Fidelity Investments Review
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Fidelity Investments Review 2026
A complete, unbiased guide to Fidelity Investments's financial products and services.
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Fidelity Investments is a privately held Boston-based financial services firm founded in 1946 and now the largest retail brokerage in the United States by assets under administration. It is the reference standard for retail investing across virtually every investor category: self-directed brokerage, retirement accounts, robo-advisory, managed accounts, and institutional-grade research are all available on one platform. Fidelity eliminated commissions on U.S. stock and ETF trades in 2019 and went further by launching zero-expense-ratio index funds — Fidelity ZERO — that have no parallel at any major competitor. Active Trader Pro is one of the strongest desktop trading platforms in retail investing, and the mobile app consistently ranks among the highest-rated brokerage apps. Fidelity's retirement account coverage is unmatched: it supports Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k), Rollover, Inherited, and HSA accounts. For most retail investors at any experience level, Fidelity is the strongest single-platform answer.
| Full Legal Name | Fidelity Investments |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Boston, MA |
| FDIC Insured | No |
| SIPC Member | Yes — securities protected up to $500,000 |
| BBB Rating | A+ |
| Industries / Products | Investing |
| Data Last Verified | March 1, 2025 |
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Fidelity is the most complete retail brokerage in the United States. It covers every investor type — the first-time IRA opener, the active day trader, the self-employed business owner, the retiree managing distributions — with tools, account types, and cost structures that are competitive or best-in-class at each level. Its Fidelity ZERO index funds carry 0% expense ratios with no minimums, its Active Trader Pro platform competes with institutional-grade desktop tools, and its research access spans more than 20 third-party providers including Morningstar, CFRA, and Refinitiv. Fidelity Go, its robo-advisor, charges no management fee on balances under $25,000 and 0.35% above that — competitive with Betterment and Wealthfront. The brokerage also serves as a cash management platform with an FDIC-insured core position and a debit card with ATM fee reimbursement. There is no meaningful competitor that outperforms Fidelity across all investor categories simultaneously.
- Brokerage
- Traditional IRA
- Roth IRA
- SEP IRA
- SIMPLE IRA
- Solo 401k
- 529
- HSA
- Custodial
- Managed
- Stocks
- ETFs
- Options
- Mutual Funds
- Bonds
- Futures
- Crypto ETFs
- International
- Traditional
- Roth
- SEP
- SIMPLE
- Rollover
- Solo 401k
- Inherited
- Fidelity Research (in-house + 20+ third-party providers)
- Active Trader Pro
- Screeners
- ETF/fund analysis
Fidelity charges $0 commissions on U.S. stock, ETF, and Treasury trades. Options trades are $0.65 per contract. Fidelity ZERO funds carry 0% expense ratios — the only major fund lineup at this level. Fidelity Go has no management fee for balances under $25,000 and 0.35% annually above that. Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice charges 0.50% annually with a $25,000 minimum. Compared with Schwab, Vanguard, and E*TRADE, Fidelity's cost structure is best-in-class when the ZERO funds and no-minimum robo are factored in. The only cost consideration is the $0.65 options contract fee, which matches most peers but trails Robinhood's $0.
Fidelity's platform spans three distinct surfaces: the standard web/app experience for mainstream investors, Active Trader Pro for desktop-based active traders, and Wealth-Lab Pro for quantitative backtesting. The standard web platform is clean, full-featured, and well-organized. Active Trader Pro is a downloadable desktop application with real-time data, fully customizable layouts, multi-leg options chains, and charting comparable to ThinkOrSwim or Power E*TRADE — without a minimum balance requirement to unlock it. The mobile app is consistently rated among the top brokerage apps for both usability and feature completeness. Research integration covers more than 20 providers, including Morningstar, CFRA, Zacks, Refinitiv, and in-house Fidelity research.
Fidelity's retirement account coverage is the broadest of any retail brokerage. It supports Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k), Rollover, Inherited, and Custodial IRAs, as well as HSAs and 529 education savings accounts. For self-employed individuals and small business owners, Fidelity is the most commonly recommended platform because it offers Solo 401(k) accounts with no account fees and the full range of contribution options including Roth Solo 401(k) contributions. Fidelity also administers more workplace 401(k) plans than any other provider in the United States, making rollover consolidation particularly seamless.
✓ Best For
- Retirement savers who want the broadest IRA and 401(k) account selection
- Self-employed investors who need Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA with no account fees
- Active traders who want a professional-grade desktop platform without a minimum balance
- Cost-conscious investors who want zero-expense-ratio index funds
- Investors who want the deepest third-party research access at no extra charge
✗ Look Elsewhere If
- Investors who want direct cryptocurrency trading beyond crypto ETFs
- Traders who need futures or forex and prefer a platform purpose-built for those asset classes
- Consumers who want banking and brokerage on a single mobile-first app with a more streamlined UX
Fidelity Investments is the strongest retail brokerage in the United States for the widest range of investor profiles. It leads or matches the competition on cost (ZERO funds, $0 commissions, no-fee robo), breadth (every major account type including Solo 401(k) and HSA), research depth (20+ third-party providers plus in-house analysis), and platform quality (Active Trader Pro is a genuinely professional-grade tool available at no extra cost). It is the default recommendation for most investors who are asking which brokerage to open. Its relative weaknesses — limited direct cryptocurrency exposure and no fractional ETF access in IRAs — affect only a narrow subset of investors. For the overwhelming majority of long-term, retirement, and active retail investors, no single competing platform surpasses Fidelity across all dimensions simultaneously.
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This rating reflects publicly available information as of 2026-04-10. Submit additional context to be considered in our assessment →
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