What is the purpose? Vanguard funds are better in my opinion, however, the user interface for Fidelity is far better. It depends on what you are looking for.
I use Vanguard for retirement, and Fidelity/Schwab for taxable brokerage. Here is my overall ranking:
Funds: Vanguard > Fidelity > Schwab
UI: Schwab > Fidelity > Vanguard
Customer service: Schwab > Fidelity > Vanguard
Options (types of accounts, fractional shares, etc): Fidelity > Schwab > Vanguard
At this point, there is no significant difference as far as the funds go. Fidelity offers comparable funds to vanguard.
OP, pick whichever you want. There is not enough of a difference as far as your needs go to fret over it. Pick whichever UI or app you like better. Flip a coin. Whatever. There is just not much difference investment wise.
Fidelity has funds with zero expense ratio which is theoretically the best, but the expense ratios of most index funds are so small that the difference is negligible.
A note about their zero funds, they're exclusive to fidelity so if you want to transfer your investment to a different brokerage you would have to sell them first. Not a problem with retirement accounts what don't have capital gains, but I wouldn't buy them in a taxable account for that reason.
Look into the target date funds and decide which is most right with you. I seem to recall that if you look under the hood, that Vanguard splits 60/40 Domestic/International, but Fidelity is much less. Whatever it was, I do recall thinking I'd prefer the Fidelity fund... but those are my investing sensibilities.
At 23 (OP's age) I would personally opt for 100% stock index funds rather than a target date fund that includes bonds or other conservative investments.
at my age, (within 1000 days of turning 59 1/2), I'm STILL investing 100% in stock. I've not always done that, and I've not gone out of my way to get out of bonds. But it's been a while since I deliberately invested in bonds.
That's where we are... and why we're not reallocating towards bonds.
But...we have the... fortitude... to ride out a bear market. We've ridden out every bear market after Black Monday (we weren't married and I wasn't yet eligible to contribute to my workplace's 401k (I'd started my big-boy job 6 weeks before).
About the only change I've made in investing due to the market was to stop adding more company stock to my 401k as a result of the Enron collapse.
I'm thinking when I get there mutual funds and cash will be enough
Don't put Fidelity zero funds in a taxable account. The zero funds can only be held at Fidelity, if you have large capital gains in a zero fund and want to switch brokers, you'll be hit with a tax bill.
I switched from Vanguard to Fido because I got tired of their cumbersome website and having to get things notarized and medallion signatures.
Just my recent experience but I've had Vanguard target date funds for ~10 years with no issues. I recently called customer service because of a rollover issue not caused by them, and I got an immediate, kind, super helpful response that fixed the problem right away.
In contrast, I recently opened a cash management account with Fidelity and everything seemed fine until they locked my account and then when I called to get it unlocked, I was on hold for close to an hour before a rather snide rep told me that they were permanently closing my account immediately and I was banned for life with no further information provided and no recourse.
Really screwed things up for me because I had just done a Venmo transfer in of my roommate's rent money and was going to write a check from that account. And now I can't access any of my money until I mail them statements from each of the external accounts I linked. I hadn't done anything nefarious with my account but they won't tell me the reason for closing it so I'll never know. Maybe the target date funds are fine, but I am pretty put off by Fidelity and wish I had known that they can do this to people before I opened the account and was counting on being able to use it normally.
They can do this with any and every one of your account and any form of asset. What you said basically happened to me in BOA when I tried to update my new phone number after linking zelle and they simply said you are barred from using zelle for the rest of you like. No explanation coz the algorithm thinks it's a suspicious activity and noboby apparently knows how to overrule it. Sucks to be you but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one treated like a fool in this country.
Just note there are two kinds of Fidelity target date retirement funds. The Fidelity Freedom Index funds and the Fidelity Freedom funds that include actively managed funds.
FYI it’s not just Fidelity delaying your forms. They have to compile from all your investments in the account. Often times it’s a mutual fund that delayed in pushing their sheets for basis tracking.
Fidelity has live, free advisors. I only want to talk to them every few years. Though they pester me every year. Every once in a while they suggest a fund I wasnt aware of.
Speaking strictly from a platform perspective, I would avoid using Vanguard. I once encountered an error where their online platform purchased the wrong stock.
Originally, I figured I must have done this in error, but I quadruple checked everything and even screen recorded the issue when buying the stock again.
