Fidelity review: rating, brokerage fees and commissions, pros and cons, minimum requirements for opening a new investment account or an IRA.

Fidelity Rating: 

• Stocks & ETFs: $0
• Options: $0.65 per contract
• Mutual Funds: $49.95
• Minimum to open: $0
• Promotions: Open an account with Fidelity Investments.

Overview of Fidelity Investments

One of the major powerhouses in the brokerage industry is Fidelity Investments. Let’s see how it stacks up in some important categories.

Investment Offerings

Fidelity clients can open brokerage (self-directed) and managed (investment-advisory) accounts. The second group includes both robo (lower-cost) and traditional (full-service) programs. The automated service invests in a select group of Fidelity Flex mutual funds that carry zero expense ratios.

Self-directed customers receive a solid menu of investment products to trade. This lineup includes the following assets:

Fixed income
Stocks (including OTC and foreign issues)
Options
Funds (mutual, closed-end, and exchange-traded)
Cryptocurrencies (currently including bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, solana, and Fidelity Digital Dollar℠ through Fidelity Crypto®)





Securities held inside an account at Fidelity are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). For larger accounts, Fidelity also maintains excess coverage through Lloyd’s of London that can apply if SIPC protection is ever triggered and exhausted.

An investment account with Fidelity can be opened under one of several tax structures. The company offers taxable and tax-advantaged accounts, including:

• 529 plans
• Individual Retirement Accounts
• Solo 401k plans
• Business accounts
• Youth accounts
• Custodial accounts
• Trust accounts
• Charitable accounts
• Estate accounts

Life insurance and annuities can also be obtained through Fidelity.

Cash Management

In addition to the investment services listed above, Fidelity also provides an extensive cash-management setup. There are two programs here. One is the Cash Management Account (CMA), while the other is the Bloom service. The Bloom program has its own app and includes two accounts: Save and Spend. Bloom also comes with features aimed at everyday saving and spending, such as rewards, round ups, and a savings match from Fidelity.

Like the Bloom accounts, the CMA is technically a brokerage account that comes with a debit card and SIPC protection. Unlike the Bloom service, the CMA also includes checkwriting, and its debit card offers automatic ATM-fee reimbursement.

Fidelity’s CMA, but not the Bloom accounts, can use the company’s FDIC-sweep program, which provides up to $4 million in government protection, far above the usual amount.

Fee Schedule

Even with Fidelity’s broad menu of financial services, the company charges very little for them. Trades of U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs inside self-directed accounts are $0 when placed online. Trades of foreign stocks do carry commissions, and these vary by country.

Options are 65 cents per contract. Treasury securities are commission-free, while other bonds are $1 each. Self-directed accounts themselves have no account minimums and no recurring fees of any kind.

Managed accounts are a different story. Fidelity Go, the company’s robo service, charges 0.35%, although the first $25k is managed for free. There is no minimum to open the account, although at least $10 is needed before Fidelity will begin investing. Other managed programs do have minimums. These can start as low as $5k for Managed FidFolios and $50k for Fidelity Wealth Services, while some separately managed-account strategies require much more. Fees vary by program and service level.

Margin Service

A brokerage account at Fidelity can be set up as either a cash or margin account. Unfortunately, the broker’s software doesn’t display margin details for individual securities. However, stock profiles on the Fidelity website do show details on short interest, such as the percentage of shares held short and the days to cover.

Here is the cost of using borrowed money to enter long positions:

Customer Service

To support its very strong overall performance, Fidelity has hundreds of brick-and-mortar offices spread across the United States. These physical locations can help both self-directed and advisory clients.

The drawback of these branches is their schedule. They are generally open only on weekdays. To offset that limitation, Fidelity provides phone support around the clock. We have consistently received good service through this channel.

Then there is the broker’s website. This platform creates yet another way to get questions answered and find help. A good place to start is the virtual assistant (chat bot), which also appears on the mobile app. The chat icon can be reached from both the website and the app.

A customer-service link appears on the website, and there are many other self-help resources across the platform. Some of these are located under the Accounts & Trade menu. There are lots of available tools. It’s possible to turn on a money-transfer lockdown, set up security text alerts, send a bank wire, update beneficiaries, and more.

Website Trading

Fidelity’s website is one hub that can be used to research possible investments and place orders for them. The News & Research tab at the top of the site is where several screening tools can be found. Every asset profile has a chart tab where a graph can be expanded to full screen. There are many tools here, including indicators and company events.





The order ticket on Fidelity’s site has account switching (look for the drop-down menu at the top of the ticket), multiple trade types, and several duration choices. For margin-enabled accounts, there is a drop-down menu at the bottom of the ticket to switch between cash and margin.

