The Fidelity Account is a low-cost brokerage account offered by Fidelity Investments that allows investors to trade U.S. stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options online with $0 commission fees. Fractional share trading is also available through the Fidelity mobile app.

The account is a standout for its fee structure and range of investment choices. Broker-assisted trades are pricey, but otherwise, there are few downsides. This Fidelity review is designed to help you decide if it’s the right brokerage for you.

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on Fidelity’s secure website

The bottom line: Fidelity may appeal to beginning and more experienced investors alike with its diverse investment options and competitive pricing.

• Full-service broker with a strong brand reputation
• Extensive options for all investor types
• Low or no fees/commissions on most products

Minimum deposit	$0
Account types	Individual brokerage accounts Joint brokerage accounts Cash management accounts Fidelity accounts for business Rollover IRA Traditional IRA Roth IRA for kids Inherited IRA Inherited Roth IRA SEP IRA Self-employed 401(k) SIMPLE IRA Investment-only plans for business 401(k) plans for small business Managed accounts with Fidelity Go 529 college savings accounts Coverdell ESAs Health Savings Accounts ABLE accounts Trust accounts
Tradable securities	U.S. and international stocks ETFs from Fidelity, iShares and other industry leaders Options Fidelity Mutual funds and funds from other companies Bonds Certificates of deposit Precious metals
Fees	$0 commission fees for online U.S. stock, ETF and Options trades Additional fees apply for broker-assisted trades and purchases of transaction fee non-Fidelity funds No annual account fee
Sign-up bonus	None currently available

• What Fidelity offers and who it’s for
• Fidelity fees and costs
• Fidelity investing tools and research
• Fidelity user experience
• Fidelity investor education
• Fidelity security
• Alternatives to Fidelity to consider

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What Fidelity offers and who it’s for

Fidelity is a full-service online brokerage that offers an extensive range of investment Options, including stocks, Mutual funds, ETFs, Options and precious metals. Both beginning and more experienced investors may find Fidelity‘s low trading costs an attractive incentive for opening an individual or joint brokerage account. You also may choose to invest in an IRA or Solo (401)k through Fidelity to save for your retirement.

Fractional share trading is something else that sets Fidelity apart, as not all online brokerages offer this option. In terms of where Fidelity tends to fall short, cryptocurrency and futures trading aren’t included in the list of investment Options. And if you need a broker’s help to execute a trade, that means paying an added fee.

Pros

• Wide range of investment choices: Fidelity makes it relatively simple to build a diversified portfolio with its range of investment Options, which includes both Fidelity and non-Fidelity funds.
• Low-cost trading: Like a number of online brokerages, Fidelity has adopted a $0 commission fee model for online trades of U.S. stocks, ETFs and Options.
• No account minimum: While some brokerages require a larger minimum deposit to open an account, Fidelity allows you to get started with a $0 minimum.
• Extensive research tools: Fidelity is generous when it comes to providing investors with the research and analytical tools they need to make investment decisions.

Cons

• Broker-assisted trades will cost you: Getting broker assistance in executing a trade will require paying an additional fee.
• No crypto or futures: Investors who are interested in trading cryptocurrency  or futures will need to look elsewhere.
• High mutual fund fees: Investing in non-Fidelity funds could trigger a steep trading fee.
• Holding period for initial withdrawals: While you can open and fund an account with Fidelity online in minutes, it can take up to 10 business days to verify banking information for withdrawals from your account.

