Fidelity Go Review 2024: Pros, Cons and Features
- Hands off investing
- Cost-conscious investors
- Low fees
Fidelity Go is a robo-advisor offering no-frills features and low fees. It’s a great fit for those who are starting off in their investing journey and prefer being more hands-off. Check out our Fidelity Go review to learn more about pros, cons and key features.
What Is Fidelity Go and How Does It Work?
As the robo-advisor arm of the Fidelity Investments family, Fidelity Go features automated investment portfolios composed of Fidelity Flex mutual funds (yup, they’re fee-free) and no minimum opening balance. It also doesn’t charge any advisory fees for balances less than $25,000.
Like other robo-advisors, Fidelity Go investors will start by filling out a short questionnaire based on information about their goals, finances and risk tolerance. Some of these questions include your birth year and what you’re investing for (like retirement or a short-term goal).
The platform will also ask you to rate your risk tolerance based on a scale from one to 10, with 10 being the most aggressive and one being the least. More aggressive investors will usually have a higher percentage of stocks in their portfolios, whereas if you want to be more conservative, your portfolio will veer more toward bonds.
Once that’s complete, the robo-advisor will use your answers to create an investment portfolio based on your individual needs.
If you’re not sure if you want to commit to Fidelity Go, you can fill out the questionnaire and see a sample investment portfolio. That way, you can get a feel for what it might be like to invest with this robo-advisor before proceeding with the rest of the sign-up process.
Fidelity Go
- No management fee for accounts under $25,000
- Ability to invest in Fidelity Flex mutual funds,
- Investors only need $10 to start investing
Fidelity Go at a Glance
| Feature | Details | More Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Types of Accounts |
2 taxable |
4 IRAs |
||
Account Minimum |
$0 to open |
$10 to invest |
||
Commission and Fees |
$0 on balances under $25,000 |
0.35% annual fee on balances over $25,000 |
||
Portfolio Mix |
4 mutual funds |
No real estate |
||
Portfolio Management |
Conservative-aggressive |
Automatic rebalancing |
||
Customer support |
Live chat; phone support |
8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, M-F |
Features of Fidelity Go
There are many features that you will want to consider before opening an account. Our Fidelity Go review will help you decide if this is the right brokerage for you.
Types of Accounts
Investors can open both individual and joint taxable accounts, plus IRAs (Traditional, Roth and Rollover) and health savings accounts. If you have an existing Fidelity account, you can easily integrate your investments with Fidelity Go.
Account Minimum
There’s no minimum opening deposit if you want to open a Fidelity Go account, but you’ll need to put in $10 or more to start investing.
Commission and Fees
Fidelity Go doesn’t charge any commissions for any of their trades.
The following are the advisory fees it’ll charge based on your account balance:
- Under $25,000: none
- $25,000 and over: 0.35% per year
Aside from that, there are no additional fees. In most cases, investors are required to pay expense ratios for the underlying securities in their portfolios. Since this robo-advisor uses fee-free Fidelity Flex mutual funds, there are none.
Portfolio Mix
Investors have a choice between more than a dozen portfolio options — some are retirement portfolios, and others are taxable. No matter which you choose, they’re created from Fidelity Flex mutual funds.
These funds have holdings across four asset classes including U.S. stocks, international stocks, domestic bonds and short-term investments. How much each of these funds will be in your portfolio will depend on your goals.
Keep in mind there are no assets such as commodities, real estate investment trusts or international bonds to choose from. Still, you can get a decent amount of diversification if you’re not bothered by the lack of these additional choices.
Considering they’re all no-fee funds, you’ll be able to save money compared to other robo-advisors, assuming you’re paying less in advisory fees. Fidelity Go will also conduct a review annually to ensure the current investment strategy works for you.
Portfolio Management
Fidelity Go will start allocating your money into various asset allocations based on your questionnaire — it’s hands-off for you from there. The robo-advisor will have their financial advisors rebalance your portfolio whenever market fluctuations veers your asset allocation off course.