Mobile App

Fidelity’s digital capabilities continue on its mobile platform. The software has some really strong features, including a tab for market news, a watchlist that syncs with the website (and another that is stored only on the device), educational resources (including articles, podcasts, and webinars), bill pay, and mobile check deposit. Bloomberg TV streams in high definition free of charge.





Then there is actual investing. Graphs can be rotated horizontally, and we found a small lineup of technical studies. Examples include SMA and Bollinger Bands. There are five plot styles.

Option chains offer standard calls and puts plus several integrated spreads, like iron condors and butterflies. Tap on a bid or ask price to bring up the order form. The number of contracts must be entered at this point. The trade ticket has the same features the website order form has.

Fidelity’s mobile app now gives users a choice between Standard and Classic navigation rather than the older Beta/classic setup. To switch layouts, open the app settings and choose the navigation style you want.

Find a Financial Advisor

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Visit Wiser Advisor

Active Trader Pro

Investors at Fidelity who don’t find what they’re looking for on either the mobile app or the website can use Active Trader Pro. This is Fidelity’s very capable desktop software. During our test drive of the platform, we found it powerful but still easy to use. We especially liked the following features:

- Conditional trade ticket that can submit multiple orders simultaneously
- Full-screen charting with many tools
- News articles that are searchable
- Advanced option tools
- Custom layouts
- Time & sales data
- Direct-access routing with several choices





ATP offers a lot of customization. Through the settings menu (accessible in the upper-right corner), it’s possible to choose one of three color themes: white, black, or blue. Many other features can be modified through this menu.

Extra Services

DRIP: Auto dividend reinvesting can be turned on or off for individual securities or an entire self-directed account.

Fully-Paid Stock Lending: Fidelity has a stock-lending program that allows its customers to earn income by loaning out security shares. However, the brokerage firm does require $25k in each eligible account to enroll.

IPO Access: Fidelity self-directed accounts can get in on upcoming equity launches. The IPO hub is under the News & Research tab on the website.

Fractional-share Trading: Available for U.S. stocks and ETFs. Mutual funds can also be bought in fractional amounts, but Fidelity’s fractional-share program itself is focused on stocks and ETFs.

IRA Service: Fidelity has many Individual Retirement Accounts. Besides Traditional and Roth, there are Inherited, SEP, SIMPLE, and Minor accounts.

Extended Hours: Pre-market trading in eligible US-listed stocks and ETFs begins at 7:00 am, EST. After-hour trading closes at 8:00 pm. Crypto trading is available nearly around the clock, and foreign stocks can be traded whenever local markets are open.

Automatic Mutual Fund Purchases: It’s possible to enroll in systematic mutual fund purchases for one or more mutual funds (funds with front-end sales charges are ineligible). The frequency can be monthly, quarterly, or a custom schedule.

Recommendations

Retirement Planning & Long-Term Investing: Fidelity has tons of resources for long-term retirement planning. Annuities, investment advice, target-date mutual funds, life insurance, and bond ladders are just the beginning. But Robinhood, not Fidelity, now offers 1% free IRA match.

Frequent Equity Trading: With Active Trader Pro, fractional-share trading, and global exchanges, Fidelity is hard to beat.

Beginning Investors: We suggest an investment-advisory account at Fidelity in either automated or full-service mode.

Mutual Fund Investing: Fidelity has over 9,000 mutual funds with a good screener and Fund Picks from Fidelity®, which are funds pre-screened by Fidelity’s investment advisors. Firstrade, however, offers 11,000+ mutual funds free of charge.

Small Accounts: Self-directed and robo customers with only small amounts to invest will be in good shape here. Fidelity still charges commissions on many products. Webull does not.

Fidelity Review Summary

It’s hard to find areas where Fidelity performs poorly. It could have more cryptocurrencies, but otherwise, we really do like this brokerage firm.

Fidelity Investments Commissions and Fees

Investments	Price
Stocks and ETFs	$0
Stocks and ETFs broker assisted	$32.95
Stocks and ETFs FAST (automated service phone)	$12.95
Options	$0.65 per contract
Fidelity Mutual Funds	$0
No Transaction Fee (NTF) Non-Fidelity Mutual Funds	$0 on purchase. $49.95 on redemption if held less than 2 months
Transaction Fee non-Fidelity funds	$49.95 or $100 per purchase.* $0 on redemption

Fidelity Account Fees

Fee	Amount
IRA Setup Fee	$0
Annual IRA Fee	$0, $25 for SIMPLE IRAs
IRA Termination Fee	$0
Full Account Transfer Out	$0
Partial Account Transfer Out	$0
Outgoing Wire Fees (Domestic)	$0

* - per account for Fidelity IRAs (excluding SIMPLE IRAs), Fidelity Retirement Plan (Keogh) accounts.