Fidelity vs. TD Ameritrade: How the brokerages compare

Insider’s consultants select the finest services to assist make sensible choices along with your cash (here’s how). In some instances, we obtain a fee from our our partners, nevertheless, our opinions are our personal. Terms apply to presents listed on this web page.

Fidelity vs. TD Ameritrade: The largest variations

Fidelity and TD Ameritrade funding account are behemoths relating to the on-line brokerage house. Both cater to a number of varieties of traders, and each supply commission-free shares, ETFs, and choices. You may also make the most of IRAs and copious funding varieties at both platform. 

However, Fidelity might be your best choice in the event you’re seeking the lowest charges. Its most elementary automated investing account, Fidelity Go, features a fee-free possibility (i.e., you may pay $0 in advisory charges in the event you’ve obtained a stability decrease than $10,000, and — no matter account stability — you will not should account for expense ratios in the funds it makes use of). 

Its advisor-guided, automated account, Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice, has a $25,000 minimal and 0.35% price, but it surely additionally waives expense ratios, because of the Fidelity Flex mutual funds. TD Ameritrade’s managed accounts are not accepting new shoppers, however the charges for these accounts exceeded that of Fidelity’s managed accounts anyway.

TD Ameritrade funding account has now merged a lot of its merchandise with Charles Schwab’s (since Schwab acquired the brokerage), but it surely’s nonetheless the better option for buying and selling platforms, mutual funds, and futures buying and selling. 

Buy Amazon health and household stuffs on discount through this link

Fidelity and TD Ameritrade funding account options and account choices additionally fluctuate.

Account varieties Individual and joint taxable brokerage accounts Automated accounts Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) Annuities Trusts 529 plans Managed accounts HSAs Custodial accounts Margin accounts Charitable	Account varieties Individual and joint accounts Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) Education accounts Trusts Business partnerships, sole proprietorships, company, non-incorporated, restricted legal responsibility, restricted partnership, and funding membership Margin accounts Custodial accounts HSAs Annuities Charitable
Investment decisions Stocks, ETFs, choices, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, annuities, and IPOs	Investment decisions Stocks, ETFs, choices, mutual funds, futures, foreign exchange, IPOs, and bonds
Account perks Commission-free buying and selling Automated and advisor-assisted investing Active Trader Pro platform presents extra instruments and market sources for superior merchants Zero-expense ratio funds Stock and ETF screeners Margin buying and selling Socially accountable investing Wealth administration Retirement sources	Account perks Commission-free buying and selling Automated/managed portfolios Advanced buying and selling platforms: thinkorswim internet, thinkorswim cell, and thinkorswim desktop Tax-loss harvesting Investment analysis and academic sources Options statistics instruments, inventory scanners, and financial knowledge out there ETF screeners 13,000+ mutual funds
Human advisors out there? Yes — limitless entry to monetary teaching and funding administration with Fidelity Personalized Planning and Advice	Human advisors out there? Yes — limitless entry to advisors with affiliated Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium account
Robo-advice? Yes — Fidelity Go and Fidelity Personalized Planning and Advice	Robo-advice? Yes — Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium affiliated accounts

Is Fidelity best for you?

Fidelity is a web-based brokerage providing self-directed buying and selling accounts, automated investing accounts, IRAs and retirement accounts, wealth administration, and extra. 

And like many well-liked funding platforms, you may alternate shares, ETFs, and options with out commissions, and its self-directed brokerage accounts do not have a minimal requirement. Its choices contracts have a $0.65 price, however many brokerages cost this quantity for choices contracts.

The brokerage primarily presents three totally different interfaces: its internet platform, Active Trader Pro interface, and its cell app. Active Trader Pro caters to superior customers seeking to entry real-time market knowledge and information and stronger buying and selling instruments multi functional house.

Fidelity additionally presents a number of different funding varieties, together with bonds, CDs, cash market funds, annuities, IPOs, index funds, and mutual funds. In reality, it has greater than 10,000 funds, practically 3,400 of that are no-transaction price mutual funds. It additionally presents expense ratio-free mutual funds (it calls these the Fidelity Flex mutual funds), and it makes use of these in its automated investing portfolios.

Its most elementary robo-advisor, Fidelity Go, invests your cash into a personalised portfolio of the beforehand talked about mutual funds. There is not a minimal account dimension requirement to open this account, and Fidelity separates its price schedule into three tiers: customers with balances underneath $10,000 pay $0 in charges, these with between $10,000 and $49,999 pay $3 per 30 days, and customers with $50,000 and above pay 0.35% per yr.

