Fidelity Investments review 2024
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- Stock trade fee
- $0
- Minimum deposit
- $0
Our verdict
Discover commission-free trades, no expense-ratio index funds and powerful research tools for all types of investors.
Consider Fidelity Investments if you want a low-cost, all-inclusive broker with modern perks and big broker-level resources and trading tools. Invest in stocks, ETFs, options, crypto and more, with access to third-party research, analyst ratings and research, fundamental and technical analysis tools, a dedicated trading platform for active traders and more. Fidelity is the winner of Finder's 2024 Investing Customer Satisfaction Award. Look elsewhere if you're a futures or forex trader or want access to paper trading.
Best for: Beginner to advanced traders and investors who want modern broker perks with the premium research, tools and resources of a big broker.
Pros
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$0 commissions for online US stock, ETF and option trades
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Impressive lineup of investment options, including crypto
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Fractional shares as low as $1
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Industry-low fees
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Robo-advisor
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Premium research tools and third-party reports
Cons
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Active Trader Pro felt slow and laggy at times
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No company financials, analyst reports or price targets on the mobile app
How we rate Fidelity Investments’ features
| Fees | ★★★★ | Commission-free stock and ETF trades, free robo-advisor for balances under $25,000 and minimal miscellaneous fees. |
| Available securities | ★★★★★ | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, options, cryptocurrency, bonds, CDs, precious metals, international investments. |
| Customer support | ★★★★★ | Reach customer support via phone, email or live chat with quick response times. |
| Mobile app | ★★★★★ | Fidelity Investments scores high on both the Apple App Store and Google Play store. |
| Research and tools | ★★★★★ | Premium research and analysis tools, analyst ratings, advanced charts and a comprehensive learning center. |
| Reliability | ★★★★★ | At least one major site outage has been reported. |
| Bonus star | ★ | We awarded a bonus star for offering access to precious metals. |
To learn how our star ratings are calculated, read our methodology at the bottom of the page.
Fidelity Investments is best for all types of investors
Fidelity Investments is a practical option whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or experienced investor. Its platform is user-friendly but feature-rich, giving beginner investors the tools and resources to learn and grow and those more experienced a powerful platform to flex their trading and investing muscles. Meanwhile, Fidelity’s fees are among the most competitive in the industry, placing best overall lowest cost brokerage accounts on the market, which benefits every type of investor.
What you can trade on Fidelity Investments
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Mutual funds
- Options
- Cryptocurrency
- Bonds
- CDs
- Precious metals
- International investments
Account types available with Fidelity Investments
- Individual brokerage
- Joint
- Managed
- Traditional, Roth, rollover, inherited, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs
- 401(k)
- Self-employed 401(k)
- Custodial
- 529 education
- Youth brokerage
- Roth IRA for kids
- Estate and trust accounts
Where Fidelity Investments shines
Fidelity Investments is a downright broker powerhouse. From its vast collection of investments and extensive list of account types to its industry-low fees, powerful trading platform and prompt customer support, individuals shouldn’t hesitate to give Fidelity Investments a try.
As the biggest broker in the US with over 40 million individual investors and over $11 trillion in assets under administration, Fidelity’s platform is as all-inclusive as a broker can get.(1) It offers modern trading features like fractional shares, a user-friendly but well-equipped mobile app and a no-cost robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, for portfolios under $25,000. Its investment options range from stocks and ETFs to cryptocurrency, precious metals and even international investments. Meanwhile, its educational and planning resources are comprehensive, and its research offerings and advanced trading tools are of the highest quality.
Where Fidelity Investments falls short
Fidelity Investments is one of the only big brokers to offer direct trading in crypto and you can buy crypto on Fidelity with as little as $1, but there are some limitations. Primarily, you can only trade Bitcoin and Ethereum. So while we commend Fidelity for bringing crypto trading to its customers, some may find its offerings limited.
Second, while Fidelity’s Active Trader Pro offers a dedicated desktop trading platform with powerful trading tools and a high level of customization, there were several instances of hesitations when navigating through its different windows and sections. This could be an issue for traders who rely on a responsive platform for quick decisions.
Fidelity Investments’ fees
| Minimum deposit | $0 |
| Annual fee | $0 |
| Stock and ETF trade fees | $0 |
| Mutual fund trade fees |
|
| Options trade fees | $0 + $0.65 per contract fee |
| Treasuries trade fees | $0 online; $19.95 for representative assisted |
| Bond trade fees | $0 for new issues; $1 per bond for secondary issues |
| Crypto trade fees | 1% spread reflected in the execution price |
| Precious metals trade fees | 0.99%–2.90% to buy; 0.75%–2% to sell |
| OTC trade fees | $0 |
| Foreign ordinaries listed on the OTC market | $50 foreign settlement fee |
| Inactivity fee | $0 |
| Domestic wire transfer | $0 |
| Outgoing account transfer fee | $0 |
| IRA closing fee | $0 |
| Mandatory and voluntary corporate reorganization | $0 |
| Margin rates | Variable; 12.825% effective rate on margin balance of $24,999 or less |
Managed portfolios
| Details | Account minimum | Fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Go | Robo-advisor, with access to unlimited 30-minute one-on-one phone calls with a Fidelity advisor for portfolios over $25,000 | $0 | $0 for portfolios under $25,000; 0.35% annual fee for portfolios over $25,000 |
| Fidelity Managed FidFolios | Managed portfolio with tailored holdings | $5,000 | 0.40% annual fee |
| Portfolio Advisory Services Account | Professional investment management and analysis |
|
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Is Fidelity Investments legit?
