Fidelity Investments: A Force To Be Reckoned With?

Fidelity Investments is a financial powerhouse with a comprehensive suite of tools, research and investment assets. The company serves roughly 50 million individuals, 28,000 businesses, and 16,000 wealth management firms. It offers a wide range of investment options, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and cryptocurrencies. With $0 trading commissions and a variety of no-transaction-fee mutual funds, it is a good choice for both beginner and advanced investors.

Fidelity stands out for its extensive research capabilities, providing access to in-depth reports from over 20 independent research firms. The company also offers a wide range of account types, including individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts, tax-advantaged retirement accounts, solo 401(k)s, and 529 accounts for college savings.

The company has also developed a strong reputation for its customer service, with short wait times, responsive representatives, and helpful tools and resources.

Overall, Fidelity is a well-rounded and accessible investment platform that caters to a diverse range of investors, from beginners to sophisticated day traders.

Fidelity's investment selection

Fidelity's investors can trade stocks in both domestic and international markets, and buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin through a separate crypto account. The company also allows traders to purchase fractional shares, allowing investors to diversify into higher-cost stocks by buying a slice of a share.

Fidelity also offers a substantial selection of bonds, including FDIC-insured CDs and bond funds, and over 100,000 individual bonds, including corporate, municipal, and government bonds.

The company was the first broker to bring to market index funds with absolutely no expense ratio, including the Fidelity Zero Total Market Index Fund, the Fidelity Zero International Index Fund, the Fidelity Zero Large Cap Index Fund, and the Fidelity Zero Extended Market Index Fund.

Fidelity offers more than 3,300 mutual funds with no transaction fee and nearly 950 funds with expense ratios of 0.50% or less.

In addition, investors can buy gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from Fidelity to help diversify their portfolios.

Fidelity's fees and pricing

Fidelity Investments offers a range of pricing options for its investment services, with some fees and others waived. Here is a breakdown of their fees and pricing:

Commission Fees

Fidelity offers $0 commission on online US stock, ETF, and option trades. However, there is an additional fee of $0.65 per contract on options. There is also an Options Regulatory Fee that is applied to both option buy and sell transactions, and this fee is subject to change.

Account Fees

Fidelity has eliminated most account fees. There are no annual, inactivity, or outgoing transfer fees. There are also no fees for opening an account, and no minimum balance is required.

Mutual Funds

Fidelity offers a wide range of mutual funds with no transaction fees. They also offer hundreds of other funds with low transaction fees. For No Transaction Fee (NTF) non-Fidelity funds, there is no fee for purchasing, but there is a $49.95 fee for redemption if held for less than 60 days. For Transaction Fee non-Fidelity funds, there is a $49.95 fee per purchase, but no fee for redemption.

Margin Rates

Fidelity's margin rates are among the most competitive in the industry, with a base rate of 11.325% as of December 20, 2024. The rate decreases as the outstanding margin balance increases, with an 8.25% rate available for debit balances over $1,000,000.

Other Fees

Fidelity charges a $100 transaction-based service fee for a limited number of ETFs. There is also a range of other miscellaneous fees for services such as electronic statements, early IRA withdrawals, cash management services, overnight check delivery, foreign exchange wires, and more.

Advisory Fees

Fidelity offers digital managed accounts with gross advisory fees ranging from 0% to 0.35% per year, depending on the account balance. They also offer dedicated advisor services through Fidelity Wealth Management and Fidelity Private Wealth Management, with gross advisory fees ranging from 0.2% to 1.5% per year.

Pricing for Other Services

Fidelity also offers other investment services such as trading in bonds, cryptocurrencies, and more. The pricing for these services varies and is available on the Fidelity website.

Overall, Fidelity offers competitive pricing and has eliminated many common fees associated with investment services. Their commission-free trades and low-cost mutual funds make them an attractive option for investors.