Fidelity fees and costs

Option trading fees	$0 + $0.65 per contract for online trades; $12.95 + $0.65 per contract for FAST trades (by phone); $32.95 + $0.65 per contract for broker-assisted trades
Stock trading fees	$0 for online trades of U.S. stocks; $12.95 for FAST trades (by phone); $32.95 for broker-assisted trades
ETF trading fees	$0 for online trades of U.S. stocks; $12.95 for FAST trades (by phone); $32.95 for broker-assisted trades
Mutual fund trading fees	$0 for Fidelity funds; $0 on purchase and $49.95 on redemption for no transaction fee non-Fidelity funds held less than 60 days; $49.95 per purchase and $0 at redemption for transaction fee non-Fidelity funds
Bond and CD trading fees	$0 for new issues, $1 per bond for secondary issues; $0 for online U.S. Treasury auctions and secondary issues; $19.95 for representative-assisted U.S. Treasury auctions and secondary issues
Account fees (annual, transfer, inactivity)	No annual fee, no transfer fees and no inactivity fees; only additional fees may be: Up to 3% of principal for foreign exchange wire transfers $50 Depository Foreign Trust Company foreign settlement fee $100 stock certificate transfer fee 1% of principal foreign dividends and reorganization transaction fee $32.95 per margin liquidation

Fidelity has followed the example of other online brokerages and moved toward commission-free trading for U.S. stocks, ETFs and  Options when trading online. You can also trade Fidelity‘s impressive collection of Mutual funds with $0 commission fees.

You will, however, run into fees if you want to trade non-Fidelity funds. Again, you’ll pay $0 on purchase for no transaction fee funds from issuers other than Fidelity and $49.95 at redemption for funds held less than 60 days. Transaction fee non-Fidelity funds require a $49.95 fee per purchase but charge $0 on redemption.

Fidelity investing tools and research

• Online trading tools
• Mobile trading tools
• Active Trader Pro

Online trading tools

Fidelity‘s online trading platform includes monitoring tools to help investors:

• Track stock price movements and profit/loss positions in real time
• Research specific market sectors
• Execute trades
• Research individual securities
• Read the latest market news
• Chart their comprehensive financial picture

Investors have access to an ETF screener that allows them to compare more than 2,000 commission-free ETFs, along with mutual fund, stock and bond screeners. Fidelity aggregates investment news and reports from a variety of well-known sources, including Reuters, Zacks Investment Research and Argus Analyst.

Mobile trading tools

The Fidelity mobile app allows investors to track their portfolio on the go. The app, which is free to download for iPhone and Android, makes it easy to:

• Manage your portfolio and watch lists
• Execute trades
• Invest with fractional shares
• View balances and get real-time quotes
• Set up account alerts and notifications
• Save articles and take notes

The most notable feature of the Fidelity mobile app is the ability to trade fractional shares. Through fractional share investing, you can purchase more expensive stocks in smaller increments. With dollar-based investing from Fidelity, you can trade shares of more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs for as little as $1. That could be appealing to newer investors who are just getting started and don’t have a lot of money to put into the market.

Active Trader Pro

Active Trader Pro is Fidelity‘s dynamic online trading platform. To use Active Trader Pro, you have to request access through Fidelity. You may access this feature automatically if you trade 36 times or more in a rolling 12-month period. If you’re approved for Active Trader Pro, it’s free to use.

Once you download Active Trader Pro for PC or Mac, you’ll have access to tools and research that allow you to take an even deeper dive into trading. For example, the Trade Armor feature allows you to visualize risk and reward for a particular investment while tracking price movements. Real-time analytics make it easy to track technical indicators for stocks to identify trading opportunities.

As the name suggests, Active Trader Pro is designed for investors who take a more active approach to portfolio management. While it’s accessible for active Fidelity investors of any skill level, it may be a little overwhelming for a beginner.

Fidelity user experience

Between online and mobile investing, Fidelity makes investor accounts easily accessible. If you’re unfamiliar with the Fidelity website and its layout, however, you could get lost when moving between different pages. The mobile app, on the other hand, is easier to navigate as you move through different screens and tabs.

In terms of customer service, Fidelity offers support by phone, live chat and secure messaging. Phone support is available 24/7 by calling 800-343-3548. You can also use live chat to connect with Fidelity Support, but it may take time to be connected to a representative. During one attempt, we were put in the queue at number 24 in line.

We also called customer support, which responded promptly with a hold time of less than a minute. Likely, this will all depend on the volume of calls at the time of your attempt. The customer service representative we spoke with on the phone was knowledgeable and able to answer all of our questions, which included requesting information on minimum deposits and how to withdraw money from a brokerage account.