Yes, Fidelity Investments is a legitimate broker and financial services company. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Boston, Fidelity serves over 40 million individual investors and has over $11 trillion in assets under administration.
Fidelity Investments is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is a member of both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). As an SIPC member, customers’ securities and cash are protected up to $500,000, which includes up to $250,000 for cash, from fraud and bankruptcy.
Fidelity Investments’ platform is easy to use
Whether you’re using Fidelity’s mobile trading app, web platform or professional-grade desktop trading platform, you should find that all Fidelity’s platforms are easy to navigate and that you can hit the ground running with your trading and investing. And if you need or want resources to help you familiarize yourself with Fidelity’s platforms, its webinars and tutorials are just a click away.
Here are some of the tools you can use to trade with on Fidelity Investments:
- Screeners
- Technical events from Recognia
- Stock analysis and valuation from Trefis
- Social Sentiment Score to learn about social media trends
- Equity Summary Score by StarMine from Refinitiv, which gives you stock ratings from top independent analysts consolidated into a single score
- Free, independent research from third-party providers
- Real-time Analytics, which helps you identify potential trade opportunities
- Trade Armor, which lets you explore potential profit and loss scenarios and entry or exit strategies using trades, alerts, and notes
Fidelity Investments web platform
Trading on the Fidelity Investments web platform puts all of Fidelity at your fingertips. All its planning and advice tools, news and educational resources and Fidelity’s most essential trading tools, which include advanced, interactive charts, premium research and top-quality analysis tools.
Fidelity also recently released a new web trading dashboard, called Trading Dashboard, that is meant to provide essential trading tools and features for active web-based traders and includes the addition of light and dark modes. After toying around with it for a few minutes though, we noticed the charting tools are lacking compared to Chart +, the interactive charts available through the regular web platform.
Fidelity Investments mobile platform
Track your portfolio, get streaming quotes and trade from Fidelity’s user-friendly mobile app. Research tools available on mobile include institutional ownership data, analyst ratings, Trefis valuation, social sentiment and more.
Active Trader Pro desktop platform
Active Trader Pro offers a dedicated, professional-level trading experience with powerful trading tools and a high level of customization. Choose from five prebuilt layouts or a custom layout that lets you personalize your platform, and employ all Fidelity’s most advanced trading tools.
Fidelity Investments’ app store reviews
| Google Play app reviews | 4.2/5 stars based on over 119,000 reviews |
| Apple App Store app reviews | 4.8/5 stars based on over 1.9 million reviews |
Fidelity Investments’ customer support
Connect with Fidelity customer support in three ways:
- Phone
- Live chat
How to open an account with Fidelity Investments
- Go to Fidelity’s website.
- Select Open an account. Then, choose an account type and select Open now.
- Enter your full name and email address and choose Get started.
- Enter your personal information, including your name, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number and residential address. Select Next.
- Verify your account details and complete the application process by funding your account.
Eligibility and required information
- At least 18 years old
- Valid phone number and residential and email address
- Existing bank to fund your account
- Valid Social Security number
How safe is Fidelity Investments?
Fidelity Investments is considered safe and secure. It uses encryption, firewalls and 24-hour system surveillance to protect customer data. Further safeguards include two-factor authentication, security questions, security text alerts and voice recognition account access.
Compare Fidelity to other platforms
Fidelity Investments
★★★★★
Finder rating 4.6 / 5
Available asset types
Stocks, Bonds, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Gold/Commodities, CDs, Treasury Bills
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
N/A
Tastytrade
★★★★★
Finder rating 4.4 / 5
Available asset types
Stocks, Options, ETFs, Cryptocurrency, Futures, Treasury Bills
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
Get $50-$5,000
SoFi Invest®
★★★★★
Finder rating 4.2 / 5
Available asset types
Stocks, Options, Mutual funds, ETFs, Alternatives
Stock trade fee
$0
Minimum deposit
$0
Signup bonus
Get up to $1,000 in stock
Frequently asked questions about Fidelity Investments
How we rate trading platforms
★★★★★5/5 — Excellent
★★★★★ 4/5 — Good
★★★★★ 3/5 — Average
★★★★★ 2/5 — Subpar
★★★★★ 1/5 — Poor
We analyze top online trading platforms and rate them one to five stars based on factors that are most important to you. These factors include fees, securities available for trade, customer support, customer feedback, platform resources and overall reliability.
For a complete breakdown of how we score each category, read the full methodology of how we rate trading platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Matt Finder
Editor, Investments
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