Fidelity's trading platforms and tools

Fidelity offers a range of trading platforms and tools for investors of all experience levels. The company provides two trading platforms, Fidelity.com and Active Trader Pro, which are both free for all customers. The former provides award-winning research, in-depth analytics, and idea generation tools, while the latter is a downloadable desktop platform with intuitive shortcuts, a pre-built market, technical and options filters, advanced options tools, and a multi-trade ticket that can store orders.

Fidelity's online trading experience is suitable for advanced traders and beginners, offering an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. The company's execution quality on trades is 98.87%, placing it in the top tier of providers. Clients can also trade certain investments outside of traditional market hours, with pre-market orders starting at 7 a.m. and after-market orders accepted until 8 p.m.

Fidelity's highly-rated mobile app includes real-time quotes, multi-leg options trading, a consolidated version of the company's research offerings, and a notebook to save ideas and articles from a mobile browser. The app also includes a customizable newsfeed and the ability to schedule appointments with a Fidelity advisor.

Fidelity's trading platforms provide access to a wide range of investment options, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, forex, and cryptocurrencies. The company also allows traders to purchase fractional shares, enabling investors to diversify into higher-cost stocks by buying a slice of a share.

In addition to its trading platforms, Fidelity offers a suite of tools to support investors, including stock, ETF, mutual fund, and options screeners, as well as a fixed-income screener for bonds, CDs, mutual funds, and ETFs. The company also provides portfolio analysis and planning tools, such as the Fidelity Free Financial Plan, which enables investors to link external accounts and create a comprehensive financial plan.

Fidelity's research and educational resources

Fidelity's stock screener is comprehensive, with pre-made screens for popular, growth, growth/value, value, technical, and income strategies. The screener also allows for self-directed screening, with 26 criteria to choose from. The ETF screener includes 86 criteria, spanning type, expense ratio, investment philosophy, objectives, trading characteristics, performance, fundamentals, technicals, and more. The mutual fund screener includes pre-set screens for asset class and category, key criteria, and in-depth screening with 32 additional criteria. The option screener, powered by LiveVol, includes more than 25 pre-defined filters and nearly 200 individual criteria.

Fidelity also offers fixed-income screeners, basic charts, and advanced charting capabilities through Active Trader Pro, with extensive customisation and charting capabilities, including display options, drawing tools, and scores of indicators. The platform also includes tools to capture profitable trading ideas for options, day, and other types of traders.

Fidelity provides a large, free third-party research library of stock reports for clients. After looking up a stock ticker, users can access a detailed quote page with a chart, dividends and earnings, sentiment, analyst rating, comparisons, and statistics. The analyst research selection delivers an average rating and roughly eight research reports from well-known providers.

Fidelity's educational resources include a range of articles, videos, and webinars, covering topics such as how to start investing, choosing between a Roth or traditional 401(k) or IRA, and rollover options for an old 401(k). The company also offers resources for young and first-time investors.

Fidelity's customer service and security

Fidelity's customer service is highly rated, with 24/7 support available by phone, email, and chat. In-person support is also available at over 200 physical branches. The company also has a strong social media presence, with customer service offered via Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Discord.

Fidelity's customer service is particularly strong for beginner investors, with a comprehensive educational library of articles, videos, and webinars. The company also offers a Virtual Assistant, which is an automated natural language search engine to help users find information on the Fidelity website.

Fidelity also provides specialized support for various types of accounts, such as 401(k)s, health savings accounts, and college planning.

In terms of security, Fidelity employs a range of measures to protect customer data and accounts. These include strong encryption, firewalls, secure email, and proactive 24/7 system surveillance. The company also offers multi-factor authentication, security text alerts, and voice biometrics for added protection.

Fidelity has a dedicated team of cybersecurity professionals and has achieved multiple industry certifications for its cybersecurity program. The company continuously monitors the environment to guard against the latest threats and meet changing customer needs.

Fidelity also provides customers with guidance on protecting their personal information and accounts, such as using strong and unique passwords and being vigilant against suspicious emails and websites.

The company stands by its security measures with the Fidelity Customer Protection Guarantee, which promises reimbursement for any financial losses resulting from unauthorized account activity.

Frequently asked questions