Fidelity Review 2026

Last updated: February 2026 ยท Long-Term Investing
4.5
โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ
out of 5
โšก Quick Verdict

Fidelity is the safest, most complete choice for retirement and long-term investing. If you're building a 401k, IRA, or long-term portfolio, there's no better platform. For active options trading, supplement with Tastytrade.

Open Fidelity Account โ†’
CommissionsCommission-free stocks and ETFs. $0.65/options contract
Min. Deposit$0
Account TypesIndividual, IRA, Roth IRA, 529, HSA, 401k rollover
Regulated ByFINRA / SIPC
Best ForRetirement investing, index funds, long-term wealth building, research depth

Who Is Fidelity For?

Long-term investors building retirement wealth, index fund investors, and anyone who values research quality, platform reliability, and customer service over flashy features.

Pros and Cons

โœ… Pros
+ Zero-expense-ratio index funds (FZROX, FZILX)
+ Exceptional research โ€” Morningstar, S&P, CFRA
+ Best-in-class retirement account management
+ Fractional shares on S&P 500 stocks
+ Extremely reliable platform with no outages
+ Award-winning customer service
โš ๏ธ Cons
โˆ’ Options platform trails Tastytrade and Webull
โˆ’ Interface is dated compared to newer platforms
โˆ’ No cryptocurrency trading
โˆ’ Active Trading Pro requires qualification
โˆ’ Mobile app is functional but not beautiful

Commissions & Fees

Commission-free stocks and ETFs. $0.65/options contract
Commission-free stocks and ETFs. Options at $0.65/contract with no base fee.

Fidelity in Depth

Fidelity manages over $12 trillion in assets and has operated continuously since 1946 โ€” the institutional trust is unparalleled in the retail brokerage space. The ZERO fund lineup (FZROX, FZILX, FZRPX, FZESX) offers genuinely zero-expense-ratio index funds with no investment minimums โ€” a category Fidelity invented. Research access includes full Morningstar reports, S&P Capital IQ, and CFRA โ€” research that typically costs $99-200/year at other brokers. The retirement planning tools are the most comprehensive available for retail investors, with Monte Carlo simulations and Social Security optimization. The platform's reliability record is exceptional โ€” Fidelity has never had a major outage during market volatility events that have taken down Robinhood and others.

Ready to open a Fidelity account?
Takes about 5 minutes. No minimum deposit required on most accounts.
Open Fidelity Account โ†’

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