Its different automated investing account, Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice, combines robo-advice with one-one-one monetary advisor steering. However, this account has a $25,000 minimal requirement and a 0.50% advisory price.

When it involves retirement accounts, Fidelity presents conventional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, Roth IRA for Kids, rollover IRAs, self-employed 401(ok)s, and Fidelity Advantage 401(ok)s. And in the event you’re in want of wealth administration, you may make the most of one-on-one planning and funding administration by means of Fidelity Wealth Management. This service has a $250,000 minimal and 0.50 to 1.50% advisory price.

Fidelity additionally supplies personal wealth administration, supplying you with entry to an entire group of Fidelity advisors. To qualify, you may must have a minimal of $2 million managed by means of Fidelity Wealth Services or Fidelity Strategic Disciplines and no less than $10 million in complete investable belongings.

Plus, novices or customers seeking extra data can make the most of a number of academic sources. For occasion, the brokerage has a Learning Center that accommodates stay webinars, buying and selling and investing teaching classes, on-line courses, and professional market insights. 

Read our Fidelity Investments review »

Is TD Ameritrade best for you?

TD Ameritrade funding account additionally presents commission-free buying and selling for shares, ETFs, and choices, with self-directed buying and selling, automated investing, and extra. Plus, its funding choice consists of futures, mutual funds, foreign exchange, bonds, CDs, over-the-counter crypto trusts, bitcoin futures, and annuities.

Like Fidelity, TD Ameritrade presents a platform particularly for superior, lively merchants: thinkorswim. But you may get extra out of thinkorswim than with the Fidelity equal. TD Ameritrade has thinkorswim internet, thinkorswim desktop, and thinkorswim cell platforms. Plus, these platforms supply an array of options, together with real-time market displays, earnings instruments, choices statistics, financial knowledge, inventory scanners, and extra.

The brokerage additionally has a $0.65 choices contract price, identical to Fidelity, however as a consequence of Charles Schwab’s acquisition, its automated investing accounts — Essential Portfolios, Selective Portfolios, and Personalized Portfolios — are not out there to new shoppers. If you are a hands-off investor seeking robo-advice, you may should arrange an automatic account by means of its affiliate, Charles Schwab.

Charles Schwab presents two automated investing accounts: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios and Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium. The former has a $5,000 minimal requirement and no advisory charges. It invests your cash into a personalised portfolio of ETFs and presents options like tax-loss harvesting, portfolio monitoring, and portfolio rebalancing. The latter account possibility provides in limitless CFP steering. Like Fidelity Personalized Planning & Advice, it has a $25,000 minimal. But you may pay a $300 one-time planning price a $30/month advisory price.

On the retirement facet, it supplies conventional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, solo 401(ok)s, and pension or revenue plans. And it presents greater than 13,000 mutual funds, with practically 3,700 of them being no-transaction-fee funds. Fidelity solely presents greater than 10,000 (solely about 3,400 of them are no-transaction-fee funds).

Plus, TD Ameritrade funding account has an in depth collection of academic sources. These embody webcasts and movies on totally different investing matters, step-by-step market guides, and market information and analysis.

Read our TD Ameritrade review »

Fidelity vs. TD Ameritrade — Frequently requested questions (FAQ)

Is Fidelity or TD Ameritrade higher?

Fidelity and TD Ameritrade funding account each present self-directed buying and selling, IRAs, commission-free funding choices, academic sources, and extra.

But Fidelity is healthier for these seeking decrease charges and stronger automated investing choices. TD Ameritrade is a more sensible choice for mutual funds, futures, and superior buying and selling platforms.

How reliable is Fidelity?

The Better Business Bureau offers Fidelity Investments an A+ ranking to replicate its opinion of how nicely the brokerage interacts with its clients. In addition, Fidelity is registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and it presents as much as $500,000 in Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insurance coverage.

Prospective customers ought to observe, nevertheless, that Fidelity paid $28.5 million in 2020 to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit that alleged Fidelity didn’t uphold its fiduciary responsibility by favoring its personal funding merchandise in the 401(ok) plan it supplied. 

Can you belief TD Ameritrade?

TD Ameritrade has an A ranking with the Better Business Bureau, however since Charles Schwab acquired the brokerage in 2020, it is also vital to research Schwab’s background. The BBB offers Charles Schwab an A+. And like Fidelity, each TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab are registered with the SEC, and the two platforms supply $500,000 SIPC insurance coverage.

Overall, Fidelity and TD Ameritrade appear to be reliable platforms, however you may additionally must conduct your individual analysis earlier than making a closing resolution.