Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments: financial services for individuals and businesses

Fidelity Investments is a financial services company that helps its clients plan for and achieve their financial goals. Its offering spans products and services for individuals and businesses, with areas of activity that include trading and investing, retirement, spending and saving, and wealth management.

Areas of activity

The company structures its activity around several main lines:

• Investing: self-directed investing, advanced trading, investing for a child, and managing cash and credit.
• Retirement: retirement planning, 401(k) rollovers to IRA, retirement accounts, and retirement education.
• Wealth management: wealth management offerings, financial advisors, financial planning, and investment management.
• Products and accounts: mutual funds, ETFs, fixed income, bonds and CDs, options, crypto, annuities, life insurance, and long-term care planning.
• Tax-advantaged savings: Roth IRA accounts, health savings accounts (HSAs), and 529 education plans.

Featured products and services

The site describes several specific accounts and services. Among them, a brokerage account with no commissions for online trades of US stocks and ETFs, with the possibility of buying fractional shares for as little as $1. It also offers a Roth IRA, in which investment growth is tax-free and retirement withdrawals are tax-free, with access to contributions at any time and without taxes or penalties. Fidelity's HSA is presented with a triple tax advantage: deductible contributions, no immediate tax on earnings, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses; no account fees or minimums, and $0 commissions for US stock and ETF trades. 529 accounts allow federal income tax-deferred growth and tax-free withdrawals for qualified education expenses, and can be used for college, trade school, and K-12 nationwide, including tuition, fees, and books.

Advisory and wealth management

Fidelity offers the possibility of working with a dedicated advisor to build a comprehensive wealth management strategy oriented toward the client's goals and changing needs. The company also makes integrated tools and a clear, straightforward experience available to users, with objective information and a disciplined approach.

History and innovation

The company was founded in 1946 by Edward Johnson 2d, after taking over the Fidelity Fund three years earlier, under the name Fidelity Management & Research to act as sole adviser to the Fidelity Fund. In 1974 it became the first company to sell retail mutual funds directly through a toll-free telephone line and to offer the ability to write checks from money market mutual funds. In the 1980s, Magellan became Fidelity's flagship fund and the largest equity fund in the world. Also in those years it began offering 401(k) savings plans to employers and opened its first retail investor center. In 1989 it launched FundsNetwork, an open platform that provides access to Fidelity and non-Fidelity funds to individual investors and financial institutions. In 2011 it launched Fidelity Personalized Portfolios, which offers portfolio customization, tax management, and investment vehicles in a single account. In the late 2010s, the company launched the industry's first zero expense ratio index funds, as well as its robo-advisor Fidelity Go®. Recently it has expanded its offering with digital assets, alternative investments, holistic planning, and innovative tools.

Presence and structure

Fidelity is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It employs more than 80,000 associates across 11 countries, with 14 global regional sites and 215 investor centers. The company has been privately owned since its founding.

Commitment to clients

The company states that its goal is to strengthen and secure its clients' financial well-being, providing exceptional customer service, a variety of investments, and innovative solutions within a personalized experience. Its approach is supported by objective information, a disciplined method, and transparency at every step.