Fidelity Wealth Management Reviews, 8 Points to Consider (2024)

Fidelity is one of the most prestigious and committed asset management firms, with a history of trust, and investors will always consider it a worthwhile place to build their assets. The Fidelity mutual funds, for instance, Magellan and Fidelity Contrafund, are pretty prominent in the U.S. and some of the most considerable non-index funds.

STRATEGIES FOR FAMILIES WORTH $5 MILLION TO $500 MILLION

7 Secrets To High Net Worth Investment Management, Estate, Tax and Financial Planning

The insights you’ll discover from our published book will help you integrate a variety of wealth management tools with financial planning, providing guidance for your future security alongside complex financial strategies, so your human and financial capital will both flourish.

Clients frequently share with us how the knowledge gained from this book helped provide them tremendous clarity, shattering industry-pitched ideologies, while offering insight and direction in making such important financial decisions.

The company also operates a brokerage arm that serves institutional firms, banks, trusts, family offices, and investment advisors. Whether you’re already invested through Fidelity or not, for investors with $5+ million in liquid investable assets, you may wish to request our in-depth book 7 Secrets to High Net Worth Investment Management, Estate, Tax, and Financial Planning, written specifically for families worth $5 million to $500 million in liquid investable assets.

Our Verdict

Fidelity Investments is considered at the top of the league among global financial investment firms. It boasts of excellent customer service. The breadth of its portfolio is remarkable, with more than 3,700 mutual funds available at no cost to its trading account holders.

Fidelity Background

Founded in 1946 by financial gurus from Boston, Massachusetts, Fidelity Investments has moved forward under the governance of Edward C. Johnson. Johnson took control of the company as CEO and president in 2014, steering it toward a new horizon. With present assets worth $4.3 trillion, Fidelity provides investors access to various services, including investment advice, retirement planning, life insurance, and brokerage activities. Besides this assortment of products, Fidelity also offers personalized portfolio advisory services for all clients, which helps them achieve their financial objectives while taking on the appropriate level of risk.

The organization holds more than 38 million customer accounts. Additionally, it has about 50,000 employees.

Who Should Choose Fidelity?

Fidelity offers excellent educational resources, making the platform ideal for beginners while providing expert traders with the comprehensive research capabilities they need.

Fidelity Commission and Fees

Online U.S. equity trades, ETFs, and options ($ 0.65 per contract fee) are entirely free, while retail clients of Fidelity Brokerage Services pay only the commission fee for each contract. At the placing of the order, traders have to pay an activity assessment fee, specified in the prices from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal.

Fidelity has replaced expense ratios with zero expense ratio index mutual funds. Broker-assisted trades cost $19.95.

Fidelity Platform and Technology

Fidelity has diversified account options, like joint and individual brokerage accounts, 529 accounts, tax-advantaged accounts, and Solo 401(k) for small businesses or the self-employed.

Fidelity's web-based environment simultaneously provides resources for research and learning alongside trading. The Active Trader Pro mode enhances the platform by customizing the trading experience and allows users to explore various strategies.

Fidelity Mobile App

The Fidelity application mirrors most of the functionalities of online platforms, which are also available for phones to let you monitor your portfolio and conduct research.

Fidelity Offerings

Fidelity is distinguished by its broad range of investment instruments, and consequently, it appeals to cautious and risky investors alike, offering a chance for both conservative and aggressive strategies. The trading platform encompasses traditional equities and ETFs, among the more sophisticated instruments like bonds, options, futures, and Forex, which were created to facilitate active trading and effective execution of preferred investment strategies.

In addition to its broad range of investment products, Fidelity's advisory services provide discretionary and non-discretionary investment management services to meet clients' unique needs. Investment management services at Fidelity include having a dedicated financial advisor who makes investment decisions on behalf of clients based on their financial objectives and risk levels. They select suitable securities to match clients' objectives, resulting in individualized guidance and support.

Fidelity understands that different clients will have preferences regarding managing their investments. Thus, Fidelity ensures that the products it offers are flexible. Whether choosing a dedicated financial advisor to make their investment decisions or a Fidelity coach to guide them through their choices, the firm is committed to offering the best solutions to its clients. Through customized options that accommodate both hands-on and off styles of investing, Fidelity strives to enable customers to achieve their financial objectives with confidence.