Fidelity investor education

The Fidelity Learning Center offers numerous educational resources to help investors shape their portfolio strategy. The educational tools on hand include:

• Live webinars
• On-demand webinars
• Weekly Fidelity classes for beginning investors
• Interactive coaching sessions
• Investment guides
• Articles

While some online brokerages take a bare-bones approach to investor education, Fidelity equips you with plenty of tools to make informed decisions. These tools are free to access as a Fidelity customer, which is great if you don’t have a dedicated financial advisor yet because you’re unable or unwilling to pay a fee for professional investment advice.

Fidelity security

• SIPC coverage
• Online security
• Customer protection guarantee

SIPC coverage

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insures against financial losses if a brokerage goes bankrupt. All Fidelity brokerage accounts have SIPC coverage, which extends to money market funds as well as other securities. The coverage limit is up to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash held inside your brokerage account.

Online security

Fidelity uses a number of strategies to protect client accounts online. That includes the use of two-factor authentication to verify accounts, the ability to lock accounts to prevent money transfers, security text alerts and voice recognition through Fidelity MyVoice when accessing your account by phone.

Customer protection guarantee

Fidelity offers a Customer Protection Guarantee to reimburse investors for losses associated with unauthorized account activity. That includes both cash and securities held in Fidelity brokerage accounts. This coverage is automatic, but to use this benefit, you must contact Fidelity at 800-544-6666 as soon as you become aware of any suspicious or unauthorized activity.

Alternatives to Fidelity to consider

Fidelity could be a good fit for investors who want to make commission-free trades, invest with fractional shares or take advantage of Fidelity‘s extensive research and investment tools. It’s important, however, to consider where other brokerages might outshine Fidelity in terms of cost, investment Options and overall user experience. Here are two other Options to compare to Fidelity when opening a brokerage account.

Open account Secured

on Fidelity’s secure website

Fees

$0.00 per trade

Account Minimum

$0

Promotion

N/A

Get Started Secured

on Vanguard’s secure website

Fees

$7.00 per trade for the first 25 trades per year, $20 per trade thereafter for accounts with less than $50,000

$7 per trade for accounts with $50,000 to $500,000

Account Minimum

$1,000 for Vanguard Target Retirement Funds and Vanguard STAR® Funds; $3,000 for most other Vanguard funds

Promotion

N/A

Open account Secured

on TD Ameritrade’s secure website

Fees

$0.00 per trade

Account Minimum

$0

Promotion

N/A

Fidelity vs. Vanguard

Vanguard is a well-known name in the online brokerage space, thanks largely to its suite of low-cost index funds and ETFs. In terms of fees and account minimums, Fidelity and Vanguard are almost identical, though it will cost you slightly more per Options contract with the latter.

In terms of investment offerings, they’re similar, but the main point to consider is whether you lean more toward Fidelity funds or Vanguard funds. When it comes to user experience and investment tools, Fidelity has a slight edge with Active Trader Pro. Fidelity‘s website is also easier to navigate.

Open a Vanguard account Secured
on Vanguard’s secure website

Fidelity vs. TD Ameritrade

Fidelity and TD Ameritrade are neck and neck in terms of investment costs and minimums, though you will need at least $2,000 to trade on margin with TD Ameritrade. But this brokerage does offer a few things Fidelity doesn’t, including cryptocurrency and futures trading, as well as multiple online trading platforms designed to meet different investors’ needs.

One other thing worth pointing out is that TD Ameritrade‘s broker-assisted trade fee is lower than Fidelity‘s, at $25 versus $32.95. Whether it makes sense to choose Fidelity over TD Ameritrade or vice versa may ultimately come down to which brokerage’s funds you prefer.

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on TD Ameritrade’s secure website

All information included in this profile is accurate as of 1/14/2021. For more information, please consult Fidelitys’s website.

