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Benefits and Tips for Investing in Fidelity Funds in 2024

Investing is a common way to secure finances. But, with multiple brokers available, it can be  difficult  to decide. This is where Fidelity Investments comes in. It is a popular brand that supports about 50 million individuals in making important financial decisions and managing employee benefit programs. It is known for its diverse portfolio options, which help reduce the risks.

Benefits and Tips for Investing in Fidelity Funds in 2024
Understanding the company’s benefits and following some tips can help make an informed investment decision.

Benefits
Signing up with Fidelity Investments opens a range of benefits for customers. A few include:

1. A stellar team of experts for planning and advice
Fidelity has gained the attention of several investors for its educational tools and customer service options. This includes a network of more than 200 branches for in-person advice, educational options, and 24/7 phone, email, and chat support. Fidelity’s Online Learning Center is also a great resource for investors, as it uses machine learning to render educational materials that match a user’s investing behavior.

2. Multiple fund types
Fidelity offers a range of fund types to all customers, including seniors. Two popular types include:

IRAs
Individuals, including seniors, can benefit from fund options offered by Fidelity. The IRA investment options allow one to manage retirement planning independently or with assistance from trained professionals.

  • A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account users fund using after-tax dollars. Any investment made through this account has the potential to grow tax-free and can also be withdrawn tax-free, provided certain conditions are met. Moreover, contributions added to a Roth could be withdrawn at any time without penalty.
  • Fidelity offers a traditional IRA, a tax-deferred growth option that helps individuals, including seniors, reduce their taxable income by deducting contributions, if eligible, and grow their potential earnings tax-deferred.
  • Rollover IRAs help individuals move money from their former employee to an IRA without any tax or penalty while maintaining the money’s tax-deferred status.

Mutual funds
Fidelity is popular for its mutual fund options. The agency offers a range of fund categories with a large selection of no-transaction-fee funds, including Fidelity Zero index funds. These have no expense ratio and no minimum investment requirements. Furthermore, investor-friendly practices help save customers a significant amount of money. One of their popular mutual fund options is the Fidelity Total Bond Fund (FTBFX). It secures income from a broad selection of fixed-income securities, with primary exposure to investment-grade bonds. The diverse allocation helps the fund add value to multiple markets. For instance, Fidelity invests at least 80% of its assets in investment-grade bonds and up to 20% of its assets in below-investment-grade securities while working to provide a conservative experience that suits an investor’s expectation of a core bond fund.

3. Other tradable securities
Apart from the two options above, Fidelity also allows investors to trade stocks, bonds, ETFs, forex, and crypto options like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Additionally, the company enables traders to diversify into higher-cost stocks by purchasing a portion of a share rather than the complete amount. Fidelity is also praised for supporting trading in ADRs (American depository receipts), which let investors buy stock in overseas companies.

4. $0 commission trades
An area where Fidelity shines is providing a $0 trading commission for online US stock, ETF, and option trades. The broker also offers Zero-expense ratio index mutual funds directly to investors. However, some mutual funds might require a minimum investment. One could check with a Fidelity advisor about the precise terms of opening an investment account.

5. Exceptional interest rate on uninvested cash
Fidelity is known to automatically direct uninvested cash from a brokerage account into a money market fund. The average return rate (seven-day yield) for a particular review period was 4.97%. This is a decent return compared to other brokers in the market. However, the rate is subject to market risk and could fluctuate.

6. Reliable trading platforms
Fidelity has two trading platforms, both of which are praised by users.

  • Fidelity.com
    The official website is easy to use for advanced traders and beginners who want to learn more about finances. Its intuitive and simple interface lets the user explore the broker’s offerings and compare investments without getting confused or overwhelmed.
  • Active Trader Pro
    Active Trader Pro is a customizable desktop platform. One can add intuitive shortcuts, pre-built market, technical, and options filters. Other possible tweaks include advanced options tools and a multi-trade ticket that can store orders for the future, allowing up to 50 orders to be placed at a time. The desktop application also lets users trade over-the-counter securities and gain access to IPOs.

Tips to consider when investing in Fidelity funds
Starting to invest can be a complex decision for many. Therefore, here are a couple of tips to help one get started.

  • One should determine what they are investing in before putting the money in an account. One of the best places to start is to invest in something towards retirement.
  • The investor must choose one of three account types to open with Fidelity: a brokerage account, a 401(k), or an Individual retirement account (IRA).
  • After opening the account, one should put some money in it. However, one must consider one’s financial needs, such as income, budget, and other priorities, before making any investment.
  • If unsure where to put money, one should always speak to a professional. Several experienced investors use managed accounts to help define goals, understand the situation, and identify key steps to move ahead. Fidelity offers robo advisors, such as Fidelity Go®, to help one explore and enjoy the benefits of professional money management.

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