts worth less than $10,000. The investment management fee is $3 per month for accounts with balances between $10,000 and $49,999. This switches to a percentage-based fee model of 0.35% of assets under management (AUM) annually for accounts worth $50,000 or more.
Fidelity Personalized Planning and Advice combines Fidelity Go with live financial advisors for a more customized experience. The minimum investment amount is $25,000, and the fee is 0.50% AUM per year.
Fidelity’s additional wealth management solutions provide various levels of service, strategies, pricing and customization:
- Portfolio Advisory Services has a $50,000 minimum and provides access to a dedicated team of financial advisors for a 1.10% AUM annual fee
- Wealth Management requires a $250,000 minimum and offers a dedicated financial advisor. Fees range between 0.50% and 1.5% AUM annually, and services cover in-depth strategies, estate planning, insurance and more.
Fidelity Mobile App
The Fidelity mobile app is highly rated on Google Play and the iOS store and has all the features investors might need. Users get most of the basics from the online platform, including portfolio monitoring, banking, and research.
A new beta trading experience in the app enables trading, research and portfolio monitoring from the home dashboard. For now, however, it’s only available for iOS users.
Other app feature available to all users include:
- Customized news feed and alerts
- Planning for retirement and goals
- Live TV, news, webinars, podcasts
- Screeners
- Social sentiment
- Trade and transact
- Money management and bill pay
One drawback of the app is that for some research, it transfers you to the online platform.
Fidelity Range of Offerings
Fidelity offers a wide range of securities suitable for most investors, from stocks, options and fixed income to among the best selection of mutual funds. International trading is a differentiator for Fidelity; the firm provides access to 25 global markets.
Fidelity, along with Charles Schwab, is also one of the first major brokers to offer fractional share trading. The only assets lacking at Fidelity are futures and cryptocurrency.
| Offering | Available? |
|---|---|
| Stocks | Yes |
| ETFs | Yes |
| Mutual Funds | Yes |
| Bonds | Yes |
| Options | Yes |
| Futures | No |
| Forex | Yes |
| International Markets | Yes |
| Penny Stocks | Yes |
| Advisory Services | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency | No |
| Fractional Shares | Yes |
| Cash Management Services | Yes |
Fidelity Research and Education
The research offerings at Fidelity outshine those at the majority of online brokerage platforms. What’s more, the research vertical has been recently updated to improve upon its already-stellar experience.
Research is categorized according to asset class with a wealth of tools, screeners, lists and reports for stock, ETF, options, IPO and fixed income investors. Investors will appreciate the quality third-party research reports and scorecards from major financial firms like Compustat, Zacks, Argus and Reuters.
Each asset class gets unique screeners and lists to help you choose the best financial assets for your portfolio. For example, ETF investors will find screening by fund family, performance, volume and comparisons. Options investors, meanwhile, can quickly access statistics, IV index, quotes and charts, probability calculator, and profit and loss calculator.
Stock investors have innumerable tools for fundamental and technical research. The lists include sector, market cap, dividend yield, market movers and more. Investors can view premade screens or create their own based on 140 criteria. Summary cards highlight top information. Economic, social and governance (ESG) scores along with intra-day social sentiment scores are available.
With Fidelity’s wide variety of online articles, courses, podcasts, videos, coaching and webinars (as well as in-person events), investors of all levels will find educational resources to match their skill and interest levels.
Fidelity Customer Service and Security
We ran extensive customer service tests considering accuracy of responses and wait times for phone, email and text customer service. Overall, Fidelity’s service is good, featuring short wait times to access a human by phone. Our phone calls to the company were answered promptly, generally within two to three minutes.
All emails were answered within one to two days, with several within a few hours. Text chat is serviced by a chatbot 24/7 with limited hours for human text responses. Each email question received a correct answer.
Fidelity’s security and insurance backing received a near-perfect score on our tests. The company stands out with voice recognition for customer service. Other industry standard security features include:
- Firewalls
- 128-bit encryption
- Two-factor authentication
Account insurance is more than adequate for most investors. Fidelity includes the standard $500,000 of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) coverage. It automatically offers $1 billion in supplemental insurance for each customer as an additional cushion against company failure or bankruptcy. Cash assets receive up to $1.9 million in additional coverage.
About Fidelity
The Fidelity Research and Management Company was founded in 1946 by Edward C. Johnson II, a Boston lawyer who originally purchased The Fidelity Fund in 1930. The privately owned company is now managed by granddaughter Abigail C. Johnson, CEO and chairman. The company has 38 million clients and employs more than 52,000 associates across the globe.
