Author Topic: Fidelity Products  (Read 8159 times)

Nathan Hale

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Fidelity Products
« on: August 12, 2014, 02:03:07 PM »
I have a SIMPLE IRA with Fidelity, so for convenience I was going to keep my investing through Fidelity but I don't want to dump everything into the IRA.  Any Mustachians out there use Fidelity products???  What Mustachian strategies does Fidelity have to offer?  Thoughts?

Cromacster

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2014, 02:19:19 PM »
Their spartan funds all have low expense ratios.  I can't speak to their fees as I don't have an individual account through them.  I'd imagine they are low to non existent if you meet some of their requirements.

vivophoenix

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2014, 02:24:05 PM »
i use fidelity, as that was what my former employer had so i began my personal accounts there as well.


 if you look up each of the vanguard funds you are interested in, they with provide their fidelity account which is very similar. you can buy vanguard index/mutual funds if you wish, but you have to pay ~$75 each trade. (every time)

if you purchase the fidelity brand index funds/mutual funds. they do not charge fees.
 you just have to do the initial purchase of >= $2500


vivophoenix

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2014, 02:29:55 PM »
for example VTSMX=FSTMX


« Last Edit: August 12, 2014, 02:31:34 PM by vivophoenix »

wtjbatman

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2014, 05:47:37 PM »
This is when I wish we could @ people on here. Frankies Girl is a big proponent of Fidelity, and posts in most of these threads. She knows what she's talking about. I'm sure she will show up :)

Frankies Girl

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2014, 05:58:14 PM »
LOL, wtjbatman... I guess my ears were burning. :D


http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity

I have all my accounts with Fidelity. I have Spartan funds and as long as you're over a certain amount (forget what that is, but it isn't that much) you don't get charged any fees, but double check with them to be sure.

I don't pay anything extra - just the expense ratios on the funds - and they are all within .01-02 of the equivalent Vanguard funds (and I think one of them is actually cheaper than Vanguard).

As long as you don't get into the professional management or high expense ratio funds, they are just as good as Vanguard, and I personally think their website, tools and customer service is better.
« Last Edit: August 13, 2014, 12:48:37 PM by Frankies Girl »

Mother Fussbudget

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2014, 06:05:06 PM »
I've been a Fidelity customer (Gold level) for over 20 years, but nothing very mustachian about them.  I still have accounts there for option trades, but do most of my mustachian investing at ShareBuilder.

I started a ShareBuilder account with the CostCo card member discount (see http://content.sharebuilder.com/mgdcon/jump/partner/costco/pagec/?cobrand=costco&execpc=COEXWEB2012&gspc=COGOWEB2012&offer50=true&gssid=960036629097109&execsid=960036611000791&execmpid=0954&gscmpid=0955&sPageName=sb:mgdcon:Partner:Costco-lpa2009), and it saves on every trade. 

Prices     Standard    CostCo
Basic Trade  $6.95        $5.95
Adv. Trades  $6.95       $4.95
AIP trades:   $3.95         $2
Advantage:  $12           $10

I signed up for the 'Advantage plan' - 12 AIP trades/month for $10 (per account), $2/trade after that.  I do mostly "Automatic Investing" there for myself, and my sons' custodial accounts.  ShareBuilder does NOT offer VTSAX, but offers VTI (in the same Vanguard fund family). 

The best thing Sharebuilder does is 'automatic investment plans' - regular, set-it-and-forget-it investing for very low transaction fees - lower for CostCo members.  ShareBuilder allows you to buy partial shares of companies (i.e. fixed dollar investments) on a regular basis - ex: buy $100 of GOOGL stock as if it were a mutual fund, and do it weekly, twice monthly, or weekly. 

As for buying VTSAX... there's a $10,000 minimum first investment.  Why not open an account at Vanguard strictly to invest in VTSAX?
[I have no idea what Vanguard's trading fees are like, but I'm sure they're equitable]

Paul der Krake

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #7 on: August 12, 2014, 06:57:47 PM »
Their new website (that you have to opt in) is awesome, great UI.

Their CMA (checking) + brokerage combo is awesome, I recommend it to everyone I know who complains about their bank. Free checks, free billpay, free ATMs nationwide, no bullshit features.

Their customer support has always been top notch for me.

Stay away from their managed products and you will be fine.

dragoncar

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #8 on: August 12, 2014, 07:16:45 PM »
Their new website (that you have to opt in) is awesome, great UI.

Their CMA (checking) + brokerage combo is awesome, I recommend it to everyone I know who complains about their bank. Free checks, free billpay, free ATMs nationwide, no bullshit features.

Their customer support has always been top notch for me.

Stay away from their managed products and you will be fine.

New website?  Opt in?

ZiziPB

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #9 on: August 12, 2014, 07:30:43 PM »
Another +1 for Fidelity.  I have a brokerage account, IRA, 401k, HSA, etc. through them.  Always excellent service (by phone or website).  Their Spartan funds have low ERs.   The website is very good.  What's not to like ;-)

Paul der Krake

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #10 on: August 12, 2014, 07:35:25 PM »
Their new website (that you have to opt in) is awesome, great UI.

Their CMA (checking) + brokerage combo is awesome, I recommend it to everyone I know who complains about their bank. Free checks, free billpay, free ATMs nationwide, no bullshit features.

Their customer support has always been top notch for me.