Fidelity Research and Education

With Fidelity, simple searches allow you to find securities quickly. You can run searches based on your criteria or predefined selections based on recommendations from independent, third-party experts. You can find research from independent firms that match your investing style and learn about trending investing issues. You can test your ideas before you trade and set up watch lists and alerts.

Fidelity's learning center offers many articles on investing and trading, investment products, and advanced trading. It offers the Fidelity Viewpoints newsletter. It covers "what's new" in finance and webinars on various topics.

Fidelity Customer Service and Security

Fidelity is a quality-minded, service-oriented company that makes customer service convenient and easy by providing phone, email, and text support. Whether it's about understanding investment choices or assistance in financial planning, Fidelity's wealth management team proposes its expertise and offers expert guidance and support. User safety measures, such as firewalls and filters, and using two-factor verification protect your data security and personal data.

Fidelity Investments Financial Planning & Advisory Options

The range of services offered by Fidelity Wealth Management includes help with personal finances, including the different stages of life that have specific financial and investment needs.

Here's a quick Fidelity wealth management review of its four central financial advisory and wealth management services:

Fidelity Go®

Fidelity has developed a robo-advisory tool called Fidelity Go to simplify your investments. The tool can ask you questions about what you need, answer them, and then work out an investment plan. It will execute this plan as soon as you fund your account.

Over time, the robo-advisor may make periodic adjustments to your strategy based on what Fidelity's investment experts observe in the markets and the economy. It sends you email updates and reports when changes are made.

Fidelity Go requires no minimum balance and has no fees for accounts under $10,000. There's a 0.35% fee for accounts over $50,000. Between those limits, accounts are charged $3 per month.

This is a hands-off investment approach for both parties.

Make sense?

You don’t have to do anything. And Fidelity’s people don’t have to do anything. The automated system manages your investments.

Fidelity® Personalized Planning & Advice

The next step up in Fidelity Wealth Management's products and solutions is the online advisory service, which includes both robo-advisory services and an interface with human, financial advisers in just one service.

The robo advisor still carries out your investment management process. In addition, you can work closely with financial planners who are ready to answer your questions and offer solutions to help you succeed in investments. You’ll learn more about the investment process and improve your self-confidence when investing. Fidelity’s personalized planning and advice requires a $25,000 minimum and a 0.50% advisory fee.

What Are Fidelity Custodial Accounts?

Some families with ultra-high net worth recognize that a boutique family office-style firm like Pillar Wealth Management offers the comprehensive wealth management service they need.

Except for one thing:

They like the breadth of offerings and investments and the well-known, trustworthy nature of a firm like Fidelity.

If that's you, there's good news.

A custodial account lets you blend the customization and elite-level expertise of a firm like Pillar Wealth Management with Fidelity's investment breadth and trustworthiness.

Our clients, who have $5 million to $500 million in liquid net worth, are drawn to us partly because we utilize Fidelity to custody our clients' money.

This appeals to investors who already have Fidelity accounts but want the level of service we offer. With custodial accounts, you won't have to change anything if you work with us as an existing Fidelity account holder.

Your accounts remain as-is; the money is accessible, and the links to your debit/credit cards and bank accounts will remain in place.

Isn’t that great?

Your cost basis information and all historical details will be preserved. So, while you gain an ultra-high net worth expert advisor to guide you, invest your portfolio, and help with ultra-customized lifestyle management and financial planning, you get to keep the familiarity of your investments. We are granted access to manage your portfolio within the well-functioning and trustworthy Fidelity platform.

Here’s another benefit of custodial accounts:

This arrangement protects you. It also helps you avoid ACAT transfers (firm to firm) and IRA to IRA transfers, which you would have to deal with if you hired a new wealth management firm that does not use custodial accounts.

If you want to talk to a wealth manager who has served ultra-high net worth clients for over 30 years and uses a 100% custom approach to create a plan that grows, manages, and protects your wealth, schedule a free call with one of our co-founders, Hutch Ashoo or Chris Snyder.

Also, you can read about what a wealth manager does and what areas are covered in this specially created guide on choosing the best financial advisor for individuals with $5 million to $500 million in liquid assets.

