【Updated 2024.8】The debit card linked to this account has been updated and many fees have been eliminated. ATM withdrawals are now reimbursed, and foreign transaction fees have also been removed. It’s now something you can carry worldwide, similar to the Schwab card.

About Fidelity

With the rise of ultra-discount brokerages such as Robinhood, traditional brokers have also been forced to cut prices to attract younger customers. Fidelity is one of those long-established brokerages that has adapted. In this article, we’ll go over the key features of this account.

Note: although this account can come with a debit card, the card linked to this account historically did not reimburse ATM operator fees, unless you are a Fidelity Premium, Private Client Group, or Wealth Management customer, or you complete more than 120 stock, options, and bond trades per year. Because of that, we generally did not recommend requesting the ATM card for this account. Fidelity also offers a Cash Management Account, which provides worldwide ATM fee reimbursements. We recommend opening both accounts and using them together: use the brokerage account for investing, and the cash management account for withdrawing cash or as a checking account.

Trading Fees

First, let’s talk about what most people care about most: fees. Fidelity eliminated commissions on regular stock trades back in 2019. Current pricing is as follows:

  • Stock trading commission: $0
  • Options trading commission: $0.65 per contract
  • Mutual funds: Fidelity funds and no-transaction-fee FundsNetwork funds are free; FundsNetwork funds that are not NTF cost $49.95 per transaction
  • Account fee: $0, with no funding or Direct Deposit requirement

Active Trader Perks, Including Free TurboTax

As long as you make more than 120 stock, bond, and options trades within 12 months, you qualify for Active Trader benefits. You can see the full list of benefits here.

One highlight is that Active Traders can get free TurboTax Premier. The online version is officially included. Although the website does not say so, testing shows that the desktop download version also works, with the same allowance of five federal e-files and one state e-file. If you need more than one state return, you will need to pay extra for additional states.

Non-Active Traders can also get a $20 TurboTax discount, though it usually isn’t much better than discounts available through other channels.

Pros of the Fidelity Brokerage Account

  • $0 stock trading commissions, making it beginner-friendly, while fees for other products are also very reasonable
  • Fidelity’s order execution quality is among the best in the industry, giving you a better chance of getting a more favorable price
  • Supports fractional share trading, which is especially useful for beginners buying higher-priced stocks without needing to purchase a full share
  • Offers many no-transaction-fee mutual funds, including some funds with a zero expense ratio
  • Cash in the account is automatically swept into a low-risk money market fund (Fidelity Government Money Market Fund). The yield is variable, roughly 1-2% annualized, much higher than typical bank deposit interest. You can also choose to sweep cash to a bank instead, though the interest rate is lower
  • Provides free research reports from more than 20 research firms, including Thomson Reuters and McLean, for investment reference
  • Accounts at the Active Trader level can receive free TurboTax Premier
  • You can also open a cash management account to get worldwide ATM fee reimbursements

Cons of the Fidelity Brokerage Account

  • The web trading interface is just average: quotes do not auto-refresh, so you need to manually click to refresh
  • Only US residents are allowed to open an account. If you are a nonresident alien, opening an account is very complicated; please refer to this article
  • Margin interest rates are relatively high; see the rate table

Platforms: Web, Mobile App, and Active Trader Pro

Fidelity also provides trading tools across all major platforms. The web interface looks a bit dated, but it is still quite full-featured. One long-standing issue is that stock quotes and account values are not updated in real time, so manual refresh is required. The mobile app has a similar issue.

Fidelity stock research page

Therefore, for people who trade stocks more frequently, we recommend Fidelity’s free Active Trader Pro, even though the interface is even more traditional-looking.

Asset Safety

This brokerage account is also covered by SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) insurance. If the brokerage fails, coverage is up to $500,000, including up to $250,000 for cash. Fidelity also carries its own additional brokerage insolvency insurance, with cash coverage up to $1.9 million per account, no limit for securities, and a total firmwide policy limit of $1 billion.

Our Take: Who Is It Best For?

Because Fidelity has eliminated trading commissions and supports fractional shares, we think Fidelity is now suitable both for beginners who want to start small and practice, and for more serious self-directed investors as well as long-term passive investors.

For people who use margin heavily, however, Fidelity may not be the best choice because its rates are relatively high (as high as 8%). Therefore, we do not recommend it for that use case.

Stock Investing Basics

Below are a few commonly used U.S. stock brokerages, along with their signup bonuses.

Overview Signup Bonus Quick Take
Moomoo $1,030 in stock + 8.1% APY Professional platform, no commissions, and free Level 2 market data. Good for both beginners and advanced traders. Chinese-language customer service available. Requires SSN.
TradeUp 50 shares of NVDA + chance to win 5 more shares + 4% for three months No commissions, supports both U.S. and Hong Kong stocks, and offers WebTrading. Chinese-language customer service available. Available globally.
Webull $100 Amazon + 12 fractional shares + 1 month of Premium membership No commissions, with frequent deposit bonuses that give free stock.
BBAE Up to $650 bonus 0 commission, 0 fees; Chinese-friendly, and you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
Robinhood 1 free stock No commissions, with an interest-bearing cash account option. Simple interface that works well for beginners.
Interactive Brokers Up to $1,000 Broad market access. Professional, comprehensive trading platform with high interest on cash balances.
TradeStation $250 Professional trading platform with a full set of supporting tools.
Schwab Up to $1,000 Professional and easy to use. Global ATM fee rebates and $0 stock commissions.
Fidelity Brokerage Account Sign-up link Well-established brokerage with no trading fees, plus TurboTax included.
BIT (formerly Matrixport) $400 in stock Supports direct crypto deposits and withdrawals, does not participate in China CRS, and allows registration directly with an ID card.
SoFi Invest $75 for opening an account No commissions and supports Stock Bits.
WealthFront $5,000 managed free Automated investing and wealth management.
M1 Finance $10 for depositing funds No commissions, with automatic investing based on your portfolio allocation.

If you do not have an SSN/ITIN but still want to trade U.S. stocks, take a look at the brokerages/platforms below. All of them allow registration using a full set of Chinese documents, and you can sign up with just an ID card or passport. None of them participate in China CRS.

  • BBAE: Chinese-friendly; you can open an account without an SSN/ITIN.
  • BIT (formerly Matrixport): You can open an account with just an ID card, and approval can be completed within a few hours.
  • Bitget: Identity verification can be completed with an ID card/Chinese passport.