Stay away from their managed products and you will be fine.
New website?  Opt in?
Navigate to "Portfolio" in the "Accounts & Trade" tab. On the right handside you should see a little box that reads "NEW! Test drive the new Accounts and Trade experience".

ShortInSeattle

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #11 on: August 12, 2014, 08:31:03 PM »
http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity

I have all my accounts with Fidelity. I have Spartan funds and as long as you're over a certain amount (forget what that is, but it isn't that much) you don't get charged any fees, but double check with them to be sure.

I don't pay anything extra - just the expense ratios on the funds - and they are all within .01-02 of the equivalent Vanguard funds (and I think one of them is actually cheaper than Vanguard).

As long as you don't get into the professional management or high expense ratio funds, they are just as good as Vanguard, and I personally think their website, tools and customer service is better.

Ditto. This has been my experience. I've been very pleased with Fidelity. Their checking-account-substitute (smartcash) even reimburses all ATM fees, which is a nice perk.  Be careful with their "free" financial adviser services. They are helpful folks in many ways but will push their managed accounts hard.

I am amused that their "Retirement Income Planner" is known as Fidelity RIP. Gruesome eh?

Another Reader

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2014, 08:34:52 PM »
Damn!  All that money there and I was not chosen for the test drive of the new accounts and trade experience! 

dragoncar

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2014, 09:48:23 PM »
Their new website (that you have to opt in) is awesome, great UI.

Their CMA (checking) + brokerage combo is awesome, I recommend it to everyone I know who complains about their bank. Free checks, free billpay, free ATMs nationwide, no bullshit features.

Their customer support has always been top notch for me.

Stay away from their managed products and you will be fine.
New website?  Opt in?
Navigate to "Portfolio" in the "Accounts & Trade" tab. On the right handside you should see a little box that reads "NEW! Test drive the new Accounts and Trade experience".

Don't see it :-(  Maybe I'm not in their beta test, or maybe I switched to it a long time ago and don't remember.

edit: at one point they switched my account view to a special exclusive "high net worth" view.  The bar for high net worth was pretty low, though. 
« Last Edit: August 12, 2014, 09:49:59 PM by dragoncar »

Frankies Girl

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #14 on: August 12, 2014, 10:07:53 PM »
On my view in the summary tab, there's an orange outlined box over on the right side (above "your messages") that says:

NEW Test drive the new accounts & trade experience!


Nathan Hale

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2014, 11:30:21 AM »
Wow, thank you all so much - the response has been tremendous.  It's going to take me days just to research all the options I learned about in this thread!

Your badassity knows no bounds, fellow Mustachians.

financialforager

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2014, 04:48:29 PM »
I have our 403b invested with Fidelity. It is in the Spartan funds as well. I have been very happy with them, their web site is very well laid out and functional. Here is what I have invested in Fidelity.

http://www.financialforager.com/?page_id=43

FF

Nathan Hale

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #17 on: August 15, 2014, 11:27:52 AM »
Hey Frankie's - if its not too much to ask, which Spartan offerings are your favorite.  There are a lot of options per Fidelity's site (20+)

LOL, wtjbatman... I guess my ears were burning. :D


http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity

I have all my accounts with Fidelity. I have Spartan funds and as long as you're over a certain amount (forget what that is, but it isn't that much) you don't get charged any fees, but double check with them to be sure.

I don't pay anything extra - just the expense ratios on the funds - and they are all within .01-02 of the equivalent Vanguard funds (and I think one of them is actually cheaper than Vanguard).

As long as you don't get into the professional management or high expense ratio funds, they are just as good as Vanguard, and I personally think their website, tools and customer service is better.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #18 on: August 15, 2014, 11:47:23 AM »
Hey Frankie's - if its not too much to ask, which Spartan offerings are your favorite.  There are a lot of options per Fidelity's site (20+)

LOL, wtjbatman... I guess my ears were burning. :D


http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Fidelity

I have all my accounts with Fidelity. I have Spartan funds and as long as you're over a certain amount (forget what that is, but it isn't that much) you don't get charged any fees, but double check with them to be sure.

I don't pay anything extra - just the expense ratios on the funds - and they are all within .01-02 of the equivalent Vanguard funds (and I think one of them is actually cheaper than Vanguard).

As long as you don't get into the professional management or high expense ratio funds, they are just as good as Vanguard, and I personally think their website, tools and customer service is better.

The link I had from the bogleheads shows you the comparable funds to the Vanguard's index funds, but it's really subjective as far as what you'd personally like to invest in... but I've got the following (based off of the boglehead site):

Fidelity Spartan Total Market Index Fund (FSTVX)  which is the Fid version of VTSAX
Fidelity Spartan U.S. Bond Index Fund (FSITX)  which is the Fid version of VBTLX
Fidelity Spartan Real Estate Index Fund (FSRVX) which is the Fid version of VGSLX

But some folks might not want REITs in their funds, and some might want to add in an international fund... just check the link to see what the Vanguard versions would be and do your research on what sort of funds you'd like to hold for your asset allocation.

PeteD01

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Re: Fidelity Products
« Reply #19 on: August 16, 2014, 12:10:10 PM »
This may be of interest to budding Mustachians.
Fidelity has a four in one index fund which looks like a good choice for beginning investors.
One can start out with FFNOX with a minimum of $2500 and split it up later once the balance is large enough.

https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/31634R109