Fidelity vs Firstrade: Commissions, Fees and Investments 2012
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- Stocks and ETFs: $7.95
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $32.95
- Stocks and ETFs FAST (automated service phone): $12.95
- Options: $7.95 plus $0.75/contract
- Mutual Funds: $75 per transaction, 1,400 NTF mutual funds
- Bonds: U.S. Treasury Auctions, incl. TIPS Auctions, U.S. Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds, incl. TIPS - free
- GSE (Agency Securities), secondary CDs, Municipals, Corporates (BBB- or higher), CATS/TIGRS, Corporates (BB+ or lower): $1 per bond, $8 minimum,
$250 maximum
- Commercial Paper: $50 per transaction
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, commercial paper, forex, foreign stocks, UITs, precious metals, ETFs
- Minimum to open Fidelity account: $2,500
- All Fidelity fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $6.95; for stocks at or under $2 and trades over 5,000 shares,
add 1/2 cent per share for the entire order
- Options: $6.95 plus $0.75 per contract for market and limit orders
- Mutual funds: $9.95 no-load funds, $0 load funds
- Bonds: net yield basis
- CDs: $30 for primary market CDs, net yield basis for secondary market CDs
- Investment products: stocks, options, mutual funds, bonds, CDs, ETFs
- Minimum to open Firsttrade account: $0
- All Firstrade fees
- Firstrade login
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- Great research tools with largest selection of independent research
- Low-cost Fidelity mutual funds
- Rich selection of investment products
- No surcharges, except for $0.0192 per $1,000 of principal in addition to commission that is added to sell orders
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- $0 minimum to open account
- 10,000 mutual funds and fixed income investments to choose from
- No inactivity or account maintenance fees
- No annual, setup or termination fees for IRA accounts
- Free dividend reinvestment
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- Extremely high commission ($75 per transaction) on non-Fidelity mutual funds
- Website is going down or becoming slow on high-volume days
- $12 annual Low Balance Fee for each noncore Fidelity mutual fund if balance is under $2,000
- $75 (minimum) mutual fund Short Term Redemption Fee (if mutual fund sold in less than 180 days after purchase)
- High margin rates
- Foreign currency wires: up to 3% of principal
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- Expensive commissions for stocks under $2 or orders of over 5,000
- Paper-heavy registration and service setup process
- Short Term Redemption Fee of $19.95 will be applied to redemptions of no-load fund shares held less than 180 days
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Fidelity vs Firstrade: Comparison Summary
Fidelity (Fidelity Reviews 2012)
charges somewhat higher than average commissions on stocks and ETFs: $7.95 per trade.
Firstrade (Firstrade Reviews 2012)
is slightly better priced, with $6.95 rate per stock/ETF trade.
With Fidelity, any non-Fidelity mutual fund will cost customers $75!
At Firstrade any no-load mutual fund transaction is just $9.95.
Unlike Fidelity, Firstrade has no annual IRA fees. It did not, however, made it into our list of
Top IRA Accounts in 2012.
Both brokerage firms are not good choices for beginner investors: they don't offer helpful online community where users
could ask questions, learn from more experienced traders and even get investment ideas. If you are new to investing, check out
our Top Brokers for Beginners recommendations.
Because of lower commissions and fewer fees, Firstrade is clearly a better choice between
these two online brokers. There are, however, better priced, very reliable and highly-rated by investment magazines
brokerage firms to consider.
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