Florida Financial Advisors provides financial planning, wealth management and insurance services specifically designed for people living in Florida. With 85 advisors and fewer than 50 clients, the firm’s service is personal and individualized. It currently oversees $5.8 million in assets under management (AUM), and has three office locations in Florida.

All information included in this profile is accurate as of January 13, 2021. For more information, please consult Florida Financial Advisors’ website.

• Overview of Florida Financial Advisors
• What types of clients does Florida Financial Advisors serve?
• Services offered by Florida Financial Advisors
• How Florida Financial Advisors invests your money
• Fees Florida Financial Advisors charges for its services
• Florida Financial Advisors highlights
• Florida Financial Advisors downsides
• Florida Financial Advisors disciplinary disclosures
• Florida Financial Advisors firm onboarding process
• Is Florida Financial Advisors right for you?

Overview of Florida Financial Advisors

Florida Financial Advisors was founded in 2017 by Jason Mickool, who currently serves as the firm’s chief compliance officer. Mickool also owns Trinity Wealth Securities, a brokerage firm in Tampa, Fla., and some employees of Florida Financial Advisors are registered representatives of Trinity Wealth Securities. Florida Financial Advisors is also the parent company of Tristate Financial Advisors in Philadelphia, which provides the same investment advisory and insurance services to those in the tristate area of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Florida Financial Advisors currently has 85 employees that provide investment advisory services and are licensed insurance agents. Beyond the firm’s Tampa headquarters, it also has offices in Miami and Winter Park, Fla.

What types of clients does Florida Financial Advisors serve?

Florida Financial Advisors offers services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, businesses and state and municipal government entities. The firm currently has fewer than 50 clients, all of whom are individual investors. It specifically caters to those who live in Florida and have “Floridian” goals, which may include owning a boat or beach house, in addition to traditional goals, such as saving for children’s education and getting ready for retirement.

Florida Financial Advisors doesn’t require a minimum account balance for clients.

Services offered by Florida Financial Advisors

Florida Financial Advisors offers financial planning, wealth management and insurance services, specializing in the needs of Florida residents.

The firm’s services include the following:

• Asset management
• Financial planning
  • Retirement planning
  • Trust and estate planning
  • Education planning
  • Tax strategies
  • Cash flow forecasting
  • Spending analysis and budgeting
  • Long-term care planning
  • Debt management
  • IRA and 401(k) rollovers
• Family hardships
• Insurance/risk management
• Employee benefit plan fiduciary services; 401(k) and pension consulting
• Workshops and seminars, newsletters, videos and other publications

How Florida Financial Advisors invests your money

Florida Financial Advisors uses three primary types of analysis to make investment recommendations to its clients:

• Fundamental analysis: This method looks at a company’s overall financial health both now and as projected in the future.
• Technical analysis: This method attempts to predict the trading behavior of a security by analyzing past market trends and patterns.
• Cyclical analysis: While the firm states that it does not try to time the market, it does use cyclical analysis in which trends and the status of the economy nationwide and globally are considered.

The firm also subscribes to Modem Portfolio Theory, which refers to diversifying investments to minimize risk and looks at the market as a whole when considering investments.

Florida Financial Advisors typically recommends one of six model portfolios determined by a client’s goals, timeline and risk tolerance. The portfolios range from conservative to extremely aggressive. Most frequently, the firm recommends the following investment strategies:

• Long-term purchases (securities held for a year or more)
• Short-term purchases (securities sold within a year)
• Trading (securities sold within 30 days)
• Short sales
• Margin transactions
• Option writing

Fees Florida Financial Advisors charges for its services

Clients of Florida Financial Advisors pay an annual fee for investment management services, with the rate based on a percentage of their total assets under management. Maximum rates range from 1.40% to 2.65% depending on the value of a portfolio (see table below for specifics).

While no client will owe more than the maximum rate for each portfolio tier, fees may vary based on factors such as anticipated future earning capacity and anticipated future additional assets. Additionally, because the advisors determine the exact rate within the parameters outlined in the table below, there is potential for a conflict of interest to arise, as advisors stand to earn more when they charge clients a higher rate.

