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Tradingcritique.com has done wide research about the product, services, and strategies of brokerages which gives tips to make smart decisions while investing in Fidelity is worth it or not.
Fidelity is one of the excellent online brokerages which offer sophisticated tools, assets, research, and platforms. This is a great choice for new investors entering the business world. The company has 38 million customers worldwide. Fidelity is a US stockbroker that primarily targets US customers and provides services within the United States. The Fidelity investment serves the customers of South East Asia and Western Europe.
Fidelity provides international trading across 25 global markets. The only asset that Fidelity lacks is cryptocurrencies. It offers managed accounts, brokerage accounts, cash management accounts, saving plans for health and education, and retirement accounts.
Image 1: Home page on Fidelity website
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity was established in 1946 in the U.S.A. and is owned by FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Group. Its headquarters is situated in Boston, US. The founder of Fidelity was Edward C. Johnson II. It is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC and National Finance services (NFS) are the members of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) which has a brokerage account of up to $ 500,000 in securities per customer and includes a $ 250,000 limit on the amount of money waiting to be reinvested. It provides additional coverage from Lloyd’s of London together with Munich Reinsurance Co. and Axis Specialty Europe Limited. This additional coverage is used after the exhaustion of SIPC. It does not cover the loss during the market fluctuation. Its Securities Investor Protection Corporation coverage totals $1 billion. It does not provide negative balance protection.
Traders can choose from the great selection of 16 base currencies. It charges a currency conversion fee for coins in the trading account in addition to the 16 base currencies.
Table 1: Base currencies of Fidelity
| BASE CURRENCIES OF FIDELITY | |
|---|---|
|
CHF
SEK
SGD
ZAR
PLN
NOK
NZD
MXN |
JPY
HKD
DEN
CAD
AUD
GBP
EUR
USD |
Table 2: Amount of trade and currency conversion fees in Fidelity
| AMOUNT OF TRADE | CURRENCY CONVERSION FEES |
|---|---|
|
Above 1 million $500k - <$1 million $250k - <$500 K $100k - <$250 K Less than $100 K |
0-0.20% 0.35% 0.50% 0.75% 1.00% |
Image 2: Accepted countries of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity won numerous honours from all across the world. This proves that the Fidelity offers the best service.
Table 3 : Awards of Fidelity
 AWARDS |
 AWARDED BY |
|---|---|
|
Best Online Broker 2021 |
Kiplinger |
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Best Online Broker 2021 |
Forbes |
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Top-Rated Online Broker 2021 |
Stockbroker s.com |
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Most Trusted Wealth management company 2020 |
Investor’s Business Daily |
|
Top Rated Order Execution of fractional shares 2021 |
Stockbroker s.com |
|
Best HAS provider 2019, 2020 & 2021 |
Morning star |
|
Best Investment Quality, Investment options, and Low fees 2021 |
Investor’s Business Daily |
|
Low Priced Stock Fund Award 2021 |
Morning star |
|
Best Mutual fund Award 2021 |
Lipper Fund Awards |
|
Stock Picker of the year 2018 |
Bloomberg |
Image 3: Awards of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
All the trading platforms of Fidelity are available only in English.
Image 4: Trading platforms of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
The user interface of this web platform is simple and easy and is protected by two-step Authentication. It provides many order types and offers limited customizability for workspace and chart.
The user interface of this Desktop platform is highly customizable and flexible. This desktop trading platform is also known as Active trader pro. Because this platform is mainly suitable for experienced traders and Active traders. It provides clear free reports and good options for order types. The Demo account is only available on this desktop platform.
The user interface of this mobile platform is well-designed and user-friendly. It provides excellent search functions and a variety of order types. It offers the features like research, banking, an online platform, and portfolio monitoring. This app is available for both Android and iOS devices on Amazon devices, the Apple app store, and the Google play store. The iOS users only enable portfolio monitoring, research, and trading from the home dashboard.
The range of available assets varies by country in Fidelity.
Stocks provides more than 7000 international and domestic stock exchanges for 25 countries between 16 currencies. It adjusts the trade in local currency or US dollars.
ETFs give access to a wide range of ETFs which offers 28 Fidelity ETFs, 329 iShares® ETFs, and 146 from additional leaders. Traders can buy and sell ETFs with no commission. It provides tools for monitoring, evaluating, and screening ETFs before and after investing.
Image 5: Most traded ETFs of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Funds offer more than 3700 funds which are categorized into 1400 Fidelity funds and a large number of non- Fidelity international funds. It does not charge transaction fees. It also provides sophisticated tools for choosing the funds to achieve the goals in investing.
Image 6: Most traded Funds of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity offers a variety of indexes, ETFs, and Equity which includes weekly expirations. It also provides low and transparent prices for additional features like expert commentary, custom screeners, and advanced analytics.
Fidelity provides more than 400000 fixed income securities, investment-grade bonds, and CDs for trading which includes nearly 60000 total offerings quotations.
Fidelity offers a great selection of precious metals for investors which are palladium, platinum, silver, and Gold.
The account opening process of Fidelity is very simple and easy. The account opening process takes a very short time but the verification process of the account took 3 business days. There are no minimum deposit fees for the basic account of Fidelity. It offers numerous types of accounts for managed accounts, businesses, families, and individuals.
