Fidelity Go Review 2023: Pros, Cons & Features

Fidelity Go is a robo-advisor offering from a reputable brokerage with low fees. There is no advisory fee for those who have balances lower than $25,000 and all investors can access Fidelity’s mutual funds with no expense ratios.

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 your 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 the 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 be able to 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.

Features of Fidelity Go

There are a number of features that you will want to consider before opening an account. Our list of the pertinent information for each will help you decide if Fidelity Go 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 and 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.

Is Fidelity Go Right for You?

Fidelity Go is 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 major advantage of Fidelity Go is 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.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Fidelity Go

We’ve answered common questions about Fidelity Go.

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.

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