In some cases, Florida Financial Advisors may recommend that its clients work with a third-party investment advisor, such as Morningstar Advisory Services or Brinker Advisory Services. In these cases, Florida Financial Advisors receives a portion of the fee that the third-party advisor receives, as outlined in the charts below.

A client may also owe additional third-party fees, which could include costs like brokerage commissions, transaction fees and other expenses.

For financial planning and consulting, clients are either charged a fixed fee, which ranges from $200 to $7,500, or a fee based on their net worth or assets, which may be up to 2%. The exact rate will vary based on the scope of the services provided and the advisor’s discretion.

Florida Financial Advisors disciplinary disclosures

Florida Financial Advisors reports no disclosures. This means that neither the firm nor its employees or affiliates have faced any civil, criminal or regulatory events in the past 10 years.

For more information, you can visit the firm’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) page, where you will find the firm’s Form ADV, which all registered investment advisors must file with the SEC. One section of this form asks for disclosure information that may be pertinent to current or potential clients’ evaluation of the firm.

Florida Financial Advisors firm onboarding process

Florida Financial Advisors begins by analyzing a client’s overall financial status, including their taxes, debt, credit, business planning, retirement savings and insurance needs. It will then provide services for all or some of these areas. The firm consults with clients on an initial and ongoing basis, though it doesn’t state a minimum number of times that its team reviews or rebalances portfolios each year.

Florida Financial Advisors offers free consultations, which you can sign up for through its website to get started. The firm also provides free workshops, newsletters, online videos and other resources to current and prospective clients.

Is Florida Financial Advisors right for you?

If you live in Florida and are looking for a financial advisor, Florida Financial Advisors may be worth considering. As a small, local firm, it provides personalized service to meet the unique needs of state residents. That service may come at a cost, however, as Florida Financial Advisors’ fees may be higher than average, though it is difficult to predict your exact fee as the firm only provides maximum rates.

Be aware that advisors at the firm may stand to make financial gains by recommending certain products, so there is potential for conflict of interest. Additionally, while the firm may be of interest to Florida residents, its specialized focus on Floridians and the fact that all of its offices are located in the Sunshine State means it may not be a good fit for residents of other states, who may be better served by another financial advisor firm.

Facet Wealth provides comprehensive online financial planning, as well as consulting and investment management services, primarily to individual investors. The firm’s team of 54 financial advisors provides advice based on each individual’s goals and unique circumstances. Though the firm has one office in Baltimore, it offers its services nationwide virtually. Facet Wealth currently oversees roughly $344.5 million in assets under management (AUM).

All information included in this profile is accurate as of January 12, 2021. For more information, please consult Facet Wealth’s website.

• Overview of Facet Wealth
• What types of clients does Facet Wealth serve?
• Services offered by Facet Wealth
• How Facet Wealth invests your money
• Fees Facet Wealth charges for its services
• Facet Wealth’s highlights
• Facet Wealth’s downsides
• Facet Wealth’s disciplinary disclosures
• Facet Wealth’s onboarding process
• Is Facet Wealth right for you?

Overview of Facet Wealth

Facet Wealth was established in 2016. The company is privately owned by its three founders — Brent Weiss, who currently serves as the company’s chief evangelist, responsible for guiding their vision and ensuring consistent brand messaging; Patrick McKenna, who serves as executive chairman; and Anders Jones, who is the CEO.

Facet Wealth currently employs 154 people — about one-third of them perform investment advisory functions, while two employees are licensed agents of an insurance company or agency. The firm has one office located in Baltimore, but its advisors provide services virtually to clients across the country.

What types of clients does Facet Wealth serve?

The vast majority of Facet Wealth’s clients are individuals who do not have a high net worth (the SEC defines high net worth investors as those with either $750,000 under management or a net worth of at least $1.5 million). However, the firm does have a small group of high net worth clients that it serves. There is no minimum account size required to work with the firm.