A Deeper Look at Fidelity Wealth Management

You've gotten an overview of Fidelity's four primary investment management services. Here's more info for our Fidelity wealth management review.

Once we have some basic knowledge, it is time to immerse ourselves in Fidelity Wealth Services.

Based on what you may read from Fidelity wealth management reviews, Fidelity Investments provides its customers with multiple services, including but not limited to a Fidelity advisor, financial and investment planning, personalized asset management, and excellent tax planning.

Dedicated Fidelity Advisor

A Fidelity advisor is a dedicated source of guidance in connecting you to other experts or other Fidelity team members who will help you with designing your investment plan.

Your advisor will be critical in helping you refine your short- and long-term goals, understand the options available, and assist you in actively implementing your plan.

They are the person you will talk to the most, sharing your feelings and working with them daily.

Financial and Investment Planning

With a consultative attitude, Fidelity's advisors work to create a personalized investment framework that aligns with your particular objectives, weighing factors such as your financial goals, tax considerations, current investments, retirement planning, and long-term estate plan.

Personalized Investment Management

Not everyone thinks the same way about retirement and investment. Different ages, different life situations, different desires and aspirations – everyone's plan needs to be customized.

Fidelity helps you understand how your decisions will affect your plan. Your advisor helps you build an asset allocation that takes into account your risk tolerance, time horizon, and critical financials, which you may learn from online Fidelity wealth management reviews.

Asset allocations will be comprised of a blend of domestic and international stocks, bonds, and short-term holdings.

Tax-smart Investing Techniques

Fidelity Wealth Management applies six tax-smart investing techniques in managing your portfolio at different times of the year. They include tax-loss harvesting, capital gains management, distributions, municipal bonds, transition management, and tax-smart withdrawals. Moreover, Fidelity offers other investment options and transactional services such as mutual funds, IRAs, trading, fixed-income services, bonds & CDs, cash management & credit cards, charitable giving, ETFs, life insurance, and long-term care insurance.

Fidelity Charitable Giving

Fidelity facilitates their clients in investing capital and donating charitably.

Fidelity Charitable enables you to donate shares, mutual funds, and other assets for charitable causes. You may avoid paying some taxes by donating your money to charity. Additionally, donors who seek exclusive or custom experiences can join Fidelity’s Private Donor Group.

Is Fidelity the Right Option for You?

Just as wealth management firms screen clients, you should also screen financial advisors and wealth managers, as you know from reading Fidelity wealth management reviews.

Always speak to the wealth manager one-on-one before deciding who to work with. Suppose you wish to know more about evaluating a wealth management firm. In that case, we strongly recommend you read the book The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Financial Advisor: For Investors With $5 Million to $500 Million in Liquid Assets.

Hutch Ashoo and Christopher Snyder are the expert founders of independent, fee-only, fiduciary wealth management firm Pillar Wealth Management. If you would like to speak with them or ask any questions about how custom and trusted wealth management advice is offered to high-net-worth individuals with $5 million to $500 million in investible assets, then feel free to start a conversation. Our wealth managers can provide you with a thorough Fidelity wealth management review.

What Types of Clients Does Fidelity Accept?

Two Fidelity Wealth Management offers were mentioned in some other Fidelity Wealth Management reviews, on the web or in the text you are currently reading. Their wealth management service requires a deposit of at least $250,000. The cost of Private Wealth Management is based on an investment of at least $2 million. This option is for individuals with high and ultra-high net worth.

Various firms may have additional criteria to screen clients further, but Fidelity, a large national company, doesn't screen based on anything other than their minimum requirements.

What about us?

Pillar Wealth Management works with clients from all professional and demographic backgrounds, industries, and age groups. The primary criterion of our firm is the liquid-asset size, which should be between $5 million and $500 million.

Part of our target market is those individuals who prefer to relieve their stress than worry about all the grind of wealth management tasks.

It’s a lot of work!

Suppose you like managing your investments (which wouldn't be recommended in Fidelity wealth management reviews), navigating all the transactions, studying investment options, and all the rest, we probably aren't the right fit. We're looking for clients who want a worry-free life where someone else takes care of their wealth so they can focus on spending and enjoying it.