Table 4 : Categories and account types of Fidelity
| CATEGORIES | ACCOUNT TYPES |
|---|---|
|
Managed account |
Fidelity Go |
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Fidelity tax-managed international equity index strategy |
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Fidelity personalized planning & advice |
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Fidelity equity income strategy |
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Portfolio advisory services accounts |
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Fidelity tax-managed U.S. equity index strategy |
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Fidelity U.S. large-cap equity strategy |
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Fidelity core bond strategy |
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Fidelity international equity strategy |
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Fidelity intermediate municipal strategy |
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Breckinridge Intermediate municipal strategy |
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Investing and Trading |
Brokerage account |
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Cash management account |
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Savings and investing for a child |
529 account |
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Fidelity youth account |
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Custodial account |
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Roth IRA for kids |
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The attainable savings plan |
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Savings for retirement |
Rollover IRA |
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Traditional IRA |
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Roth IRA |
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Inherited IRA |
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Inherited Roth IRA |
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SEP IRA |
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Self-employed 401(k) |
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SIMPLE IRA |
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Investment- only plans for small business |
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401(k) plan for small business |
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Saving for medical expenses |
Health savings account |
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Life insurance |
Universal life |
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Term life insurance |
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Estate planning and Trusts |
Trust account
|
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Estate |
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Annuities |
Fidelity personal retirement annuity |
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Deferred fixed annuities |
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Immediate fixed income annuities |
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Deferred income annuities |
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Charitable giving |
Fidelity Charitable |
Table 5 : Steps to Open Fidelity Account
| Follow the below steps to open a Fidelity account: |
|---|
|
Select the type of account.
Add personal details like employment status, residency, and social security number.
Select your trading or investment preference.
Review all information.
Approve the terms and conditions.
Print the application and send the mail. |
Image 7: Account opening section in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity does not charge the commission for US stock, options ETFs and some mutual funds. Options trading is free but charges $ 0.65 per contract. There are no fees for the transaction of more than 3400 mutual funds. The non- Fidelity mutual funds have a $49.95 commission but redemptions are also free. There is no minimum deposit for opening a Fidelity Go account. But the account balance should be at least $10 for trading and investing. The Robo advisor is free for the account whose balance is under $10000. A personal advisor is offered for the account which the minimum balance is $25000. The annual advisory is 0.50%. The total cost of Fidelity is estimated to be $ 10.42 / month for a $ 25000 balance in the account.
Image 8: Fees and commissions in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity does not charge the fees for depositing of account. Traders can use wire transfer, check, Electronic wallets, and PayPal for deposit options. They cannot use debit cards and credit cards for deposits. The processing time for deposit options takes several business days for Bank transfers and 2 business days for electronic wallets.
Traders can use wire transfer, check, Electronic wallets, and PayPal for withdrawal options. It does not charge fees for ACH or USD withdrawals. But it charges a fee of 3% for non-USD withdrawal. The processing time for withdrawal takes 2 business days for Bank transfers and electronic wallets.
Planning & Advice service helps the trader to plan investment strategies, and complex wealth management needs, and manage the trader’s portfolio. Experienced advisors and digital solutions can help the trader to meet all the financial goals.
Image 9: Planning & Advice section in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Commission Free Trading can help the trader to trade with zero commission smarter with smarter technology, a broad range of investments, and independent research.
Image 10: Trading fees in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Hugo’s Way
Margin trading enables a trader to borrow against the value of assets in order to have access to capital for investment and non-investment funds. It can be used to acquire more shares and satisfy short-term liquidity. There is no need to sell the investment to make a big purchase.
Table 6 : Debit balance, margin interest, and base rate of Fidelity
| DEBIT BALANCE | MARGIN INTEREST RATE | BASE RATE |
|---|---|---|
|
$1 MILLION + |
4.000% |
-3.075% |
|
$500,000 - $999,999 |
4.250% |
-2.825% |
|
$250,000 - $499,999 |
6.575% |
-0.500% |
|
$100,000 - $249,999 |
6.825% |
-0.250% |
|
$50,000 - $99,999 |
6.875% |
-0.200% |
|
$25,000 - $49,999 |
7.825% |
+0.750% |
|
$0 - $24,999 |
8.325% |
+1.250% |
Image 11: Margin Trading in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
The slice of stock makes easy the dollar-based investment. It helps to develop a diversified investment portfolio. This includes stocks listed on the NASDAQ and the NYSE that can change orders at any time. These fractional shares trading is available on the Mobile app of Fidelity. This trade will only take place when the market is open and is available for real-time execution during market hours on regular trading days from 9.30 am to 4 pm ET.
Image 12: Fractional shares in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity offers excellent instructional webinars, articles, videos, and other resources. The webinar section provides information for all types of traders which ranges from beginner to advance. The educational videos are updated in the learning section which ranges from 5-10. The FAQ section of the Learning Center has a lot of information that can be easily searched. Third parties like Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal have the news feed in Fidelity but lack visual pictures and charts.
Image 13: Education & Research section in Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity provides customer support via email, phone, and live chat which provides fast relevant answers for the clients. It does not provide support 24 /7. On business days, live chat is only accessible from 8 am to 9 pm, as well as on weekends from 9 am to 4 pm. Customer service is exclusively offered in English.
Table 8 : Customer support of Fidelity
 Social Media Pages of Fidelity |
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8003433548 |
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Image 14: Customer support of Fidelity
Image Copyrights reserved to Fidelity
Fidelity has both advantages and disadvantages which are listed in table 8.
Table 8 : Rewards and Risks of the Fidelity
 Pros |
 Cons |
|---|---|
|
The US stocks and ETFs are commission-free.
It offers 140 branches throughout the U.S.
There is no minimum deposit for Fidelity accounts.
It provides fractional shares.
A large number of fee-free mutual funds are available. |
Fidelity does not offer cryptocurrencies. It charges high fees for margin rates and mutual funds. Expert advisor charges high fees. It does not offer negative balance protection. Fidelity goes charges $3 / month for balances between $10000-$49.999 and 0.35% for more than $50000. |
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