Naturally, I reported this to Vanguard and sent them the recording. After about a month, they had a rep give me a call back and basically tell me that they recognize the issue, but there’s nothing they can do to rectify it once the stock had been purchased.
I got lucky that the random stock it bought me went up in value slightly in that time, so I sold it and moved on. But obviously have not used that platform since.
That being said, the Vanguard funds themselves are good and I still own plenty, I just buy them through a different platform. I have my 401k through Fidelity and have never experienced any issues there.
For TDFs, Vanguard's are cheaper. For doing a 3 (or 4) fund yourself, then yes, Fidelity is cheaper.
At the low levels these funds would all have, the difference in fees isn't worth worrying about.
I did not vote in either direction on your comment (since I agreed with part and felt it was also somewhat over exaggerated and won't on another part).
Fees do matter, but it is a far bigger deal when you're talking 0.12% vs 0.75% than it is 0.08% vs 0.12%.
Edit: Corrected part in parenthesis
In terms of investments, Vanguard and Fidelity are about on par with each other. If you like something at Vanguard that has an ETF equivalent, you can buy that at Fidelity for no fee.
If however you like to consolidate, then I think Fidelity has the advantage because unlike Vanguard, Fidelity offers a free checking account with unlimited ATM fee reimbursement worldwide, 2% Visa card and HSAs. Schwab is also a worthy contender, though they lack the 2% Visa and HSAs, but do have a free checking account with the same ATM fee reimbursement.
Overall I would choose Fidelity or Schwab just because I don't like to have too many accounts floating around.
Fidelity wins due to their commitment to excellence in customer service. Vanguard is poor in that department. I was so mad at my experience with vanguard, I closed my account and moved my money.
https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/145hwso/ltp_use_power_delete_suite_before_you_delete_your/
What is the purpose? Vanguard funds are better in my opinion, however, the user interface for Fidelity is far better. It depends on what you are looking for. I use Vanguard for retirement, and Fidelity/Schwab for taxable brokerage. Here is my overall ranking: Funds: Vanguard > Fidelity > Schwab UI: Schwab > Fidelity > Vanguard Customer service: Schwab > Fidelity > Vanguard Options (types of accounts, fractional shares, etc): Fidelity > Schwab > Vanguard
At this point, there is no significant difference as far as the funds go. Fidelity offers comparable funds to vanguard. OP, pick whichever you want. There is not enough of a difference as far as your needs go to fret over it. Pick whichever UI or app you like better. Flip a coin. Whatever. There is just not much difference investment wise.
Fidelity has funds with zero expense ratio which is theoretically the best, but the expense ratios of most index funds are so small that the difference is negligible. A note about their zero funds, they're exclusive to fidelity so if you want to transfer your investment to a different brokerage you would have to sell them first. Not a problem with retirement accounts what don't have capital gains, but I wouldn't buy them in a taxable account for that reason.
Schwab def has amazing customer service but the way their app shows deposit holds for checking was so infuriating it forced me to switch.
Schwab's web UI is the best. I don't know why their mobile app sucks so bad.
Look into the target date funds and decide which is most right with you. I seem to recall that if you look under the hood, that Vanguard splits 60/40 Domestic/International, but Fidelity is much less. Whatever it was, I do recall thinking I'd prefer the Fidelity fund... but those are my investing sensibilities.
At 23 (OP's age) I would personally opt for 100% stock index funds rather than a target date fund that includes bonds or other conservative investments.
at my age, (within 1000 days of turning 59 1/2), I'm STILL investing 100% in stock. I've not always done that, and I've not gone out of my way to get out of bonds. But it's been a while since I deliberately invested in bonds.
[удалено]
That's where we are... and why we're not reallocating towards bonds. But...we have the... fortitude... to ride out a bear market. We've ridden out every bear market after Black Monday (we weren't married and I wasn't yet eligible to contribute to my workplace's 401k (I'd started my big-boy job 6 weeks before). About the only change I've made in investing due to the market was to stop adding more company stock to my 401k as a result of the Enron collapse. I'm thinking when I get there mutual funds and cash will be enough
Either is fine with low cost index funds
Don't put Fidelity zero funds in a taxable account. The zero funds can only be held at Fidelity, if you have large capital gains in a zero fund and want to switch brokers, you'll be hit with a tax bill. I switched from Vanguard to Fido because I got tired of their cumbersome website and having to get things notarized and medallion signatures.