In addition to individual investors, Facet Wealth also offers services to pension and profit-sharing plans, business entities, trusts, estates and charitable organizations. In some cases, Facet Wealth purchases clients with smaller accounts from other registered investment advisors. It will offer them back, however, when accounts reach $1 million.

Services offered by Facet Wealth

Facet Wealth primarily provides online financial planning services and portfolio management for individuals. The firm typically doesn’t offer clients investment management services on a standalone basis but rather provides them as part of its overall financial planning and consulting services.

The following is a comprehensive list of the firm’s offerings:

• Investment advisory services and portfolio management
• Financial planning
  • Financial goal setting
  • Portfolio design and asset allocation
  • Risk tolerance and capacity analysis
  • Investment management
  • Employee benefits planning
  • Employer stock plan analysis
  • Retirement planning
  • Estate planning and beneficiary
  • Education planning
  • Small business planning
  • Small business retirement plans
  • Income tax planning
  • Trust planning
  • Cash flow and expense planning
  • Debt management and planning
  • Insurance/risk management planning
• IRA and 401(k) rollovers

How Facet Wealth invests your money

Facet Wealth stresses that all of its investment recommendations are based on the individual needs of each client. The firm has four primary asset allocation programs, which are based on a client’s risk tolerance: Aggressive, Moderately Aggressive, Moderate and Conservative.

Funds are typically invested in various mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), stocks and bonds. Facet recommends both short-term purchases (those to be held less than a year) and long-term purchases (those held for a year or more).

All services are provided on a discretionary basis in line with the client’s objectives, meaning the firm makes day-to-day decisions about buying and selling securities. The client can, however, indicate if there are securities they don’t want to invest in for whatever reason.

Fees Facet Wealth charges for its services

Unlike many firms that base fees on a client’s AUM, Facet Wealth charges a flat fee for its services. Fees can range from $600 to $10,000 per year, but typically fall between $1,200 and $6,000 annually.

Known as “subscription pricing,” the rate is determined by the level and scope of services provided and doesn’t necessarily increase as a client’s account grows, as it would with fees based on a percentage of AUM. The average fixed fee for a financial advisor ranges from $1,500 to $7,500, which puts Facet Wealth in that ballpark.

In some cases, Facet Wealth may recommend a third party as the custodian for investment management assets (for example, Charles Schwab, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade), in which case clients may have to pay additional fees.

Facet Wealth’s disciplinary disclosures

Facet Wealth has no disciplinary disclosures on its record. This includes any civil, regulatory or criminal actions against the firm, its advisors or its affiliates over the past 10 years. For more information, visit the firm’s IAPD page.

For reference, registered investment advisors must file Form ADV paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One section of Form ADV asks for disclosure information, meaning firms must report any type of disciplinary history.

Facet Wealth’s onboarding process

The onboarding process with Facet Wealth starts with a 30-minute introductory call, which can be scheduled online and comes with no obligation.

Clients who choose to go forward are assigned a dedicated planner, and they can meet with them virtually as often as they like and communicate with them via email, text and phone. Most clients meet with their planner more frequently the first year and then two to three times per year thereafter. Clients also are provided a quarterly report regarding the status of their account.

Is Facet Wealth right for you?

If you’re looking for online financial planning and investment management services with more of a personal touch than a robo-advisor, Facet Wealth is worth considering. While the firm is headquartered in Baltimore, it provides services nationwide, virtually. Unlike robo-advisors, Facet Wealth offers personal attention via dedicated CFPs who provide advice based on individual goals and objectives.

You don’t have to have a ton of money to invest with Facet Wealth either, as the firm doesn’t require a minimum account balance. It charges clients a flat fee based on the scope of work required, which may be a good deal for people with larger amounts of money to invest, but uncomplicated planning needs. On the flip side, those with complicated planning needs may find better value elsewhere depending on the size of their account.

Some people may also miss the ability to meet in-person with their advisor. But for those looking for flexibility and convenience along with a personal touch, Facet Wealth provides a good middle ground between a robo-advisor and a traditional advisor.