Pillar Wealth Management has worked with medical professionals, millennials, entrepreneurs, engineers, technology professionals, senior citizens, and high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Such a work environment has enabled the firm to accumulate expertise and strategies to help clients thrive in wealth management. No worries, you can make an appointment with Hutch Ashoo or Chris Snyder for assessment. They offer you a chance to try at least and see what happens, so it’s not a loss.

Should A Wealth Management Firm Be A Fiduciary?

Fidelity wealth management reviews may not have much to say about fiduciaries. However, we believe that a wealth management firm should be a fiduciary. This is an essential quality of any wealth manager or financial advisor you consider working with.

It means the firm assesses your objectives and risk tolerance and only makes recommendations in your best interests.

As a wealth management company in the US, Pillar Wealth Management is a fiduciary wealth management firm.

Fidelity private client group

History

Fidelity was founded in 1946 by Edward C. Johnson. Today, the company owns 75% of shares issued to former and current employees, and Fidelity Fund accounts for 19%.

Fidelity is a company widely recognized in the industry and is one of the biggest financial firms, operating a custodial business with $4.5 trillion of assets under management. Fidelity was the first big-time investment company offering investment mutual funds to the public. Its Contrafund mutual fund has assets in the neighborhood of $100 billion, and Jeremy Grantham and William Danoff are the fund's portfolio managers. Fidelity is the largest in terms of non-USD ETFs.

Fidelity Clients

Fidelity provides financial services to anyone, including individuals, advisors, and businesses. Anyone can invest their money in Fidelity through its online platform.

Engaging a wealth advisor has a minimum requirement of $250,000, providing the benefits of a dedicated wealth advisor. The minimum amount required for a relationship with Fidelity Wealth Services is at least $2 million invested; in comparison, $10 million is the amount in investable assets needed to provide exceptional private wealth service offered by the Private Wealth Management group.

Unlike a gross advisory fee, the level of the service and the size of the assets under management can determine the advisory fees.

Fidelity’s Approach to Investment

At Fidelity, the top objectives are clients' financial needs, including their savings, investments, and retirement planning. Fidelity advisors will consider clients' changing financial situations to plan and organize strategies and planning sessions to meet all clients' short- and long-term investment goals. They will address managing money, saving for retirement, estate planning, and tax planning issues as they progress together.

Fidelity's investment offerings consist of an actively managed mix of funds. Also, Fidelity provides portfolio advisory assistance and asset management on behalf of clients. Clients enjoy customized investment strategies and the risk level that is suitable for them. This service continually monitors and adjusts for optimum management that ensures your portfolio integrity in the face of changing market conditions or client goals.

Fees Under Fidelity

Cryptocurrency and education.com work on a decentralized platform, meaning no trading fees for stocks, ETFs, and fidelity products are needed, unlike their traditional counterparts.

A personal wealth advisor's fees fall within 0.50%–1.5% of the portfolio value the advisor manages. The cost that Fidelity Private Wealth Management charges the clients' dollars ranges between 0.20% and 1.02%.

The opening of a Fidelity account is a seamless procedure. Online, you can complete a form or call the 800 number, and you will be transferred to an assistant. The Fidelity website information is the starting point for locating an advisor near you.

If you seek assistance in wealth management beyond this Fidelity wealth management review, you can contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Hutch Ashoo and Christopher Snyder are the expert founders of the independent, fee-only, and fiduciary Pillar Wealth Management firm. If you would like to speak with them or ask any questions about how custom and trusted wealth management advice is offered to high net worth individuals with $5 million to $500 million in investible assets, then feel free to start a conversation. Our managers can share with you a comprehensive Fidelity wealth management review.

Authors

Hutch Ashoo

Chris Snyder

To be 100% transparent, we published this page to help filter through the mass influx of prospects, who come to us through our website and referrals, to gain only a handful of the right types of new clients who wish to engage us.

We enjoy working with high net worth and ultra-high net worth investors and families who want what we call financial serenity – the feeling that comes when you know your finances and the lifestyle you desire have been secured for life, and that you don’t have to do any of the work to manage and maintain it because you hired a trusted advisor to take care of everything.

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