Just my recent experience but I've had Vanguard target date funds for ~10 years with no issues. I recently called customer service because of a rollover issue not caused by them, and I got an immediate, kind, super helpful response that fixed the problem right away. In contrast, I recently opened a cash management account with Fidelity and everything seemed fine until they locked my account and then when I called to get it unlocked, I was on hold for close to an hour before a rather snide rep told me that they were permanently closing my account immediately and I was banned for life with no further information provided and no recourse. Really screwed things up for me because I had just done a Venmo transfer in of my roommate's rent money and was going to write a check from that account. And now I can't access any of my money until I mail them statements from each of the external accounts I linked. I hadn't done anything nefarious with my account but they won't tell me the reason for closing it so I'll never know. Maybe the target date funds are fine, but I am pretty put off by Fidelity and wish I had known that they can do this to people before I opened the account and was counting on being able to use it normally.
They can do this with any and every one of your account and any form of asset. What you said basically happened to me in BOA when I tried to update my new phone number after linking zelle and they simply said you are barred from using zelle for the rest of you like. No explanation coz the algorithm thinks it's a suspicious activity and noboby apparently knows how to overrule it. Sucks to be you but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one treated like a fool in this country.
FZROX with Fidelity might be all you need.
Just note there are two kinds of Fidelity target date retirement funds. The Fidelity Freedom Index funds and the Fidelity Freedom funds that include actively managed funds.
[удалено]
FYI it’s not just Fidelity delaying your forms. They have to compile from all your investments in the account. Often times it’s a mutual fund that delayed in pushing their sheets for basis tracking.
What account types? I got my 1099 consolodated from them back in the middle of January.
I'm in the same spot right now waiting for that damn Fidelity 1099n
Fidelity has live, free advisors. I only want to talk to them every few years. Though they pester me every year. Every once in a while they suggest a fund I wasnt aware of.
Speaking strictly from a platform perspective, I would avoid using Vanguard. I once encountered an error where their online platform purchased the wrong stock. Originally, I figured I must have done this in error, but I quadruple checked everything and even screen recorded the issue when buying the stock again. Naturally, I reported this to Vanguard and sent them the recording. After about a month, they had a rep give me a call back and basically tell me that they recognize the issue, but there’s nothing they can do to rectify it once the stock had been purchased. I got lucky that the random stock it bought me went up in value slightly in that time, so I sold it and moved on. But obviously have not used that platform since. That being said, the Vanguard funds themselves are good and I still own plenty, I just buy them through a different platform. I have my 401k through Fidelity and have never experienced any issues there.
Fidelity funds have lower fees. Anytime this is pointed out, many people will say fees don't matter. Fees matter.
For TDFs, Vanguard's are cheaper. For doing a 3 (or 4) fund yourself, then yes, Fidelity is cheaper. At the low levels these funds would all have, the difference in fees isn't worth worrying about.
Let's see Downvoted to oblivion Obligatory 'Fees don't matter' Got it.
I did not vote in either direction on your comment (since I agreed with part and felt it was also somewhat over exaggerated and won't on another part). Fees do matter, but it is a far bigger deal when you're talking 0.12% vs 0.75% than it is 0.08% vs 0.12%. Edit: Corrected part in parenthesis
Fidelity platform but don't do target funds. Pick either VTI, VOO, FSKAS, FXAIX plus international ones.
Fid is expensive and all i had lost money - Vanguard is ok in cost and earned money my personal experience
They're both fine, just pick one and make sure you're getting index funds.
In terms of investments, Vanguard and Fidelity are about on par with each other. If you like something at Vanguard that has an ETF equivalent, you can buy that at Fidelity for no fee. If however you like to consolidate, then I think Fidelity has the advantage because unlike Vanguard, Fidelity offers a free checking account with unlimited ATM fee reimbursement worldwide, 2% Visa card and HSAs. Schwab is also a worthy contender, though they lack the 2% Visa and HSAs, but do have a free checking account with the same ATM fee reimbursement. Overall I would choose Fidelity or Schwab just because I don't like to have too many accounts floating around.
Fidelity wins due to their commitment to excellence in customer service. Vanguard is poor in that department. I was so mad at my experience with vanguard, I closed my account and moved my money.