The robo-advisor doesn’t offer tax-loss harvesting, a tactic where a brokerage offsets capital gains by selling losing investments. However, Fidelity Go does purchase municipal bonds for their taxable accounts, and these tax-advantaged securities may be able to minimize your taxes.
Investors can keep up to date with their investment portfolio by signing up for monthly email alerts.
Customer Support
Fidelity Go customers can contact representatives 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday by logging into their account and using the live chat feature, or by calling 800-343-3548 and asking for “Planning.”
Is Fidelity Go Right for You?
Based on our Fidelity Go review, we see this as a great fit for those who are looking to dip their toes in investing with a robo-advisor or are more into hands-off strategies. It’s also a great fit for those who initially don’t have a large chunk of money to invest because accounts with balances under $25,000 won’t need to pay advisory fees.
A stand-out benefit from our Fidelity Go review is that you’ll be able to see how your money will be spread out across the robo-advisor’s recommended asset allocations. If you like what you see, great. If not, you don’t need to commit to anything.
The platform is fine if all you want is a basic service offering low costs and no expense ratios, and you can tailor your asset allocation based on your financial goals and risk tolerance. Fidelity is a reputable brand. Those who want additional services like access to human financial advisors or more advanced investing offerings can have that once they have a Fidelity account.
Keep in mind you’ll need to start paying advisory fees once your balance reaches $25,000. Still, the fees are competitive and slightly lower than competitors’.
Only accounts with at least $25,000 can access human financial advisors. Those users can get unlimited one-on-one, 30-minute phone calls with advisors. This option is useful if you’re looking for more personalized guidance on retirement and other financial goals. Fidelity Go HSA accounts are not eligible for advising.
For those with lower balances, paying more in advisory fees may still be cheaper than opening an account with Fidelity Go and hiring a separate financial advisor. Compare costs before doing anything.
While it may not be a big deal, the lack of real estate, commodities and foreign bonds may be off-putting to some. Plus, although Fidelity Flex funds are low-cost, they may feel limited depending on your investing goals.
Don’t forget Fidelity Go doesn’t engage in tax-loss harvesting — if you’re worried about paying a lot in capital gains, consult a financial professional to see how it’ll affect your bottom line.
Overall, Fidelity Go is a decent offering, but make sure to compare other brokerages before making your decision.
Pros and Cons of Fidelity Go
Look over our assessment of Fidelity Go’s pros and cons to decide if this is the right robo-advisor for you.
Pros
- Balances under $25,000 don’t need to pay any advisory fees
- No opening balance requirement
- Ability to view sample investment portfolio before opening an account
- Investments within portfolios comprised of no-fee funds
Cons
- Limited options for financial goals
- No tax-loss harvesting
- Access to human financial advisors depends on account balance
- Limited account types
- Selection of funds may be lacking for some investors
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Fidelity Go
We’ve answered common questions about Fidelity Go.
Asset management fees are the cost of having a professional oversee your investment portfolio. More specifically, the fees go towards paying professionals to choose funds for your portfolio and to manage it based on the investment objective.
The fee is usually a percentage of your balance, though there may be brokerages that charge a flat monthly fee. If you’re charged based on a percentage, it could mean you’ll pay more in fees as your balance increases.
Fidelity Go doesn’t charge advisory fees if you have a balance under $25,000. The robo-advisor charges 0.35% annually once your account hits $25,000.
No, Fidelity Go doesn’t offer tax-loss harvesting, a tactic employed by other robo-advisors to help investors lower their tax burden. Instead, it allocates part of an investor’s portfolio towards municipal bonds in taxable accounts.
Yes, you can withdraw money from your Fidelity Go account. You won’t need to pay any additional fees and can withdraw from your account at any time. If you want to withdraw your entire balance and close your account, the advisory fee will be prorated for the time Fidelity Go managed your account.
Contributor Sarah Li-Cain is a personal finance writer based in Jacksonville, Florida, specializing in real estate, insurance, banking, loans and credit. She is the host of the Buzzsprout and Beyond the Dollar podcasts.
